If someone, back in 1994, had said that at one point in my life I would work on a project selecting the world’s best footballers together with Romário, I would not have believed them.

That summer I was living in Rosersberg, seeing Sweden make their way to a World Cup semi-final, watching the late games at the local Blå Laguna pizza restaurant. Tommy Svensson’s team finally came unstuck against a Brazil side not only containing the wonderful Romário, but also Bebeto, Dunga, Jorginho and Raí. Brazil went on to win the World Cup, beating Italy on penalties in the final.

This year, as I was discussing the Guardian’s top 100 footballers with Thiago Rabelo, a Brazilian football journalist who contributes to our coverage and also helps with judges for the list, he mentioned that Romário could be interested in taking part. I thought it may be too good to be true, but in mid-November his votes had arrived.

Not only that, Thiago managed to get Dunga on board, as well as Walter Casagrande, Juninho (x2) and other legends of the Brazilian game. From Germany, Didi Hamann said he would be happy to join compatriots Philipp Lahm and Thomas Hitzlsperger to be part of the voting panel.

None of these judges are getting paid – and neither are the coaches or journalists who are part of the 219-strong jury. The former professionals working with us this year have a combined total of 904 caps.

The countdown begins on Tuesday 16 December with numbers 100-71. On Wednesday we will reveal No 70-41, on Thursday 40-11 before the top 10 on Friday.

The top 100 rules are explained beneath the list of judges. The judges are listed in alphabetical order by category.

Players

Martin Åslund Former Sweden international with four caps
Walter Casagrande Former Brazil international with 19 caps who played at the 1986 World Cup
Gilles De Bilde Former Belgium international with 25 caps
Dunga Former Brazil international with 91 caps who won the 1994 World Cup as captain
Erik Edman Former Sweden international with 57 caps who played at the 2006 World Cup
Ricardo Faty Former Senegal international who played for Roma and Nantes among others. Now a TV pundit as well as a coach at Clairefontaine
Heurelho Gomes Former Brazil international with 11 caps who was part of the 2010 World Cup squad
Dietmar Hamann Former Germany international with 59 caps who played at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups

Thomas Hitzlsperger Former Germany international with 52 caps who played at the 2006 World Cup
Philipp Lahm Former Germany international with 113 caps who won the 2014 World Cup as captain
Felipe Melo Former Brazil international with 22 caps who played at the 2010 World Cup
Janusz Michallik Former USA international with 44 caps who is now an ESPN football analyst
Juninho Paulista Former Brazil international with 49 caps who was part of the 2002 World Cup-winning squad
Juninho Pernambucano Former Brazil international with 40 caps who played at the 2006 World Cup
Fernando Reges Former Porto and Manchester City player who won two Europa Leagues with Sevilla
Romário Former Brazil international with 70 caps who was part of the 1994 World Cup-winning squad
Silas Former Brazil international with 34 caps who played at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups
Aymen Tahar Algerian midfielder who played for Boavista among others

Coaches and technical staff

Robert Arzumanyan Former Armenia international with 75 caps and now coach of FC Urartu
Magnús Már Einarsson Head coach of Afturelding in Iceland
Paulo Roberto Falcão Coach, technical coordinator and former Brazil international with 34 caps who played at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups
Stefan Tarkovic Technical director at the Slovakian FA and former head coach of Slovakia and Kyrgyzstan
Arda Turan Former Turkey international with 100 caps who is now the head coach of Shakhtar Donetsk

Media

Ed Aarons Football writer, the Guardian
Amir Abd Elhalim TV host at SSC Sports
Alexander Abnos Senior sports editor at the Guardian US
Mohamed Abubakar Sports correspondent, CGTN Africa
Ahmed Adala Journalist, Radio Mosaïque FM, Tunisia
Nuhu Adams African football expert, managing editor of AfricaSoccer.com and writer for GhanaSoccernet.com
Gary Al-Smith Regional content lead at the Sporty Group and an African sport specialist writing for, among others, the Guardian and the BBC. Co-author of LeGyanDary, the official autobiography of Asamoah Gyan
Davit Alaverdyan Chief editor, Mediamax Media Company, Armenia
Nick Ames European sport correspondent, the Guardian
Juan Arango Football commentator at AFA Play and correspondent for Al Jazeera
Thiago Arantes Movistar+ commentator and UOL columnist
Mehmet Arslan Sports editor in chief at Hurriyet newspaper
Emanuele Atturo Chief editor of UltimoUomo.com and contributor to the Fenomeno podcast
Philippe Auclair Contributor to Josimar and the Guardian, England correspondent for Eurosport, France Football and RTS, and biographer of Juan Mata, Thierry Henry and Eric Cantona
Karim Baldé French reporter/commentator/African football specialist
Nicky Bandini Italian football correspondent, the Guardian
Jorge Baravalle ESPN journalist, European football analyst
Christophe Belleudi Freelance journalist, focusing on football for AFP
John Bennett Broadcaster, BBC World Service and BBC 5 Live
Patrick Berger Prominent Sky Sports reporter in Germany, covering international football, the Bundesliga and the Germany national team
Luca Bianchin Football writer, La Gazzetta dello Sport
Christoph Biermann Chief reporter at 11Freunde magazine in Germany and author of many football books
Eduardo Biscayart Journalist for ESPN Deportes (US) for La Liga and TNT Sports Mexico for the Champions League
Manuel Bonke Chief reporter at TZ München and Münchner Merkur
George Boxall French-based reporter
Andy Brassell European football writer/broadcaster
Feargal Brennan Staff writer, Football Espana
John Brewin Football writer, the Guardian
Julien Brun Commentator for French TV (TF1 among others)
Rodrigo Bueno Commentator for ESPN Brasil and contributor to World Soccer Digest
Javier Cáceres Football writer, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Massimo Callegari Sunday night show “Pressing” presenter, Italian and International football live commentator on Mediaset Italy TV
Lassana Camara Sports journalist at Mauritania Football and PAF France and contributor for Sport News Africa and Africa 24
Susy Campanale Staff writer, Football Italia
Pedro Canelo Journalist at El Comercio in Peru
Felipe Cárdenas Football writer at the Athletic, covering MLS as well as football in Mexico and Conmebol
Juan Carlos Pasman Argentinian journalist who presents his own shows on DirecTV Sports and Radio La Red
Lédio Carmona Brazilian football journalist and SporTV commentator

Antonio Casale Sports journalist with more than 25 years of experience who works for ESPN, Canal 13 and also writes for El Espectador
Carolina Castellanos Sports journalist at RCN Radio and La Titular, reporting and commentating on multiple sports
Hernán Castillo The sports editor of Continental Radio and producer of the films Muchachos and Cierren los ojos
Ivaylo Chilev Football journalist and Champions League broadcast producer at bTV Media Group in Bulgaria
Rodolfo Chisleanschi Sports journalist for La Nación, Argentina
Marcus Christenson Football special projects editor, the Guardian
Solace Chukwu Editor at Afrik-Foot NG
Santiago Cordera Head of Operations at Tikitaka
Alfredo Coronis Journalist at Hot 94.1 FM/Conexión Goleadora
Miguel Dantas Portuguese journalist at Público and Guardian contributor
Haresh Deol Editor and co-founder of TwentyTwo13 in Malaysia
Tran Duc Truong Sports editor-in-chief at Znews, Vietnam
John Duerden Asian football correspondent for the Guardian
Luis Miguel Echegaray Sports on-air analyst, host and writer based in NYC, focusing on content that appeals to a young Latino audience
Amine El Amri Deputy chief editor of 2M TV’s digital platform SKWAD
Kasper Elissaar Estonian football journalist and commentator, board member of Soccernet.ee
Jeroen Elshoff Football commentator, NOS Dutch national television
Luke Entwistle Nice-based French football writer, editor-in-chief at Get French Football News
Rodrigo Errasti Founder of Imagosport Communication and former sports editor of the Agencia Colpisa-Vocento in Spain
Amr Fahmy Journalist working for beIN Sports in Egypt
Christian Falk Head of football at Sport-Bild in Germany
Giorgio Farina Italian football journalist
Ryan Fenix TV commentator, the Philippines
Ezequiel Fernández Moores Columnist at La Nación who has covered nine World Cups
Barak Fever ESPN football commentator
Ben Fisher Football reporter at the Guardian
Luís Freitas Lobo Sports journalist and football commentator in Portugal
Oliver Fritsch Sports editor of Die Zeit
Alex Frosio Football editor at La Gazzetta dello Sport
Jonas Giaever Norwegian football journalist and co-founder of the football app fcQuiz
Barry Glendenning Football writer and Guardian Football Weekly regular
Fabián Godoy Argentinian/Spanish commentator and tactical analyst at DirecTV Sports, TNT Sports and CNN radio. Argentina correspondent for Cadena Cope, Spain
Bryan Armen Graham Deputy sports editor, Guardian US
Andreas Hagenauer Football journalist at Der Standard
Arafat Hamrouni Sports reporter for Foot24 and Sports24 in Tunisia
Kevin Hatchard Commentator for Bundesliga world feed, Uefa and TalkSport
Gustavo Hofman Football journalist and ESPN commentator in Brazil
Andy Hunter Football writer, the Guardian
Azmaal Hydoo Head of football at Mauritius’s bestselling paper and magazine, L’Express
David Hytner Chief football correspondent, the Guardian
Seo Hyung-wook MBC TV commentator, Footballist CEO, South Korea
Iacopo Iandiorio Editor in chief of international football at La Gazzetta dello Sport
Sasa Ibrulj Bosnian football writer
Kristian Jack VP, OneSoccer. Canadian TV host, reporter and writer
Behnam Jafarzadeh Football freelance journalist based in Iran
Ott Järvela Head of sports at Estonian daily Postimees
Jonathan Johnson Paris-based French football expert
Raphaël Jucobin French football and rugby writer
Celestine Karoney Kenyan sports journalist
Ali Khaled Sports editor at Arab News
Alex Kirkland Madrid correspondent for ESPN
Phil Kitromilides La Liga commentator and CBS correspondent
Tom Kludt Sports writer based in the US
Ermal Kuka Sports journalist at Panorama Sport in Albania
Samindra Kunti Freelance football journalist
Cecilia Lagos European football correspondent, ESPN Deportes
Steven Lavon Freelance journalist in Togo
Sergio Levinsky Journalist working for Infobae and Jornada in Argentina as well as Kicker in Germany
Gianluca Lia Sports journalist at Times of Malta
Fabio Licari Head of international department at Gazzetta delo Sport
Jonathan Liew Sports writer and Opinion columnist, the Guardian
Mansour Loum Editor-in-chief at Sport News Africa
Sid Lowe Spanish football correspondent for the Guardian
Olof Lundh Swedish football writer for Fotbollskanalen and Dagens Industri, pundit for TV4 and author
Ben Lyttleton Football author and consultant
Ben Mabley Japan-based television commentator

Jaime F Macias Football analyst for MLS Apple TV and Telemundo/NBC Universal
Robin-Duke Madlala Senior writer for Sportswire.co.za and BBC contributor
Luca Marchetti Editor in chief at Sky Sport Italia and transfer market team coordinator
Nebojsa Markovic Serbian freelance journalist
Gergely Marosi Freelance sports journalist and football writer in Hungary, writing for Sport24
Sam Marsden ESPN correspondent in Barcelona
Pierre Maturana Director of French publication SoFoot.com and lifestyle media Dégaine by So Foot
Martin Mazur Argentinian football correspondent for La Gazzetta dello Sport, FourFourTwo and 11Freunde. Director of AIPS Sport Media Awards
Chisom Mbonu-Ezeoke Sports TV presenter and producer with Supersport. Host of the Naijamade show and co-host of the Superpicks show
Ugur Meleke Hurriyet columnist and beIN Sports pundit
Marcus Mergulhao Sports editor, the Times of India
Maher Mezahi Journalist mostly covering sport in North Africa
Colin Millar Football writer/journalist at the Athletic
Filip Mishov Freelance sports journalist and football writer from Macedonia
Marcela Mora y Araujo Argentinian football writer
Matteo Moretto Relevo journalist
Tom Mortimer Hungarian football writer
Dmitriy Mostovoy Editor at the Sport Orda website in Kazakhstan and freelance commentator
Vinicius Moura Sports broadcaster for ESPN Brasil
Rasim Movsumzadeh Has written for Kicker and the European Football Yearbook, has been Azerbaijan’s juror on the Ballon d’Or since 2000
Hassanin Mubarak Football writer and author of Far from War and Politics: The story of Iraq’s 2007 Asian Cup victory
Daniel Mundim Sports journalist at TV Globo
Ricardo Murguía Journalist for Fox in Mexico, doing Champions League play-by-play
Hirofumi Nakano Journalist and radio show host in Japan
Mauricio Noriega TV Record and TMC commentator in Brazil
Hernan O’Donnell Journalist working for Universo Deportivo who has previously written for El Gráfico and La Nación
Osasu Obayiuwana British-Nigerian journalist who has been repoting on international football and it politics for over 30 years
Antonis Oikonomidis Greek freelance football writer
Oluwashina Okeleji Reporter for BBC Sport, World Soccer and Al Jazeera online
Collins Okinyo African football journalist and managing editor of soka25east.com
Rafael Oliveira Football journalist and Amazon Prime Video commentator in Brazil
Joseph Owino Founder, Kawowo Sports
Álex Pareja Sports journalist at ESPN
Artur Petrosyan Football journalist based in Dubai
Kieran Quaile Barcelona-based football journalist at LaLiga
Thiago Rabelo Brazilian journalist and Guardian contributor
Derek Rae ESPN commentator, Bundesliga and La Liga and the Fifa 22 video game
Marion Reimers Journalist and broadcaster/commentator for TNT Sports. Founder and president of Versus
Filippo Maria Ricci Spain correspondent of Gazzetta dello Sport
Roberto Rivera Sports commentator and producer with his own company, Gol Dreams Films. Also presenter of a show on WAO (radio) and Gol Magazine (TV) in Panama
Tom Robinson Senior content producer at Hudl and South American football writer, podcaster and scout
José Armando Rodríguez Editor-in-chief, Deporte Total USA
Fabrizio Romano Transfer expert
Juan Pablo Romero Sports journalist at El País in Uruguay
Barney Ronay Chief sports writer, the Guardian
Emanuel Rosu Editor-in-chief at lagazzetta.ro
Stephan Roth Reporter at Swiss daily Blick
Guillermo Rubio “Gumi” Freelance sports journalist working for, among others, Fox Sports Argentina and Onda Cero in Spain
Jeff Rueter US soccer journalist
Max Rushden Guardian Football Weekly host
Graham Ruthven Football journalist based in Scotland
Mina Rzouki Writer, presenter and football pundit contributing to BBC 5 Live, BBC Sportsworld, Sky Sports, CNN, ESPN and TRT World

Marwan Saeed Egyptian football expert
Emre Sarigul Editor and founder of turkish-football.com
Andy Scott Global football coordinator for AFP news agency
Josué Seixas Brazilian football journalist who contributes to the Guardian, Daily Mail and Folha de S.Paulo
Metodi Shumanov Bulgarian football writer
Vidir Sigurdsson Sports editor of Morgunbladid and mbl.is and author of the Icelandic Football Yearbook
Nacho Silván Co-founder of Imagosport and professional football analyst
Matt Spiro French football writer/broadcaster
Manos Staramopoulos Chief editor of Discoveryfootball.com, Demokratia and Foxssportstories and contributor to SportPress24.com and Overfm 104.9
Mojmir Stasko Football writer for Dennik Sport in Slovakia
Jacob Steinberg Football writer, the Guardian
Nikos Stratis Sports writer and international football analyst for ART TV and Kingsport.gr
Aet Süvari Estonian football reporter
Agris Suveizda Reporter for Sportacentrs.com in Latvia
Jonathan Tannenwald Football journalist at Philadelphia Inquirer
Paolo Tomaselli Football reporter for Corriere Della Sera since 2002, based in Milan and following the Champions League as well as the national team and Inter
Mihovil Topic Chief football writer at Telesport in Croatia and co-founder of Tribina.hr
Nuno Travassos Deputy editor in chief at A Bola
Dawit Tsehaye Editor at Soccer Ethiopia and a pundit on local radio
Darren Tulett Presenter at beIN Sports in France
Will Unwin Football writer, the Guardian
Felipe Valderrama Writer, content creator, researcher and football historian
Petter Veland Norwegian TV commentator and La Liga expert for Viasat
Manuel Veth North America area manager at Transfermarkt and founder of the Gegenpressing podcast and newsletter
Raúl Vilchis Mexican sports journalist based in New York
Paulo Vinicius Coelho Football writer and Fox commentator in Brazil
Ari Virtanen Sports journalist at Helsingin Sanomat in Finland
Bart Vlietstra Dutch football journalist working for de Volkskrant
Lukas Vrablik Central European football expert and lawyer
Alejandro Wall Argentinian football writer working for Tiempo Argentino, Radio Con Vos and Fox Sports
Ola Wenström Freelance football journalist and producer
Dan Wighton Covers Bundesliga and other German sports for AFP
Greg Wilcox Freelance sports journalist and football writer
Tomasz Wlodarczyk Football Journalist, Meczyki.pl
Julien Wolff Football reporter covering Bayern Munich for Welt and Welt am Sonntag
Carl Worswick Football writer based in Colombia
Michael Yokhin European football writer
Bi Yuan Chinese journalist, football writer and consultant
Victor Zaferson Mendoza football scout and analyst based in Peru
Miran Zore Chief editor of Nogomania in Slovenia

How the voting works

The No 1 choice of each judge was awarded 40 points, No 2 given 39pts, down to 1pt for their No 40 choice. All the votes were added together to give a raw score. To minimise the influence of outliers in the list, the highest score awarded to a player was then deducted to give a final score.

If players are level on points in the scoring, the number of individual votes cast is used as a tie-breaker. If they are still level the decider will be the highest individual vote. The voting breakdown will be published when the full list has been revealed.

Voting disclosure

We are very grateful to our judges for taking part, and none have been paid for participating in this project.

To allow our judges the freedom to express their opinions without fear or favour, individual voting records will be anonymised in the full breakdown of scores.

Voters are identified only by their category and a number chosen at random. The judges’ numbers bear no relation to the alphabetical list of judges’ names presented above.