Ilkay Gundogan Leaves Cristiano Ronaldo Out of His Top 3 Players in the World

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has named Lionel Messi as the best player in the world but omitted five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo from his list. 

It was announced on Friday that all professional football in England would be suspended until at least April 4 due to the coronavirus, leading Gundogan to conduct a Q&A session on Twitter.

When asked to submit his top three players in the world right now, Gundogan named Messi—who has won the Ballon d'Or six times—ahead of team-mate Kevin De Bruyne and a certain Paris Saint-Germain ace:

The inclusion of Kylian Mbappe means Gundogan rates the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner ahead of Neymar, though there's perhaps some bias in his decision to name De Bruyne at No. 2.

Messi, 32, continues to dazzle at Barcelona, and he led La Liga in goals (19) and assists (12) when Spain's top flight decided to suspend all first-team activities in response to the COVID-19 threat.

The Argentinian has scored 24 goals and recorded 16 assists in 31 appearances so far this season. He reminded the world of his class with a four-goal display in Barca's 5-0 win over Eibar in February:

Ronaldo, 35, hasn't been a slouch in his second season with Juventus and has scored 25 times in 32 games—along with four assists—though eight of those have come from the penalty spot.

City's fixture away to Arsenal last week was the first Premier League fixture to be postponed as a result of the coronavirus, and all matches were suspended just a few days later.

CNN reported there have been 182,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, which had resulted in "at least 7,100 deaths."

Gundogan made a special mention of those working in the health services during what has been a chaotic time:

The Germany international was part of the City squad that won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2018 and 2019. Liverpool were on course to end that run this term and sat 25 points clear of Pep Guardiola's side before the season was suspended.

Gundogan also won two major trophies with Borussia Dortmund and made it to the UEFA Champions League final in 2013, but his best career moment so far remains one of his earliest professional memories:

The 29-year-old is contracted to City until June 2023, although he could be one candidate for the Etihad Stadium exit if the club is suspended from featuring in next season's Champions League.