# Player Elo: the ranking by position against expectations · Sir Balone

> An Elo rating for players in Europe’s top leagues: every match, their La Lente rating against what was expected given their level, the opponent and their league. The ranking by position, match by match.

URL: https://sirbalone.com/en/la-lente/player-elo/
Datos al: 2026-11-14
Fuente de los datos: Sportmonks (https://www.sportmonks.com/). Métricas, notas y textos: La Lente, de Sir Balone, a cargo de Juan Carlos Vasquez (https://sirbalone.com/authors/juan-carlos-vasquez/).

Mini app · Europe’s top leagues, since 2024-25

## Who is the best if players had Elo?

Elo is the chess system: every player has a score that goes up when they win and down when they lose, more or less depending on how surprising it was. In football nobody plays one on one, so here each player’s duel is against what was expected of them. Every match is measured with the La Lente rating, from 0 to 100: score more than their level promised and they go up; less and they go down. At the top are those who beat expectations match after match.

Joshua Kimmich is the best midfielder of 2025-26.

Rating 1665, 16 points ahead of Aleix García. By average La Lente rating, Joshua Kimmich would be 1st. The biggest climber against the average rating is Sandro Tonali: from 74th to 26th: a stronger league, stronger opponents or a better finish than start.

### The ranking

With at least 1500 minutes in the season.

| # | Player | Rating | Avg rating | Opp. | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Kimmich FC Bayern München | 1665 | 64.8 1 | 1547 | 42 |
| 2 | Aleix García Bayer 04 Leverkusen | 1649 | 63.2 3 | 1533 | 44 |
| 3 | Declan Rice Arsenal | 1628 | 60.5 8 | 1568 | 49 |
| 4 | Frenkie de Jong FC Barcelona | 1627 | 62.1 4 | 1502 | 29 |
| 5 | Vitinha Paris Saint Germain | 1625 | 63.7 2 | 1556 | 46 |
| 6 | Aleksandar Pavlovic FC Bayern München | 1617 | 61.5 6 | 1567 | 35 |
| 7 | Manuel Locatelli Juventus | 1609 | 60.0 9 | 1508 | 44 |
| 8 | Hakan Çalhanoğlu Inter | 1605 | 61.3 7 | 1525 | 26 |
| 9 | Granit Xhaka Sunderland | 1600 | 56.7 22 | 1569 | 33 |
| 10 | Bruno Fernandes Manchester United | 1599 | 56.6 23 | 1563 | 35 |
| 11 | Federico Valverde Real Madrid | 1599 | 57.8 14 | 1545 | 46 |
| 12 | Luka Modrić AC Milan | 1597 | 59.3 10 | 1510 | 33 |
| 13 | Aurélien Tchouaméni Real Madrid | 1595 | 58.1 12 | 1540 | 44 |
| 14 | Joey Veerman PSV | 1591 | 61.8 5 | 1463 | 36 |
| 15 | Nikola Moro Bologna | 1590 | 58.9 11 | 1467 | 37 |
| 16 | M. Caicedo Chelsea | 1587 | 55.5 33 | 1571 | 43 |
| 17 | Angelo Stiller VfB Stuttgart | 1587 | 57.7 16 | 1503 | 44 |
| 18 | Rodri Manchester City | 1586 | 56.6 24 | 1593 | 24 |
| 19 | James Garner Everton | 1585 | 55.9 29 | 1562 | 38 |
| 20 | Fabián Ruiz Paris Saint Germain | 1582 | 57.3 18 | 1555 | 25 |
| 21 | Piotr Zielinski Inter | 1581 | 57.4 17 | 1518 | 36 |
| 22 | Dominik Szoboszlai Liverpool | 1577 | 55.2 35 | 1567 | 48 |
| 23 | Pedri FC Barcelona | 1574 | 56.4 27 | 1531 | 38 |
| 24 | Arda Güler Real Madrid | 1572 | 55.3 34 | 1545 | 45 |
| 25 | Pathé Ciss Rayo Vallecano | 1571 | 54.7 41 | 1514 | 37 |
| 26 | Sandro Tonali Newcastle United | 1571 | 52.7 74 | 1580 | 43 |
| 27 | Chris Führich VfB Stuttgart | 1570 | 57.8 15 | 1504 | 34 |
| 28 | Andrey Santos Chelsea | 1570 | 53.1 66 | 1545 | 26 |
| 29 | Maximilian Arnold VfL Wolfsburg | 1568 | 56.5 25 | 1507 | 20 |
| 30 | Amadou Onana Aston Villa | 1567 | 54.0 47 | 1549 | 33 |

Tap a player to see their curve and the matches that moved them most.

### How it is rated

**The match rating.** The La Lente rating measures a single match: what the player produced against what they cost, compared with the average for their position in that league and season, and adjusted by position (a 70 for a forward is as hard as a 70 for a defender). A normal match is around 50, 70 is very good and above 80 happens once in a hundred.

**The duel.** In football nobody plays one on one, so each player faces what was expected of them. Before every match, their rating says what they should score. Score more and they go up; less and they go down. How much depends on the surprise and the minutes: a full match counts in full, half an hour counts a third. Under 20 minutes does not count.

**The opponent.** A good rating against a strong opponent is worth more. The opponent’s strength is its team Elo, the one in the Elo league mini app. It matters less than people think: in the data, an opponent 100 points stronger lowers the expected rating by barely one point. That is why, by default, against one of Europe’s best sides a player is asked for about 3 points less.

**The league.** The rating compares each player with others in the same league, so a 60 in the Eredivisie is not a 60 in the Premier League. Players who changed league tell us by how much: about 3.5 rating points per 100 points of average league strength, measured by results in European competition.

**The goalkeeper.** A keeper who organises his defence well faces fewer and weaker shots, and that does not show in his saves. Keepers who took turns at the same club show differences in xG conceded slightly larger than chance. So the keeper gets a share, 20% by default, of what his defence concedes below or above expectation given the opponent. The rest belongs to the defence.

**The start.** Everyone starts at 1500 in 2024-25, the first season with ratings, which settles the numbers. At the start of each season, 20% goes back to 1500. A player who performs as normal stays near 1500; the best in each position go past 1550.

### Frequently asked questions

**Who is the best midfielder of 2025-26 by player Elo?** Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München), rated 1665, ahead of Aleix García and Declan Rice. This is the ranking with the starting rules: every La Lente rating against what was expected, given the opponent and the strength of the league.

**How is a football player’s Elo calculated?** Since nobody plays one on one, each player faces what was expected of them. Before every match, their rating and the opponent’s strength say what they should score; score more and they go up, less and they go down, in proportion to the minutes played. Everyone starts at 1500.

**Is a rating in the Premier League worth the same as in the Eredivisie?** No. The rating compares each player with others in the same league. Players who changed league show by how much: a 60 in the Eredivisie is roughly a 56 in the Premier League.

**How is a goalkeeper measured?** By his saves and, in part, by what never reaches him: a keeper who organises his defence well faces less danger. He gets 20% of the xG his defence concedes below or above expectation given the opponent; the rest belongs to the defence.