Liverpool ace and former Chelsea star among the top 10 inspirational captains at the 2014 World Cup

7. Lionel Messi

Messi became the captain of his country in August 2011 and his performances for Argentina have been excellent since then.

In 2012 it became, by far, his most prolific year in the blue and white stripes as he netted 12 times in nine games.

He does his talking with his feet and is not necessarily a skipper that will inspire when he is under-performing.

However, he is so good that he does not need to be vocal to get his team-mates motivated on the pitch.