Alexis Mac Allister named 47th best player in the world in 2022

Brighton midfielder and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister has been named the 47th best player in he world in 2022 by The Guardian.

Each year, the newspaper consults a panel of experts to put together their top 100 footballers on the planet in the past year.

Amongst the judges in 2022 were Maicon, Fatih Terim, Avram Grant, Jan Åge Fjørtoft, Ricardo Rocha and a host of journalists from different publications around the globe, although bizarrely nobody from Australia.

All the football experts down under must have been too busy making use of their 100 free spins at https://online-casinos-australia.com/100-free-spins/. This also explains the lack of Maty Ryan or Aaron Mooy on the list.

The Guardian 100 best male footballers in the world 2022 list said of Mac Allister:

“Like his Argentina colleague Enzo Fernández, Mac Allister has the ability to play almost three positions at once, and after getting the call for the team’s second World Cup match with Poland, such flexibility proved key to his country’s triumph.”

“His performances in Qatar make him much-coveted; a player it will cost a significant fee to prise away from Brighton.”

“Under both Graham Potter and latterly Roberto De Zerbi, Mac Allister’s drive has been a crucial part of the south coast club’s continuing rise, and once Argentina made his wild card selection, after two-and-a-half-year absence, they reaped the ultimate reward.”

In finishing 47th, Mac Allister found himself above fellow Premier League stars including Ilkay Gündogan, Riyad Mahrez, Marcus Rashford, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva and Hugo Lloris.

Mac Allister also beat Cristiano Ronaldo. Piers Morgan is apparently commissioning a television programme as we speak to protest against the scandal of Ronaldo only making number 51.

What makes Mac Allister’s rise into the top 100 most impressive is that this time last year he was only just making himself a first-choice pick in Potter’s starting XI.

Two goals at Everton in the opening game of 2022 cemented Mac Allister’s place and there was no looking back over the next 12 months.

Having been used almost exclusively as a number 10 up to that point, Mac Allister discovered the versatility which The Guardian were so keen to heap praise on.

Under De Zerbi, he has been deployed mainly as one of the two holding midfielders in the charismatic Italian’s 4-2-3-1 alongside Moises Caicedo. What price Caicedo being on the list next season, by the way?

From his deeper role, Mac Allister dictates the way Brighton play with his vision, eye for a pass and ability to work his way out of even the tightest of spots.

His footwork has become a joy to watch. When he runs with the ball, it can often appear to be stuck to his foot – rather like another man from Argentina who wears the number 10 shirt and surely tops The Guardian‘s list once positions one to 10 are revealed.

At the World Cup, Argentina used Mac Allister both wide on the left and as a number eight. The fact that La Albiceleste did not lose a game in Qatar following Mac Allister’s promotion into their line up tells you everything about how successful he was in those roles.

It would be a major surprise if Mac Allister were not to be the subject of serious interest in either the remainder of the January transfer window or the summer.

And if/when he does depart, it will be with the blessing of Brighton fans everywhere as he comes across as nicer a bloke as he is a fantastic footballer.

He is good enough to be eyeing more of the biggest prizes in the game to add to his World Cup winners medal; Premier League titles and Champions Leagues which he will not get his hands on whilst at the Albion.

Nobody at WAB has bothered to go through the nine previous editions of The Guardian 100 list, but it is probably safe to assume that Alexis Mac Allister in 2022 is the first ever Brighton player to make an appearance.

Gary Gardner, Elvis Manu and DJ Jurgen Locadia seem unlikely to have featured in the past, giving Mac Allister another piece of Albion history.

And with the way that the Seagulls are going since De Zerbi took over, you suspect that Mac Allister will not be the last.