20 Best European Football Clubs Right Now

This article will rank the 20 best European football clubs right now. 

You may have a rough idea who the best European club is, but do you know who the 11th best European club is? 

Will Real Madrid rank above Barcelona? 

Please comment below with your opinion and your 20 best European clubs right now. 

20. Zenit St. Petersburg

Luciano Spalletti has built up a formidable Zenit St. Petersburg side. 

The back four of Aleksandr Anyukov, Bruno Alves, Nicolas Lombaerts and Domenico Criscito are rock solid. 

Danny is a constant livewire and source of creativity. 

Lyon would have been a better match-up than Benfica, but Spalletti will like his chances in progressing to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. 

19. APOEL

Who gave APOEL a chance to progress out of a group containing Zenit St. Petersburg, Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk?

Not me. 

Zenit on paper had the best squad. 

Porto are the reigning Europa League champions. 

Shakhtar have the dangerous Brazilian foursome of Douglas Costa, Fernandinho, Willian and Luiz Adriano.

APOEL not only progressed, but it won the group. 

18. Borussia Mönchengladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach haven't been relevent since the glory days of Berti Vogts, Günter Netzer and Jupp Heynckes, who is current manager of Bayern Munich.

You should expect amazing from Mönchengladbach's ambidextrous Marco Reus.

Reus single-handily kept Mönchengladbach from relegation last season and now there's no doubt he will be sold sooner rather than later. 

Two other Mönchengladbach players that clubs should monitor are prodigious goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and the rugged centre-back Dante.

17. Udinese

Udinese lost three of their four best players in Alexis Sánchez, Cristián Zapata and Gökhan İnler.

However, they're currently third in Serie A. 

Antonio Di Natale embraced the changes and adapted, having scored 10 goals and three assists in 14 Serie A games. What a professional.

Mehdi Benatia's towering performances have also caught the eye. 

16. Porto

Vítor Pereira would have been crest-fallen to watch APOEL win the group. 

The Portuguese Primeira Liga is neck-and-neck, with both Benfica and Porto unbeaten.

Something has got to give.

Maybe not as important to his team as Baba Diawara is to Marítimo, Hulk has contributed to 45 percent of Porto's goals. 

15. CSKA Moscow

Russian football is on the rise and CSKA Moscow are leading the way. 

Seydou Doumbia could have a long career in Moscow because I doubt any major club will offer enough money to tempt Doumbia away.

Doumbia's 45 goals in 58 goals—0.78 goals per gameis astonishing. 

14. Napoli

Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamšík.

What a triumvirate. 

Napoli's form in the Serie A has been hot-and-cold. But, their UEFA Champions League effort is one to be admire, especially when they won, overcoming Manchester City and qualifying ahead of the richest team in the world. 

Assuming André Villas-Boas doesn't get fired now, he will if he implements the high line against this triumvirate.

13. Benfica

Who'd have thought that Óscar Cardozo cutting Jonny Evans apart and then scoring a magnificent goal would later haunt Manchester United.  

Benfica are unbeaten in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and will be contempt with facing a formidable Zenit St. Petersburg.  

12. Chelsea

André Villas-Boas is sinking Chelsea with his ineptitude. 

Roberto Mancini must feel sick to his stomach as to how his side lost to a shambolic Chelsea team. 

There are so many problems within this side:

• Frank Lampard's uneasy relationship with Villas-Boas
• Fernando Torres' inability to score
• Didier Drogba's stalled contract negotiations
• Villas-Boas facing the sack
• John Terry's racism charge

11. Tottenham Hotspur

The concern for Tottenham Hotspur is that they were outclassed by Manchester City and Manchester United. However, one can make the claim that it was early season jitters.

Since then, Spurs have only lost once in 14 Premier League games. 

Their disrespect of the UEFA Europa League is concerning. 

10. Paris Saint-Germain

Funded by the Qatar Investment Authority, who are worth $60 billion, Paris Saint-Germain will transition into a European heavyweight. 

The surprise for me is Nenê, who has outshone big-signing Javier Pastore with some inspired wing-play. 

9. Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund's failure to qualify past the UEFA Champions League group stages was disappointing.

On their day, they are one of the best practitioners of playing attacking football.  

Mario Götze, Mats Hummels and Shinji Kagawa could be sold for monumental prices in the near future. 

8. Arsenal

Even with the loss of Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri, Arsenal have survived diligently and will likely finish in the top four, as Chelsea have so many holes. 

Robin van Persie has elevated himself into the third-best forward in the world. He has carried this Arsenal side with 34 goals in 2011.

7. Juventus

Juventus have re-kindled their resilience, which has seen them go unbeaten in 16 Serie A games. 

Claudio Marchisio has finally lived up to the hype and is performing week-in and week-out. 

6. Manchester United

Manchester United underestimated Basel in both games and dropped points which cost them qualification into the UEFA Champions League round of 16. 

Aside from that, as long as they play attacking football in the Premier League, they will keep in touch with Manchester City. 

5. Manchester City

Why didn't Roberto Mancini play his strongest lineup against Napoli?

Edinson Cavani took advantage. From that point on, Manchester City's UEFA Champions League destiny was out of their hands. 

The positive for Mancini is that the Premier League is for them to lose. 

That 6-1 thrashing of Manchester United demonstrated the potential of Sheikh Mansour's personal project. 

4. Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich have coped well with Arjen Robben in and out of the team. 

What's remarkable about Robben is his statistics are still quite healthy, even with his persistent injuries. 

Bayern Munich are a darkhose for the UEFA Champions League and will be thankful that former Bayern Munich player Paul Breitner drew out Basel in the Champions League round of 16.

3. A.C. Milan

For €500,000, Antonio Nocerino has been the quiet achiever on this potentially great A.C. Milan side. 

With Thiago Silva, Milan have arguably the best centre-back in the world. 

On form, Kevin-Prince Boateng is potentially the best attacking midfielder in the world. 

Zlatan Ibrahimović continues to score for fun. 

Their European credentials will be validated if they can get past Arsenal. 

2. Real Madrid

As great as José Mourinho is, his record against Barcelona as a Real Madrid manager is not good enough. 

Here it is:

• Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid
• Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona
• Barcelona 0-1 (a.e.t.) Real Madrid
• Real Madrid 2-2 Barcelona
• Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona
• Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
• Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid
• Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona

P8, W1, D3, L4

And Cristiano Ronaldo choking when it counts hasn't helped Mourinho.

Mourinho needs to find a way to psyche Ronaldo up so he can perform in El Clásico. 

1. Barcelona

When we talk about Barcelona, we're talking about potentially one of the greatest sides of all-time. 

It has yet to rival Real Madrid of the 1960s but it has the potential to do so, as long as Lionel Messi does not get injured. 

It's a joy to watch Barcelona play. 

Your Opinion

Comment below with your top 20 European clubs right now. 

Which clubs are too high or too low? 

Is Real Madrid better than Barcelona? 

Please also read Xavi's Top 10 Moments at Barcelona.