40. Ryan Giggs
It's easy to forget now, but Giggs came close to leaving Manchester United in summer 2003. He'd just had a poor season and then-chief executive Peter Kenyon refused to deny speculation linking him with Inter.
But the Welshman bounced back brilliantly and remained a key figure at Old Trafford for the rest of the decade. He adapted well to diminishing pace and was increasingly deployed as a central midfielder, where his vision and passing range helped to open up opposition defences.
39. Oliver Kahn
Goalies are rarely up for the individual gongs but Der Titan couldn’t be overlooked. Champions League glory and a series of impenetrable displays during Germany’s run to the 2002 World Cup final a year later saw Kahn finish in the Ballon d’Or top three twice in a row at the start of the decade. Strong and aggressive, with supreme reflexes and leadership skills, Kahn terrified strikers across the continent before hanging up his boots in 2008.
38. Fabio Cannavaro
The last centre-back to win a Ballon d’Or was 5’9. That’s enough reason alone for Fabio Cannavaro to be considered one of the footballers of the decade.
The Napolese stopper was aggressive, instinctive and a leader of men, as displayed succinctly in a 2006 World Cup in which Italy had no real star. Captain Cannavaro organised and ordered his side to glory - and in the process, chiselled his name into the pantheon of great Italian defenders.
37. Ruud van Nistelrooy
A single-minded centre-forward who would sulk if he hadn't scored, Van Nistelrooy was the archetypal fox in the box. Overcoming an ACL rupture, he racked up 150 goals in 219 appearances for Manchester United - 149 of which came from inside the penalty area.
The Dutchman took his sharp-shooting skills to Real Madrid in 2006. He broke the 20-goal barrier in each of his first two seasons there, but injuries eventually caught up with him.
36. Nemanja Vidic
“How many centre-halves can you name who actually like defending?” Alex Ferguson once queried, before answering that Nemanja Vidic lived for the art of defence. The Serbian’s elite positioning, game-reading and no-nonsense style was the perfect antithesis to Rio Ferdinand’s more cultured ball-playing, winning United’s last three titles of the decade. Vidic is still the only defender to win the Premier League Player of the Season award twice.
35. Pavel Nedved
A Juventus icon, Nedved actually won his first Serie A title with Lazio in 2000. Two more scudetti would follow in Turin, where Nedved cemented his legendary status by sticking with the beleaguered Bianconeri following their relegation to Serie B.
A true all-rounder, the two-footed Nedved could pass, dribble, shoot, tackle and more. A Ballon d'Or winner in 2003, the Czech dazzled at the following year's European Championship as his nation reached the semis.
34. Patrick Vieira
Vieira had already been at Arsenal for four years when the decade began, but he played the best football of his career in the 2000s. It's hard to imagine any of Arsenal's achievements - the 2002 double, the Invincibles - happening without him.
Vieira was a fierce competitor who took no prisoners, but he wasn't just an enforcer. The Frenchman's touch was immaculate and he could dance past opposition midfielders as well as bulldoze his way through them. Watching the Frenchman in full flow was an awesome sight.
33. David Villa
Villa would later win La Liga titles and Champions Leagues with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, but he never surpassed the individual peak of his Valencia years.
It was at Mestalla where the Spaniard established himself as one of the world's most menacing marksmen. Permanently positioned on the shoulder of the last defender, his intelligent runs, speed off the mark and lethal finishing were appreciated at international level too. Villa top-scored as Spain won Euro 2008, setting la Roja on their way to world domination.
32. Paolo Maldini
It's frankly astonishing that a player who debuted in 1985 was still excelling at the highest level at the end of the 2000s. Maldini wasn't an ordinary footballer, though. The Italian read the game as if he'd written it, and that tactical intelligence made him a regular at AC Milan beyond his 40th birthday.
Widely regarded as the greatest left-back of all time, the evergreen Italian won his fourth Champions League in 2003 and his fifth in 2007. Not bad for a natural right-footer.
31. Luis Figo
Figo was the original galactico, and the butchers of Spain can vouch for the fact that his move from Barcelona wasn't universally popular. The unruffled Portuguese just focused on the job at hand, though, helping Real Madrid win two La Liga crowns and the Champions League.
Figo relied more on guile than speed as the decade wore on, proving there's more than one way to skin a full-back. He wound down his career at Inter, adding four Serie A winner's medals to his collection.
