Two legends lead the way: The most viewed player profiles of 2023

The year 2023 was another rollercoaster annum in the world of football, with supporters treated to another 12 months of scintillating action. Manchester City stole the show, winning the treble following their 1-0 Champions League final victory against Inter Milan. Two of the greatest ever players in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo left Europe for new ventures in the MLS and Saudi-Pro League respectively, and the summer saw seven transfers worth €90 million or more, including Jude Bellingham's €103m move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid and Harry Kane switching Tottenham for Bayern Munich for €95m. But which player profiles have you been clicking on the most across 2023?

The top 10 most viewed players

1. Cristiano Ronaldo - 42.2m views - The year 2023 started in unsettling circumstances for Cristiano Ronaldo after his return to Manchester United ended in tears, and following a falling out with Erik ten Hag, Ronaldo left European football for the first time ever to sign for Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr. The Portuguese 38-year-old has 20 goals and nine assists in just 18 appearances for his new side this season.

2. Lionel Messi - 40.1m views - Lionel Messi started the new year as a world champion for the very first time, and after winning a second Ligue 1 title with PSG in May, the Argentine quashed rumours of a Barcelona return, and signed for David Beckham's Inter Miami, becoming the biggest signing in MLS history. The magician has scored 11 goals and registered five assists in 14 games for the American outfit in all competitions.

3. Erling Haaland - 24.8m views - Erling Haaland broke the record for the most ever Premier League gaols in one season, as he scored 36 goals on the way to Man City lifting a third consecutive league title, and also helped Pep Guardiola's team win a Champions League and an FA Cup, and is also joint top scorer so far in the Premier League this season.

4. Mauro Icardi - 18.1m views - After a prolific loan spell at Galatasaray in the 2022/23 season, Mauro Icardi sealed a €10m permanent transfer to Turkey from PSG in the summer of 2023, and has 12 league goals in 17 appearances for the Turkish giants this campaign.

5. Kylian Mbappé - 17.7m views - The future of Kylian Mbappé has continued to be a hot topic throughout the year of 2023, and rumours still remain that he will join Real Madrid next summer. The young frenchmen started the season frozen out at PSG after not signing a new contract and was placed on the transfer list, before then being integrated back into the fold. He has 18 goals in 16 Ligue 1 games this season.

6. Neymar - 16.3m views - It was a disappointing 2023 for Neymar. Despite winning Ligue 1 with PSG, to see one of the perennial talents of his generation leave top level European football at the age of just 31 wasn't the way many predicted the Brazilian to be spending his peak years, and after his move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, an ACL injury ruled him out of the rest of the year back in October.

7. Harry Kane - 15.3m views - Harry Kane finally sealed a move away from Tottenham last summer, in search of the trophies to match his meteoric goalscoring, and towards the end of the summer window Bayern Munich secured the Englishmen's signature for €95m. Since then, Kane has been simply mesmerising, scoring 25 goals in 21 games for the Bavarians.

8. Jude Bellingham - 13.7m views - Even the most positive of Jude Bellingham enthusiasts couldn't have predicted the impact the 20-year-old Englishmen has had at the Bernabeu after sealing his €103m move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Bellingham has taken the world by storm, scoring 17 goals in 21 matches from midfield for Real Madrid and becoming the most valuable player in the world in the latest La Liga market value update in December.

9. Nicolò Zaniolo - 13.4m views - After signing from Roma, Nicolò Zaniolo's short but successful spell at Galatasaray was put on hold, after Aston Villa snapped the Italian up on loan from the Turkish side in the summer, after he had scored five league goals in 10 games in the Turkish Super Lig. This term he has been somewhat a peripheral figure for Villa, scoring just one goal for the mIdlands outfit.

10. Arda Güler - 13.2m views - The teenage sensation Arda Güler sealed a €20m move to Real Madrid from Fenerbahce aged just 18 in the summer, after emerging as one of the brightest young creative midfielders around. However, injuries have meant he is still to yet to make his debut for Carlo Ancelotti's side.