By Jake Glavies

With a new month comes the newest set of Castrol Rankings. After a series of calculations fit for a college calculus teacher, the giant Castrol calculator has turned out Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as the world’s top performing footballer.

First Messi took Cristiano Ronaldo’s place as FIFA World Player of the Year and now he’s dethroned him in the Castrol Rankings as well. With an eye-popping nine goals since the previous Castrol list was released in December, Messi’s Castrol Index total has knocked rival Ronaldo to the No. 2 spot. Messi’s best performance of the stretch came when he netted a hat-trick in a 5-0 victory over Tenerife on Jan. 10.

Overall, Barca placed five players in the Top 20, more than any other team in the five leagues the rankings follow. The players include: Thierry Henry (No. 4), Gerard Pique (No. 5), Dani Alves (No. 9) and Carles Puyol (No. 19). Barcelona has dominated the rankings, claiming the top spot in three of the four months they’ve been in existence. In October Henry topped the list before giving way to Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic (No. 32).

Though the list might be top heavy with La Liga stars, it’s a Premier League player that made the strongest push to become one of the world’s top performers. Behind a staggering 11 goals in two months, Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney shot from No. 25 to No. 9 where he’s tied with Alves. With the move, Rooney joins goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar as the only Red Devils in the Top 20. The rock-solid striker has also earned the Castrol EDGE Performance of the Month for his four-goal thrashing of Hull City on Jan. 23.

Midfielder Toni Kroos of German Bundesliga leader Bayer Leverkusen is perhaps the biggest mover of this month’s ranking, though. Kroos shot up 359 spots from No. 422 to No. 63, while helping Werkself to a 5-0-2 mark over the past two months.

While some players have seen their place rise this month, others have watched it fall. Bremen defender Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues fell 20 places from No. 21 to No. 41; United’s Nemanja Vidic went from No. 21 to No. 47; and Barca midfielder Seydou Keita dropped from No. 14 to No. 35.

Liverpool’s Fernando Torres (No. 3), Valencia’s David Villa (No. 6), Daniel van Buyten of Bayern Munich (No. 7) and Chelsea’s Didier Drogba (No. rounded out the rankings Top 10.

The next Castrol Rankings will be released on March 12.

Tags: Castrol Rankings, Cristiano Ronaldo, FC Barcelona, La Liga, Lionel Messi

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