Scott McTominay makes history as Scotland star named alongside former Celtic ace on prestigious list

Scott McTominay has become only the second Scottish player to be named amongst the world’s top 100 footballers after the prestigious list was revealed for 2025.

Released by The Guardian annually, the list sees a host of former players pick their top 40 players of the year, ranked in order from 1 to 40. Prior to this year, Liverpool’s Andy Robertson had been the only Scottish player to be included in the list since its induction back in 2012.

However, former Manchester United academy product McTominay has now become the highest-placing Scot after being named the world’s 19th best footballer by the judges, sandwiched between Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham and Inter Milan’s star striker Lautaro Martinez.

McTominay has enjoyed a monumental rise since joining Napoli in September 2024. | Getty Images

Moving to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium two summers ago, the 28-year-old has morphed into one of the world’s best attacking midfielders. Playing a pivotal role in helping Antonio Conte’s side claim their fourth Scudetto title last season, he scored a memorable strike in the 2-0 win over Cagliari on the final day that secured their status as champions.

The Gli Azzurri ace broke Denis Law’s 63-year record for the most goals scored by a Scotsman in a single Serie A season when he bagged 12 league goals during the 2024/25 campaign, before ending the year by scoring an astonishing overhead kick goal in the 4-2 win over Denmark which ended Scotland’s near three decade wait to qualify for the World Cup in November.

Brazilian World Cup winners Dunga and Romario were two iconic former footballers included in the list of names on the judging panel for the award this year. While the votes of the panel were anonymous, McTominay was listed by 165 of the 219 judges as one of the world’s best players, with one unnamed judge even placing him top of the pile.

Ousmane Dembele was named the world’s best footballer in the 2025 list. | Bradley Collyer/PA Wire

It was Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele who was given the title of the world’s best player, with the French superstar taking first place ahead of Barcelona’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal and club teammate Vitinha, who finished in second and third respectively.

Also named in the list was former Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk, who captained Liverpool to the English Premier League title last season. The 34-year-old jumped seven places to 23rd in the list. His Liverpool teammate, Scotland captain Robertson, placed as high as 23rd back in 2019, while he also made the list in 2020 and 2022. Scottish stars Lewis Ferguson and Kieran Tierney have both received votes in the past, but have yet to chart in the top 100.

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