Soccer's Post-Transfer Window World Power Rankings

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Now that the transfer window is closed again, it's time for some fresh world power rankings.

As usual, the transfer window raised a bunch of interesting questions. Who strengthened their squad? Who got weaker? Did anything actually change at all?

We tried to keep all those questions in mind when compiling these rankings, but we also considered the progress each team has made domestically and in continental competitions like the UEFA Champions League.

Remember, this is just one guy's opinion. Have some of your own? Let us know in the comments.

20. Zenit St. Petersburg

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Since the Russian transfer window is still open (until Feb. 24), Zenit still have a chance to strengthen their squad in the coming weeks. But it's hard to see them adding many players, unless a deal for former midfielder Andrei Arshavin can be resurrected.

On the other hand, Zenit are the defending Russian champs, and they reached the last 16 of the Champions League ahead of Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk. That's why we put Zenit here, where you'd normally find Shakhtar (more on Porto later, though).

19. Corinthians

Corinthians won the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A in 2011, edging out Vasco Da Gama by two points and defending champions Fluminense by eight.

They were linked with Manchester City's want-away striker Carlos Tevez during the transfer window. A deal never materialized.

18. Porto

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So are Porto in trouble—or right where they want to be?

Sure, they're second in the Portuguese league, five points behind Benfica. And they lost Fredy Guarín to Inter Milan in the transfer window.

But Porto have been excellent in knockout competitions in recent years, winning the Europa League in 2011 and the Champions League in 2004. And while they've had to reload after losing players before, this winter they managed to fend off widespread interest in Hulk (for now).

Porto are still alive in the league, but Europe might be difficult. After crashing out of the Champions League in the group stage, Porto drew Manchester City in the Europa League's second round.

Beat City, though, and Porto might find themselves on another roll.

17. Arsenal

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It hasn't been a vintage season for Arsenal.

Near the beginning of it, the Gunners suffered a shocking loss to Manchester United. More recently, they dropped three straight league games. Meanwhile, the fans have started to turn on Arsene Wenger after an infamous substitution and another (mostly) barren transfer season.

And yet.

With all that said, Arsenal are still in the Champions League, still in the FA Cup and still in the race for fourth place. All that could change soon, but the Gunners seem to have uncovered yet another rising star in midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The emergence of the Ox won't be enough to save the season. But the youngster is giving fans reason to hope.

And who knows? Silverware is still a possibility.

16. Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors coasted to first place in the recently concluded Torneo Apertura, the first championship of the 2011-12 Argentine Primera Division.

Boca went undefeated over 19 games (12-7-0) and finished 12 points ahead of their nearest rivals. The title was their first since the 2008 Apertura.

Now they head to the second stage of the 2012 Copa Libertadores.

15. PSV Eindhoven

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PSV lead Holland's Eredivisie by three points over Twente Enschede and AZ Alkmaar (Ajax are sixth, eight points back).

Meanwhile, they have a date with Heerenveen in the Dutch Cup semis and Trabzonspor in the Europa League second round.

That means PSV haven't won anything yet. But they are on course for an excellent season. And with young talent like 21-year-old showstopper Georginio Wijnaldum (10 goals in all competitions) on the roster, they're one of the most exciting sides in Europe.

14. Borussia Dortmund

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Arsenal fans will squawk about it, since the Gunners helped knock Dortmund out of the Champions League, but so be it.

Borussia Dortmund are on the rise. They lead the Bundesliga by two points over Bayern Munich and Schalke, and they've reached the quarterfinals of the German DFB-Pokal.

Meanwhile, Dortmund held onto Mario Götze and Shinji Kagawa this winter in spite of interest from around Europe. What's more, Marco Reus is set to join in the summer.

Dortmund's success is prompting some onlookers to question whether Bayern's dominance in Germany is over. If it continues, Dortmund will only keep rising in rankings like these.

13. PSG

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PSG are all set to become the new Manchester City, who, of course, are the new Chelsea. But there's some distance yet to travel.

PSG failed in the Europa League, crashing out of a group that also contained Athletic Bilbao, SV Salzburg and Slovan Bratislava. But they are still alive in the last 16 of the Coupe de France and hold a three-point lead over Montpellier in Ligue 1.

In Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore, PSG have a great cornerstone-type player on which to build a team. And with new boss Carlo Ancelotti, they have a manager with experience in dealing with big-money owners.

With all that new money, PSG brought in Alex from Chelsea and Thiago Motta from Inter. Next summer, they could make a move for Belgian hotshot Eden Hazard.

PSG have their sights set on the title and reaching the Champions League. It's up to them—and maybe their money—how far they go from there.

12. Inter Milan

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It has been a curious season for Inter, and that was reflected in their transfer-window dealings.

The Nerazzurri got off to an awful start this season but recovered after bringing in Claudio Ranieri as their new coach. Now up to a respectable fifth place (ahead of Roma and Napoli), Inter are out of the Coppa Italia but are still alive in the Champions League.

In the transfer market, Inter let Thiago Motta leave for PSG but brought in Juan from Internacional and Fredy Guarín from Porto.

Now it's up to Ranieri to make it work.

11. Juventus

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First-year manager (and former Juventus player) Antonio Conte has the Bianconeri playing great football. More than halfway through the season, Juventus lead Serie A and are semifinalists in the Coppa Italia.

Juventus aren't playing in Europe this season as they complete their long march back from their scandal-induced relegation six years ago. But maybe that's why they're doing so well domestically.

The Italian giants stayed uncharacteristically quiet during the transfer window, so it's up to Conte to make due with the players he has. But with experienced leaders like Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero, he'll have plenty of help.

10. Benfica

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Benfica are a surprise entry in the top 10, but they belong.

The Portuguese club topped their Champions League group ahead of Manchester United and hold a five-point lead over Porto in the league.

And things are still rosy in the transfer market. For now, at least, Benfica has managed to hold on to both Nicolas Gaitan and Javi Garcia despite widespread interest in both players.

The spring will be an interesting time for Benfica. In the league they'll go head-to-head with Porto in a battle of the last two league winners. And in Europe, they face a tricky tie against Zenit St. Petersburg.

9. Chelsea

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Chelsea blew it against Manchester United on Sunday, but they remain a team on the rise.

Part of that has to do with money. Unlike some of their rivals near the top of the English Premier League, Chelsea made a marquee signing this winter, bringing in defender Gary Cahill from Bolton.

They also signed Kevin De Bruyne from Genk (but sent him right back on loan) and sold a few players first-year manager Andre Villas-Boas didn't want. 

As AVB continues his overhaul project, the Blues are still alive on multiple fronts. Fourth in the league (and thus in line for England's final Champions League spot), Chelsea will play Birmingham in the FA Cup fifth round and Napoli in the Champions League round of 16.

8. Tottenham Hotspur

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Alas, Arsenal fans will squawk again. But Harry (Don't Call Me a Wheeler-Dealer) Redknapp wheeled and dealed his way to some interesting signings this winter.

Spurs, who are third in the league and still alive in the FA Cup, signed defender Ryan Nelsen from Blackburn and Louis Saha from Everton. Both deals could be failures, or both could turn into bargains. Only time will tell.

Hard as it is to fathom, Spurs are still alive in the title race. Eight points back with a game in hand, Redknapp and Spurs could still make some noise down the stretch.

And don't forget about them in the FA Cup, either.

7. AC Milan

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The defending Serie A champs are right back in the mix this year, just one point behind leaders Juventus. In Europe, the Rossoneri face a tough but winnable tie against Arsenal.

After a somewhat quiet transfer season—Milan brought in Sulley Muntari (loan), Philipp Prosenik (free) and Maxi Lopez (loan)—the real season is about to heat up. Massimiliano Allegri's team face Juventus in the Coppa Italia semis before heading into the stretch run of Serie A and the Champions League.

6. Santos

All in all, 2011 was an excellent year for Santos, the storied Brazilian club.

Domestically, they won the Campeonato Paulista, beating Corinthians in the final. In continental play, they claimed the Copa Libertadores title.

And internationally, they reached the Club World Cup final before falling to a rampant Barcelona.

Most importantly, though, Santos held onto Neymar. That keeps them in the upper echelon of world football.

5. Manchester United

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Manchester United suffered an embarrassing exit from the Champions League last fall, but still—they're Manchester United.

England's most famous club (and defending champion) is just two points off the league lead. And while they're also out of the FA Cup, it would be wrong to rank them any lower than this.

Despite their failures this season, United still have the brand, money and fanbase to compete with the world's best. They won't be leaving the upper portion of any power rankings any time soon.

4. Bayern Munich

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Bayern Munich forward Mario Gomez continues to be ludicrously rated the second-best player in the world by ESPN's Castrol Edge Rankings. The team itself, on the other hand, is just the opposite right now:

A behemoth flying slightly under the radar.

No one is going to forget about Bayern. They're the most famous club in Germany and the four-time champions of Europe. But at the same time, few are really talking about them challenging Barcelona and Real Madrid in this season's Champions League.

Make no mistake, though: Bayern have the team and the tactics to do it.

3. Manchester City

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Like their crosstown rivals, Manchester City have suffered a few embarrassing exits this season. Roberto Mancini's team crashed out of the Champions League at the first hurdle and exited the FA Cup in the third round (admittedly against Manchester United).

But like United, City deserve to be ranked this high. Apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona, no team has a stronger squad. And now that they're out of all the cup competitions, City can focus exclusively on the league.

City still lead United by two points there, and in the transfer market, they stayed pretty quiet by bringing in only David Pizarro on loan from AS Roma.

But don't let that fool you. The stretch run is going to be explosive in England.

2. Real Madrid

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This shouldn't be a surprise. Real Madrid and Barcelona are widely considered the two best club teams on the planet.

But while Real continue to lead Spain's La Liga (by seven points as of this writing), they can't seem to solve Barcelona. A crushing 3-1 league defeat in December was followed by another loss and a thrilling draw in the two-legged Copa Del Rey quarterfinal tie.

But there's reason for hope. Real outplayed Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey quarterfinal. And in superstar midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo, a superstar-laced roster and superstar manager Jose Mourinho, Real have the tools to take down Barcelona.

So, will it happen this spring?

1. Barcelona

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Real lead La Liga by seven points. But Barcelona still own the rivalry.

Unbeaten against Real all season, Barcelona is currently unassailable at the top of the world power rankings. Lionel Messi is at the top of his game, and Xavi leads an All-Star supporting cast that could probably win most leagues without the Argentine superstar.

Eventually, Real could overtake Barca. But for now, nothing has changed.