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Christian Pulisic Snubbed From Distinguished Soccer List
Despite putting together a career-best year, U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic was excluded from The Guardian’s Top 100 male soccer players of 2025.
The list, led by Ousmane Dembélé and Lamine Yamal, recognizes the biggest stars in the sport as a way to look back on the year. Many of the faces of Europe’s top five leagues, including Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah, received a place in the top 100, but not Pulisic.
The 27-year-old did not make the cut despite his sensational 2025. Pulisic kicked off the year by leading AC Milan to Italian Super Cup glory, their first since 2016; he scored in the semifinals and final to lift his team to their only piece of silverware last season.
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The American continued his goalscoring for the Rossoneri across all competitions, finding the back of the net 18 times ahead of the upcoming holiday period. When adding in his seven assists, Pulisic currently has 25 goal contributions to his name in 2025, earning himself transfer interest from the Premier League.
The tally is more than his teammate Rafael Leão managed, and the Portugal international made The Guardian’s list. Antoine Griezmann also appears despite his less-than impressive output for Atlético Madrid in 2025.
Pulisic Eyeing Strong End to 2025
Much of Pulisic’s 2025–26 season has been marred by injury, yet the USMNT captain still sits second in the Serie A Golden Boot race with seven goals. Inter striker Lautaro Martínez leads the charge with eight.
Pulisic has one more game to get the edge over his biggest opponent before the calendar flips to 2026. Milan host a struggling Hellas Verona side on Dec. 28, the perfect opportunity for the winger to both get on the scoresheet and get his team back to winning ways.
The Rossoneri have just one win in their last four matches across all competitions. Milan crashed out of the Coppa Italia in the round of 16 at the hands of Lazio and then fell to Napoli in the Italian Super Cup semifinals.
Plus, Massimiliano Allegri’s men only managed a 2–2 draw with Sassuolo in their last Serie A match, gifting Inter the chance to grab top spot. Pulisic was held quiet in all three of the disappointing results, putting the pressure on the American to swiftly bounce back and close out the year on a high.
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Amanda Langell is a Sports Illustrated FC freelance writer and editor. Born and raised in New York City, her first loves were the Yankees, the Rangers and Broadway before Real Madrid took over her life. Had it not been for her brother’s obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo, she would have never lived through so many magical Champions League nights 3,600 miles away from the Bernabéu. When she’s not consumed by Spanish and European soccer, she’s traveling, reading or losing her voice at a concert.