The top 50 players in Europe - Messi, Neymar and Lewandowski battle for top spot

The countdown is over. We have spent the last week building towards the top WhoScored rated player across Europe's top five leagues and it's finally time for the big reveal. We are down to the final five. Will Leo Messi rank supreme or will Paris Saint-Germain duo Neymar or Kylian Mbappe take top spot? Or maybe there is a new face altogether ready to tip the apple cart.

Here are the top five WhoScored rated players in Europe's top five leagues for the 2019/20 campaign in reverse order...

This season has been nothing short of extraordinary as far as Josip Ilicic is concerned. The Atalanta forward has shown flashes of class in seasons gone by but has never managed to put together a consistent campaign. Until now. Ilicic has surged to the top of the leaderboard in Serie A as the top WhoScored rated player and ranks fifth across Europe. Ilicic has scored 15 goals and provided five assists in 21 league appearances for Atalanta this season. There have been 15 instances of perfect WhoScored 10 ratings in Europe's top five leagues in 2020 and Ilicic has picked up three of those, no player has managed the feat on more occasions. Furthermore, the 32-year-old is one of just 10 players on the continent to score a hat-trick in 2019/20. A return of seven WhoScored Man of the Match awards only emphasises his importance to Serie A high flyers Atalanta this season.

Ilicic flew in under the radar to claim 29th in the WhoScored Top 50 last season but his reputation has soared in 2019/20, with many acknowledging him as one of the best players on the continent. His ranking has therefore improved significantly and he now kicks off the top 5 in Europe's top five leagues.

Injuries will likely see Kylian Mbappe fall short of matching last season's tally of 33 league goals but he has still been hugely prolific in front of goal when fit enough to play. The 21-year-old has 18 goals in 20 league appearances for Paris Saint-Germain in 2019/20 and has also chipped in with five assists. While goals might be down, albeit still at an elite rate, Mbappe has improved in general play compared to 2018/19. Dribbles per game have gone from 2.2 per game to 2.8 and key passes the same (1.6 per game to 2 per game).

Even though Mbappe's WhoScored rating has improved from last season (8.00), the France international finished last season as the second top WhoScored rated player in Europe's top five leagues. It means others have improved even more than Mbappe this season and he currently has to settle for fourth place in the WhoScored Top 50.

Even at the age of 31, Robert Lewandowski has managed to take his game to a whole new level this season. The Poland international started the campaign by scoring in each of Bayern Munich's first 11 league matches and has 25 goals for the season from just 23 appearances. With nine league games remaining in 2019/20, Lewandowski has already surpassed last season's tally (22) and is on course to break his best ever haul in a single league campaign, which currently stands at 30 (in 2015/16 and 2016/17). Lewandowski has also contributed with three assists in the Bundesliga meaning he has played a direct hand in 28 goals in just 25 league appearances.

Lewandowski was on the cusp of the top 5 in Europe's top five leagues at the end of the 2018/19 campaign but his WhoScored rating has improved 0.51 year-on-year and he now occupies third spot on the list of the best players on the continent for 2019/20.

Limited to just 17 league appearances in 2018/19, Neymar didn't even make it on the WhoScored Top 50 list last season and he will need to stay injury free for the remainder of this season to ensure he doesn't drop off again. As things stand, Neymar has made enough appearances (15) to make the current WhoScored Top 50 and he occupies second place. The problem for Paris Saint-Germain has again been keeping Neymar fully fit this season.

To his credit, Neymar does more or less hit the ground running straight after injury and his numbers this season are laughable. The 28-year-old has played a direct hand in 19 goals in 15 league appearances in 2019/20 and picked up the WhoScored Man of the Match award in more than half of his outings (8). Not only that, but Neymar ranks top in Europe's top five leagues for successful dribbles per game (6), while only Jack Grealish (4.9) is fouled more times per game than the PSG star (4.1).

That leaves only one player left to take top spot in the WhoScored Top 50 for 2019/20: Lionel Messi. For the second year running Messi claims status as the top WhoScored rated player in Europe's top five leagues. Even if the Barcelona ace has struggled with niggling injuries, his output has been remarkably high. Messi has played a direct hand in 31 goals in 22 league appearances in 2019/20, hitting double figures for both goals (19) and assists (12).

The 32-year-old has claimed 13 WhoScored Man of the Match awards in 2019/20, more than any other player in Europe and even Arsenal (12). Moreover, Messi ranks second for both shots per game (4.9) and dribbles per game (5.4) in Europe's top five leagues this season. Furthermore, a four-goal haul against Eibar remains the only of its kind on the continent in 2019/20.

Rankings catch-up: 50-46, 45-41, 40-36, 35-31, 30-26, 25-21, 20-16, 15-11, 10-6