2018 FIFA World Cup players

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (Portuguese pronunciation: born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Juventus and captains the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 major trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA European Championship, and one UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most goals (134) and assists (42) in the Champions League, most goals in the European Championship (14), and is tied with Ali Daei for most international goals (109). He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 780 official senior career goals for club and country.

Lionel Andrés Messi ( born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (192), a La Liga season (21) and the Copa América (17). He has scored over 750 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals ever by a player for a single club.

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (Brazilian Portuguese: born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world.

Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Barcelona.

Mesut Özil (born 15 October 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. Nicknamed "The Assist King", Özil is known for his technical skills, creativity, agility, and finesse. He has also played as a wide midfielder in his career.

Sergio Ramos García (born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and captains both La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He has also played as a right-back earlier in his career. Hailed as one of the greatest defenders in the history of the sport, he has received praise for his leadership and goalscoring capabilities.

Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Widely considered as one of the best players in the world, he is known for his dribbling, explosive speed, and clinical finishing.

Sami Khedira (born 4 April 1987) is a German professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Bundesliga club Hertha BSC and the Germany national team.

Robert Lewandowski ( born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich and is the captain of the Poland national team. He is renowned for his positioning, technique and finishing, and is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation.

Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), colloquially known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester City and the Argentine national team. He wears "Kun" on his shirt, a childhood nickname based on the title character from the cartoon Kum-Kum. He is widely considered as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the best players in Premier League history.