You won’t believe who WhoScored think the 3rd best player in the world is!

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Next year’s Ballon d’Or nominees: Neymar, Lionel Messi and…Jon Flanagan?!

The Liverpool defender is a huge favourite at Anfield, even more so after last night’s thumping tackle on Raheem Sterling, but little did we know just how highly he is rated elsewhere around the world.

SEE MORE: Video: Henderson’s brilliant reaction to Flanagan’s crunching tackle on Sterling

The stats boffins at WhoScored rank the 23-year-old full-back as the third best player in the world this season, behind only Neymar and Messi, according to their reputable average-rating system!

Better than Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gareth Bale – miles ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo – Flanagan’s rise to the top of the game puts the emergence of Marcus Rashford at Manchester United to shame…

Of course, Flanagan’s lofty standing is an anomaly because he has only played one Premier League game this season. The 3-0 win over Manchester City was his first start after a 20-month injury nightmare.

But, based on his performance against Sterling and the Citizens – which has seen him heralded as Liverpool’s defensive saviour – we can see the Scouse kid keeping his place among the elite!

SEE ALSO:
Liverpool players ratings v Man City: Flanagan hailed as defensive saviour, high praise for Lallana too
Video: Joe Allen nearly scores spectacular goal of the season in Liverpool’s thrashing of Man City
Charlie Adam slams Liverpool pair for bottling penalties in Capital One Cup final

More Stories Cristiano Ronaldo Gareth Bale Jon Flanagan Lionel Messi Marcus Rashford Neymar Raheem Sterling Zlatan Ibrahimovic