Bayern Munich well-represented in ESPN’s Top 100

MUNICH, GERMANY - AUGUST 17: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Harry Kane of FC Bayern München poses during the Bundesliga Media Day on August 17, 2026 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Simon Hofmann/Bundesliga via Getty Images) | Bundesliga via Getty Images

Bayern Munich players Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Luis Díaz, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlović, Jonathan Tah, and Dayot Upamecano were all named to ESPN’s Top 100 List.

On the center-forward list, Bayern Munich star Kane was rightfully ranked at No.1:

1. Harry Kane — Bayern Munich/England
2. Kylian Mbappé — Real Madrid/France
3. Erling Haaland — Manchester City/Norway
4. Ousmane Dembélé — Paris Saint-Germain/France
5. Julián Álvarez — Atlético Madrid/Argentina
6. Lautaro Martínez — Inter Milan/Argentina
7. Kai Havertz — Arsenal/Germany
8. João Pedro — Chelsea/Brazil
9. Victor Osimhen — Galatasaray/Nigeria
10. Hugo Ekitike — Liverpool/France
11. Igor Thiago — Brentford/Brazil
12. Ollie Watkins — Aston Villa/England
13. Robert Lewandowski — Chicago Fire/Poland
14. Cristiano Ronaldo — Al Nassr/Portugal
15. Antoine Griezmann — Orlando City/France
16. Marcus Thuram — Inter Milan/France
17. Donyell Malen — Roma/Netherlands
18. Mikel Oyarzabal — Real Sociedad/Spain
19. Viktor Gyökeres — Arsenal/Sweden
20. Alexander Sørloth — Atlético Madrid/Norway

Kane is the No.1, but you could make arguments for Haaland over Mbappé, though that is just splitting hairs. As for the rest of that list…WOOF. Cracker should have sang, “What the world needs now, is a few good strikers…”

The wide forward group is highlighted by Bayern Munich star Michael Olise at No. 1 and Luis Díaz at No. 4:

1. Michael Olise — Bayern Munich/France
2. Lamine Yamal — Barcelona/Spain
3. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — Paris Saint-Germain/Georgia
4. Luis Díaz — Bayern Munich/Colombia
5. Lionel Messi — Inter Miami/Argentina
6. Vinícius Júnior — Real Madrid/Brazil
7. Bukayo Saka — Arsenal/England
8. Raphinha — Barcelona/Brazil
9. Désiré Doué — Paris Saint-Germain/France
10. Jérémy Doku — Manchester City/Belgium
11. Antoine Semenyo — Manchester City/Ghana
12. Bradley Barcola — Paris Saint-Germain/France
13. Ademola Lookman — Atlético Madrid/Nigeria
14. Kenan Yıldız — Juventus/Türkiye
15. Anthony Gordon — Barcelona/England
16. Bryan Mbeumo — Manchester United/Cameroon
17. Mohamed Salah — Trabzonspor/Egypt
18. Yan Diomande — Real Madrid/Ivory Coast
19. Julián Quiñones — Al Qadsiah/Mexico
20. Ismaïla Sarr — Crystal Palace/Senegal

Olise being ranked at No.1 is well-deserved, but Kvaratskhelia has a strong argument to be the better player (and should — at least — be above Yamal). Otherwise, Díaz was also given proper recognition. It is scary that Bayern Munich has two excellent wingers like this flanking Kane.

For the attacking midfield group, Bayern Munich was well-represented, but it is debatable on if it should have been:

1. Bruno Fernandes — Real Madrid/Portugal
2. Jude Bellingham — Real Madrid/England
3. Dominik Szoboszlai — Liverpool/Hungary
4. Rayan Cherki — Manchester City/France
5. Nico Paz — Como/Argentina
6. Martin Ødegaard — Arsenal/Norway
7. Morgan Rogers — Chelsea/England
8. Scott McTominay — Napoli/Scotland
9. Arda Güler — Real Madrid/Türkiye
10. Christoph Baumgartner — RB Leipzig/Austria
11. Morgan Gibbs-White — Nottingham Forest/England
12. Dani Olmo — Barcelona/Spain
13. Jamal Musiala — Bayern Munich/Germany
14. John McGinn — Aston Villa/Scotland
15. Serge Gnabry — Bayern Munich/Germany

This is a case where you could strongly argue that the people consulted on the list went off of historical play rather than last season’s performance. Gnabry was better than Musiala last season, but has been injured so far this summer, which could have hurt his case. As for Musiala, the Germany international will be looking to rebound with a strong 2026/27 season.

In the central midfield, Joshua Kimmich (No.7) and Aleksandar Pavlović (No. 15) were selections for Bayern Munich:

1. Vitinha — Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal
2. Declan Rice — Arsenal/England
3. Rodri — FC Barcelona/Spain
4. João Neves — Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal
5. Pedri — FC Barcelona/Spain
6. Federico Valverde — Real Madrid/Uruguay
7. Joshua Kimmich — Bayern Munich/Germany
8. Enzo Fernandez — Chelsea/Argentina
9. Moisés Caicedo — Chelsea/Ecuador
10. Fabián Ruiz — Paris Saint-Germain/Spain
11. Elliot Anderson — Manchester City/England
12. Warren Zaire-Emery — Paris Saint-Germain/France
13. Ayyoub Bouaddi — Lille/Morocco
14. Bruno Guimarães — Arsenal/Brazil
15. Aleksandar Pavlović — Bayern Munich/Germany

Some fans are not going to love Kimmich’s inclusion, but that spot is fair for the veteran. As for Pavlović, he likely would have been higher up prior to the World Cup, where he scuffled.

At center-back, Bayern Munich had two representatives, but the two players were placed in puzzling positions:

1. William Saliba — Arsenal/France
2. Willian Pacho — Paris Saint-Germain/Ecuador
3. Gabriel — Arsenal/Brazil
4. Pau Cubarsí — Barcelona/Spain
5. Jonathan Tah — Bayern Munich/Germany
6. Marquinhos — Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil
7. Dayot Upamecano — Bayern Munich/France
8. Virgil van Dijk — Liverpool/Netherlands
9. Alessandro Bastoni — Inter Milan/Italy
10. Marc Guéhi — Manchester City/England

Having Tah ranked about Upamecano will leave some Bayern Munich fans scratching their heads, but it was nice to see the two defenders recognized for their efforts (even if Tah is probably ranked too high).

Summary

Interestingly, Bayern Munich had no goalkeepers in the top 10 for that position group, nor any outside-backs listed in the top 10 for that group either. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain/Morocco), was the top outside-back, while David Raya (Arsenal/Spain) was the No.1 goalkeeper.

Some other notable selections due to Bayern Munich, Bundesliga, or German national team connections include:

• No. 10 attacking midfielder: Christoph Baumgartner — RB Leipzig/Austria (Bundesliga)
• No. 14 wide forward: Kenan Yıldız — Juventus/Türkiye (Former Bayern Munich prospect)
• No. 7, center-forward: Kai Havertz — Arsenal/Germany (German national team)
• No. 13 center-forward: Robert Lewandowski — Chicago Fire/Poland (Bayern Munich Alumni)

Overall, there was just a lack of Bundesliga and German national team-related players. While Bayern Munich was well-represented, there are big voids for the Bundesliga and the German national team.

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