Higuain snubs former teammates Messi, Ronaldo; names his top three players

Ballon d'Or Leak - Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk are top contenders

Former Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain has picked his top three players in world football right now and the Argentine striker has decided to leave out the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The experienced striker has played with both players during his time with the Argentine national team and with Real Madrid but he believes that other players have overtaken them right now.

The Argentine international joined the MLS side Inter Miami earlier this year and he has had a mixed start to life in the United States.

According to Higuain, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Erling Haaland  are the top three players in the world right now.

Speaking to ESPN, Higuain said: “Lewandowski, Haaland and Benzema are the best for me now.

“Karim has been in the football elite for 12 years. Lewandowski scores everywhere. And Haaland is a great promise, he is a great forward.”

When asked about Messi, he replied: “Well, it’s magical. Everything seems natural to him.

“He was born like that, Leo does everything effortlessly. This is what makes him unique.”

There is no doubt that Lewandowski was the best player in Europe last season and his selection ahead of Messi and Ronaldo is hardly surprising.

However, Haaland is still quite young and he is yet to make a considerable impact for Dortmund. He has the potential to develop into a top-class player and eventually surpass the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, but he is not quite as influential just yet.

As far as Benzema is concerned, the Frenchman has always been quite underrated and he has been consistently brilliant for Real Madrid for over a decade.