RANKING: The best full-backs in the world right now. Who’s No.1 in your heart?

The full-back is a position that has changed the most over the past 20 years.

It used to be a defensive role. Sure, you had to get forward and provide support but if you couldn’t defend, you were no good. Attacking full-backs like Brazilians Cafu and Roberto Carlos were aberrations, rather than the standard bearers.

Now, though? Now you aren’t a full-back worth your salt if you can’t attack. The role has expanded exponentially and is now so important to a team’s success that Manchester City spent over £100m signing three of them this summer. And whilst many laughed at Guardiola for spending so much money, no one actually questioned the wisdom of the signings themselves.

Because why would they? Full-backs are essential now. The last team to win the Champions League without an elite full-back? Milan in 2007. Since then you’ve needed brilliance. Manchester United, Barcelona, Inter, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid; all had at least one world-class full-back.

So who are the most brilliant out there right now? We here at Squawka have had a look and ranked the 10 best full-backs from around the world. The only criteria was they had to play most of their games in a back four, so wing-backs like Ben Davies and Marcos Alonso were ruled out.

Who falls where? Who’s number one?

10. Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)

Manchester United’s mighty Ecuadorian went from a winger looking very much out of position to a hard-as-nails full-back with almost no one noticing. Now he’s one of the first names on the United team-sheet and often with the captain’s armband on to. A model pro and a relentless force up and down the Red Devils’ right flank.

9. Djibril Sidibe (Monaco)

Sidibe came out of nowhere last season to take European football by storm as the rampaging force of nature at full-back for Monaco (well, one of two such players). Sidibé has incredible technical skills is defensive solid enough that he’s already established himself as the right-back of choice for the French national team.

8. Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Before Mauricio “the full-back whisperer” Pochettino came into his life, Kyle Walker was what is known these days as a pace merchant. He had little to offer besides pace. But Pochettino (and now Pep Guardiola) have done incredible work to turn Walker into one of the most intelligent and astute full-backs around. He still has great pace, sure, but now he allies it with a keen attacking instinct and ability to participate in team-play so strong that Guardiola could even use him in an underlapping pseudo-midfielder role against Chelsea and he never skipped a beat.

7. Jordi Alba (Barcelona)

Barcelona’s speed demon is still going strong as ever. Alright there’s always going to be those moments where he receives an ungodly pass from Leo Messi and still somehow manages to fluff the key cross or shot, but he’s still excellent besides that. A surprisingly solid defender for someone as tall as a tin of biscuits, Alba’s an astute attacker too. Would be top 3 if he didn’t fluff his line so much!

6. Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City)

If Djibril Sidibé shook up the world at Monaco then Benjamin Mendy cracked it in half. After mentoring under Marcelo Bielsa at Marseille, Mendy morphed into an unreal force for Monaco. Manchester City spent a king’s ransom to sign him and when he’s played, he’s looked supreme in sky blue too. His ability to beat a man and send in a cross is almost unparalleled. With his natural skill, abundance of personality, dedication to hard-work and Guardiola’s tutelage, only injury can possibly stop him from becoming the best full-back in the world.

5. Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)

Perenially underrated, Filipe Luis is still going strong as one of the best full-backs around. He just gets it done. When it comes to duels he is particularly effective, thriving in the tackle and with the take-on. He looks like he’s in an 70’s classic rock band so will probably never get the credit he deserves, but he’s going to keep on rollin’ regardless.

4. Dani Alves (PSG)

Whilst he’s no doubt lost some of his cool factor since ditching old-style outfits Barcelona and Juventus for the shiny and gaudy PSG, Dani Alves is still the man. At 34 he’s comfortably the oldest man on this list but is right in the middle of an incredible career renaissance after he looked a spent force at the start of 2015. Alves is a unique genius of a player, at once a galloping full-back and a studious central midfielder. He offers his teams an unparalleled amount of assistance in match control, and then he thrives so much in the big games that even at his age, you’d never bet against him.

3. Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)

Imagine if Gary Neville was faster and could dribble and you’ve basically got Dani Carvajal. A mean-as-hell tone-setting defender for Real Madrid. Many underestimate him because he’s better at the back than he is going forward. But that’s not because he’s bad going forward (he’s actually very good, especially in Zinedine Zidane’s cross-heavy system that relies on full-back overloads to overpower teams) it’s just that he’s so stupendously good at the back his attacking play looks poor by comparison. He’s currently out for an indefinite period whilst he recovers from a heart issue, and we all hope he recovers fully and quickly.

2. Alex Sandro (Juventus)

One of the many things people forget about Neymar is that he didn’t win the 2011 Copa Libertadores by himself, he had some pretty excellent help. One of those “helpers” was Alex Sandro, who has since gone from strength-to-strength. He’s now terrorising opponents in Serie A with his daring dribbling, classy crossing and his dominant defending. A tremendous lock-down defender, Alex Sandro is also comfortable playing in a back three or a back four.

1. Marcelo (Real Madrid)

A long-haired tattooed devil-may-care full-back who has an absolute mountain of fun doing what he does and is absolutely excellent at doing it. Marcelo is one of football’s last true rock stars and watching him play is a privilege that many should savour. There’s just no one out there who quite drives a game from full-back like Marcelo can and does.

When Real Madrid need to turn a game around it’s almost Marcelo (and Luka Modric) that they look to in order to do it. And with good reason: Marcelo can dribble, he can pass, he tackle – alright positionally he’s suspect but who cares – he can shoot and he is fearless, absolutely fearless, when it comes to attacking his opponent. Marcelo is a gift, so enjoy him while you can.