Top 100 Greatest Football Players

Lionel Messi

Argentine forward. 8× Ballon d'Or, 2022 World Cup winner, all-time top scorer for Barcelona and Argentina. The most decorated player in the game's history.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Portuguese forward. 5× Ballon d'Or, Euro 2016 winner, all-time top scorer in men's international football. Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al-Nassr.

Pelé

Brazilian forward. 3× World Cup winner (1958, 1962, 1970). FIFA's joint Player of the Century. ~1,283 career goals depending on the count.

Diego Maradona

Argentine attacking midfielder. 1986 World Cup winner — the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century in one match. FIFA's joint Player of the Century.

Johan Cruyff

Dutch attacking midfielder. 3× Ballon d'Or, architect of Total Football. The Cruyff turn. Barcelona's philosophical founder.

Zinedine Zidane

French attacking midfielder. 1998 World Cup winner. Euro 2000. Ballon d'Or 1998. Famous header in 2006 final, infamous headbutt that capped the same match.

Franz Beckenbauer

German libero. 1974 World Cup winner. Captain who reinvented the sweeper position. Won the World Cup as captain and as manager.

Alfredo Di Stéfano

Argentine-Spanish forward. Real Madrid 1953-64. Scored in 5 consecutive European Cup finals. Played for three national teams (never at a World Cup).

Ferenc Puskás

Hungarian forward. Magical Magyars captain. 84 goals in 85 internationals. Real Madrid's other 1950s superstar. FIFA award for best goal of the year named after him.

Michel Platini

French attacking midfielder. 3× consecutive Ballon d'Or (1983-85). Captain of the 1984 Euro-winning France. UEFA president 2007-15.

Ronaldo (Nazário)

Brazilian forward. 2× World Cup winner (1994, 2002). 3× FIFA World Player. The original Brazilian Ronaldo, redefined the No. 9.

Ronaldinho

Brazilian attacking midfielder. 2× FIFA World Player. Ballon d'Or 2005. Barcelona's joy-bringer in the pre-Messi era.

Garrincha

Brazilian winger. 2× World Cup winner (1958, 1962). The Little Bird whose deformed legs created his dribble.

Lev Yashin

Soviet goalkeeper. Only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or (1963). The Black Spider.

Bobby Charlton

English midfielder. 1966 World Cup winner. Munich-air-disaster survivor. Ballon d'Or 1966. Manchester United legend.

George Best

Northern Irish winger. Ballon d'Or 1968. Manchester United. The most naturally talented British footballer ever, by consensus.

Stanley Matthews

English winger. The first Ballon d'Or winner (1956). Played until age 50. Knighted while still active.

Eusébio

Portuguese forward. Ballon d'Or 1965. 9 goals at the 1966 World Cup. Benfica's all-time talisman.

Andrés Iniesta

Spanish midfielder. 2010 World Cup winning goal scorer. 2× Euro winner. Barcelona's tiki-taka architect with Xavi.

Xavi Hernández

Spanish midfielder. 2010 World Cup winner, 2× Euro winner. The metronome of Pep's Barça. ~6,000+ assists across all comps.

Iker Casillas

Spanish goalkeeper. 2010 World Cup-winning captain, 2× Euro. Real Madrid's all-time appearances leader.

Sergio Ramos

Spanish centre-back. 2010 World Cup winner, 2× Euro. 21 international goals as a defender. Real Madrid's modern captain.

Paolo Maldini

Italian left-back/centre-back. 25 years at AC Milan, 5× European Cup. The defender's defender.

Franco Baresi

Italian sweeper. AC Milan one-club legend. Captain of the famous 1989-90 Milan side.

Roberto Baggio

Italian attacking midfielder. Ballon d'Or 1993. Famously missed the 1994 World Cup-final penalty. The Divine Ponytail.

Marco van Basten

Dutch forward. 3× Ballon d'Or. Euro 88 winner. The volley vs USSR in the final. Career ended at 28 by ankle injury.

Ruud Gullit

Dutch attacking midfielder. Ballon d'Or 1987. Euro 88 winner. Sambodrome dreadlocks. Multi-position dominance.

Frank Rijkaard

Dutch midfielder/defender. Euro 88 winner. Milan's defensive midfield orchestrator. Later coached Barça's tiki-taka start.

Gerd Müller

German striker. Bayern Munich's all-time top scorer. 1974 World Cup-winning goal. Scored 365 in 427 Bundesliga matches.

Lothar Matthäus

German midfielder. 1990 World Cup-winning captain. Ballon d'Or 1990. 150 caps for Germany.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

German forward. 2× Ballon d'Or (1980, 1981). Bayern legend, twice runner-up at the World Cup.

Oliver Kahn

German goalkeeper. 2002 World Cup Golden Ball (still the only goalkeeper). The Titan of Bayern's 2001 Champions League win.

Manuel Neuer

German goalkeeper. 2014 World Cup winner. Redefined the sweeper-keeper.

Toni Kroos

German midfielder. 2014 World Cup winner. 6× Champions League winner with Real Madrid. The metronome.

Philipp Lahm

German full-back/midfielder. 2014 World Cup-winning captain. The most intelligent right-back of his era.

Bastian Schweinsteiger

German midfielder. 2014 World Cup winner. Bayern Munich one-club soul through the noughties.

Thierry Henry

French forward. 1998 World Cup winner. Arsenal's all-time top scorer. Walked the ball into the net like nobody else.

Patrick Vieira

French midfielder. 1998 World Cup winner. Arsenal's Invincibles captain. The complete midfielder.

Didier Deschamps

French midfielder. 1998 World Cup winning captain, 2018 winning manager. Marseille's 1993 European Cup captain.

Lilian Thuram

French centre-back. 1998 World Cup winner. France's most-capped player. 142 internationals.

Kylian Mbappé

French forward. 2018 World Cup winner at 19. 2022 World Cup final hat-trick. Top scorer at the 2022 tournament.

Antoine Griezmann

French forward. 2018 World Cup winner. 2022 World Cup tournament heart. Atlético, Barcelona, Atlético.

N'Golo Kanté

French defensive midfielder. 2018 World Cup winner. The midfield's running brain.

Erling Haaland

Norwegian striker. Bundesliga, then Premier-League record-breaking. The 21st-century box-finisher archetype.

Robert Lewandowski

Polish striker. Bayern's record-breaking scorer through the late 2010s. Five goals in nine minutes vs Wolfsburg.

Mohamed Salah

Egyptian forward. Liverpool's Champions League 2019 + Premier League 2020. The most marketed African footballer.

Virgil van Dijk

Dutch centre-back. Ballon d'Or runner-up 2019. Liverpool's defensive reset.

Sadio Mané

Senegalese forward. Liverpool's other half of the front three. 2022 AFCON winner.

Steven Gerrard

English midfielder. Liverpool's all-action captain. 2005 Istanbul comeback architect.

Frank Lampard

English midfielder. Chelsea's all-time top scorer (211 goals from midfield).

Wayne Rooney

English forward. Manchester United's all-time top scorer. England's all-time top scorer until Kane passed him.

David Beckham

English midfielder. Manchester United treble + Champions League. Tabloid-era global brand.

Paul Scholes

English midfielder. Manchester United one-club player. Zidane's choice as best of his generation.

Roy Keane

Irish midfielder. Manchester United's relentless captain. The fiery box-to-box engine.

Eric Cantona

French forward. Manchester United's totem. The seagulls quote. The kung-fu kick. Iconic No. 7.

Ryan Giggs

Welsh winger. Manchester United one-club. 13 Premier League titles. Scored in every PL season from 1992 to 2014.

Andriy Shevchenko

Ukrainian forward. Ballon d'Or 2004. AC Milan's all-time fourth top scorer.

Pavel Nedvěd

Czech midfielder. Ballon d'Or 2003. Juventus + Lazio.

Luís Figo

Portuguese winger. Ballon d'Or 2000. The Galáctico Barça → Madrid transfer.

Rui Costa

Portuguese attacking midfielder. Italian 1990s legend at Fiorentina and Milan.

Cristiano Ronaldo Sr. (Bauer)

(See #2 — listed once. This entry intentionally not duplicated; see Ronaldo Nazário #11 for the other Ronaldo.)

Andrea Pirlo

Italian deep-lying playmaker. 2006 World Cup winner. The vision-and-touch metronome.

Gianluigi Buffon

Italian goalkeeper. 2006 World Cup winner. Most-capped European international.

Fabio Cannavaro

Italian centre-back. 2006 World Cup winning captain. Ballon d'Or 2006 — last defender to win it.

Alessandro Del Piero

Italian forward. 2006 World Cup winner. Juventus one-club legend. 705 appearances.

Francesco Totti

Italian attacking midfielder/forward. Roma one-club legend across 25 years. 2006 World Cup winner.

Filippo Inzaghi

Italian striker. 2006 World Cup winner. The poacher's poacher. Sir Alex's offside-line favourite.

Romário

Brazilian forward. 1994 World Cup winning Golden Ball. 1,000+ career goals by his own count.

Rivaldo

Brazilian forward. Ballon d'Or 1999. 2002 World Cup winner.

Kaká

Brazilian attacking midfielder. Ballon d'Or 2007. 2002 World Cup winner. AC Milan's flag-bearer.

Roberto Carlos

Brazilian left-back. The free-kick that bent twice. Real Madrid 11 years.

Cafu

Brazilian right-back. 2× World Cup winner. Brazil's most-capped player (142).

Neymar

Brazilian forward. Olympic gold (2016). Most expensive transfer in history (€222M to PSG).

Vinicius Júnior

Brazilian forward. Real Madrid's modern attacking heart. 2022/23 Champions League final scorer.

Sócrates

Brazilian midfielder. Doctor + revolutionary captain of the dazzling 1982 World Cup side. Corinthians Democracy founder.

Zico

Brazilian attacking midfielder. The mid-80s 'White Pelé'. Flamengo legend.

Carlos Alberto

Brazilian right-back. Captain of the 1970 Brazil side. Scored the team's fourth in the final — football's greatest team goal.

Rivellino

Brazilian attacking midfielder. 1970 World Cup winner. The Brazilian moustache.

Tostão

Brazilian forward. 1970 World Cup winner alongside Pelé. Eye-injury near-miss ended his peak short.

Mario Kempes

Argentine forward. 1978 World Cup winning Golden Ball.

Daniel Passarella

Argentine centre-back. 1978 World Cup winning captain.

Gabriel Batistuta

Argentine striker. Fiorentina and Roma legend; 56 goals for Argentina.

Sergio Agüero

Argentine forward. Manchester City's all-time top scorer. The 93:20 title-winning goal vs QPR.

Juan Román Riquelme

Argentine playmaker. Boca and Villarreal's poetic enganche.

Hristo Stoichkov

Bulgarian forward. Ballon d'Or 1994. Barcelona's dream team. 1994 World Cup Golden Boot.

George Weah

Liberian forward. Ballon d'Or 1995 — first non-European winner. President of Liberia 2018-23.

Samuel Eto'o

Cameroonian forward. 4× African Footballer of the Year. Barcelona, Inter, Chelsea. 18-goal 2008-09 Champions League winner.

Didier Drogba

Ivorian forward. Chelsea's 2012 Champions League winning header + penalty. Civil-war-ending speech in Côte d'Ivoire.

Yaya Touré

Ivorian midfielder. Manchester City's box-to-box engine. 2× African Footballer of the Year.

Riyad Mahrez

Algerian winger. PFA Player of the Year 2016 with Leicester's title-winning side.

Hakim Ziyech

Moroccan attacking midfielder. Ajax + Chelsea. 2022 World Cup semi-finalist with Morocco.

Achraf Hakimi

Moroccan right-back. PSG and Morocco's 2022 World Cup semi-final captain-figure.

Son Heung-min

South Korean forward. Tottenham + 2018 World Cup. The Premier League's first Asian Golden Boot winner.

Hidetoshi Nakata

Japanese midfielder. Roma's 2001 Scudetto. The Asian pioneer in Italian football.

Park Ji-sung

South Korean midfielder. Manchester United 2005-12. 4 Premier League titles.

Hong Myung-bo

South Korean defender. 2002 World Cup semi-final captain. Bronze Ball at the tournament.

Mia Hamm

American forward. 2× FIFA World Player of the Year. 158 international goals (women's record until 2013).

Marta

Brazilian forward. 6× FIFA World Player of the Year. The women's-game GOAT debate's central name.

Megan Rapinoe

American forward. 2× World Cup winner. 2019 Golden Boot + Ballon d'Or Féminin.

Alexia Putellas

Spanish midfielder. 2× consecutive Ballon d'Or Féminin (2021, 2022). Barcelona Femení's heart.