Wilfred Ndidi ranked 13th best player in the world by (CIES) Football Observatory

SUPER Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has been ranked as the 13th best footballer in the world during the first quarter of 2021 by the highly respected research group the International Centre for Sports Studies  (CIES) Football Observatory.

Operating within CIES, the Football Observatory is an independent study centre located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland which specialises in the statistical analysis of the beautiful game. Founded in 2005, its mission is to advance the frontiers of knowledge for the sustainable development of football worldwide.

In its latest publication, the Football Observatory gave Ndidi an index of 85.5 having played 852 minutes in the first quarter of 2021. According to the survey, the top star in the world during the quarter was Lionel Messi of Barcelona, whose index totalled 92.5 after he clocked 998 minutes of action.

With his high score, Ndidi was ranked the third best player in the English Premier League ahead of the likes of Harry Kane. Some of the other top-ranked stars in the survey were Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, 89.5 index/1106 minutes), Jorginho (Chelsea, 89.5/799 minutes), Ruben Diaz (Manchester City, 89.4/1335 minutes and Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, 89.3/1191 minutes).