Rankings
100 Greatest Footballers of All Time
Our definitive ranking of football's 100 greatest ever players.
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| # | Athlete | Sport | Why They Rank Here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pelé Brazilian · b.1940 |
Football | Three-time World Cup winner widely considered the greatest footballer of all tim… |
| 2 | Diego Maradona Argentine · b.1960 |
Football | Argentina's World Cup winner whose 1986 tournament performance and Napoli years … |
| 3 | Lionel Messi Argentine · b.1987 |
Football | Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion, widely regarded as on… |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo Portuguese · b.1985 |
Football | Five-time Ballon d'Or winner and all-time leading scorer in the Champions League… |
| 5 | Zinedine Zidane French · b.1972 |
Football | France's 1998 World Cup-winning captain whose technical mastery and composure ma… |
| 6 | Ronaldo Nazário Brazilian · b.1976 |
Football | The Phenomenon — two-time World Cup winner whose combination of pace and techniq… |
| 7 | David Beckham English · b.1975 |
Football | England captain and Premier League icon whose set-piece delivery was unmatched, … |
| 8 | Thierry Henry French · b.1977 |
Football | Arsenal's all-time top scorer and a key member of the legendary Invincibles, com… |
| 9 | Alan Shearer English · b.1970 |
Football | Premier League all-time top scorer with 260 goals, a Newcastle United icon and E… |
| 10 | Steven Gerrard English · b.1980 |
Football | Liverpool's greatest modern captain, whose drive, passing range and goals define… |
| 11 | Frank Lampard English · b.1978 |
Football | Chelsea's all-time leading scorer from midfield, three-time Premier League champ… |
| 12 | Paul Scholes English · b.1974 |
Football | Manchester United midfielder regarded by Xavi and Zidane as one of the finest pa… |
| 13 | Ryan Giggs Welsh · b.1973 |
Football | The most decorated player in English football history with 13 Premier League tit… |
| 14 | Eric Cantona French · b.1966 |
Football | The charismatic French king of Manchester United who transformed the club at the… |
| 15 | Didier Drogba Ivorian · b.1978 |
Football | Chelsea's greatest striker and Ivory Coast legend, scorer of two Champions Leagu… |
| 16 | John Terry English · b.1980 |
Football | Chelsea captain and one of the Premier League's most commanding centre-backs acr… |
| 17 | Rio Ferdinand English · b.1978 |
Football | Manchester United's commanding centre-back who formed one of England's finest ev… |
| 18 | Nemanja Vidić Serbian · b.1981 |
Football | Manchester United's ferocious Serbian centre-back, voted Premier League Player o… |
| 19 | Roy Keane Irish · b.1971 |
Football | Manchester United's ferocious captain who drove the club's 1990s dominance throu… |
| 20 | Dennis Bergkamp Dutch · b.1969 |
Football | Arsenal's non-flying Dutchman whose first touch, vision and technique placed him… |
| 21 | Patrick Vieira French · b.1976 |
Football | Arsenal's dominant French captain who embodied the Invincibles midfield with a c… |
| 22 | Robert Pirès French · b.1973 |
Football | Arsenal's elegant French winger, voted FWA Footballer of the Year in 2002 and a … |
| 23 | Wayne Rooney English · b.1985 |
Football | Manchester United's all-time leading scorer and England's record goalscorer, a p… |
| 24 | Michael Owen English · b.1979 |
Football | Golden Boot winner at the 1998 World Cup aged 18, Ballon d'Or winner in 2001 and… |
| 25 | Robbie Fowler English · b.1975 |
Football | Liverpool's beloved "God" — one of the most clinical natural finishers English f… |
| 26 | Fernando Torres Spanish · b.1984 |
Football | Liverpool's devastating striker at his peak and Spain's World Cup and Euro-winni… |
| 27 | Luis Suárez Uruguayan · b.1987 |
Football | One of the Premier League's most prolific scorers, La Liga title winner and Urug… |
| 28 | Sergio Agüero Argentine · b.1988 |
Football | Manchester City's all-time top scorer and scorer of the most dramatic goal in Pr… |
| 29 | Mohamed Salah Egyptian · b.1992 |
Football | Liverpool's record-breaking Egyptian King, three-time Premier League Golden Boot… |
| 30 | Kevin De Bruyne Belgian · b.1991 |
Football | Manchester City's creative heartbeat, twice named Premier League Player of the S… |
| 31 | Sadio Mané Senegalese · b.1992 |
Football | Liverpool forward who lit up the Premier League and won the Champions League, le… |
| 32 | Virgil van Dijk Dutch · b.1991 |
Football | Liverpool's transformative Dutch centre-back who finished runner-up for the Ball… |
| 33 | Vincent Kompany Belgian · b.1986 |
Football | Manchester City's beloved captain who led them to their first Premier League tit… |
| 34 | Raheem Sterling English · b.1994 |
Football | One of England's most effective attackers of the modern era, Premier League cham… |
| 35 | Eden Hazard Belgian · b.1991 |
Football | Chelsea's most gifted player of the modern era and Belgium's greatest footballer… |
| 36 | Xavi Hernández Spanish · b.1980 |
Football | The heartbeat of Spanish football's golden generation — World Cup and two-time E… |
| 37 | Andrés Iniesta Spanish · b.1984 |
Football | The scorer of the 2010 World Cup winning goal and Barcelona's most celebrated pl… |
| 38 | Sergio Busquets Spanish · b.1988 |
Football | The most underrated great of the golden generation — the defensive midfielder wh… |
| 39 | Carles Puyol Spanish · b.1978 |
Football | Barcelona's lion-hearted captain who led the club to its greatest era with physi… |
| 40 | Gerard Piqué Spanish · b.1987 |
Football | Spain's World Cup winner and Barcelona defender who combined defensive excellenc… |
| 41 | Raúl González Spanish · b.1977 |
Football | Real Madrid's all-time leading scorer before Ronaldo and the most important Span… |
| 42 | Roberto Carlos Brazilian · b.1973 |
Football | Real Madrid's attacking Brazilian left-back whose thunderous free-kicks and over… |
| 43 | Cafu Brazilian · b.1970 |
Football | Brazil's record-capped player and two-time World Cup winner — the most accomplis… |
| 44 | Ronaldinho Brazilian · b.1980 |
Football | Barcelona's Brazilian magician who won the Ballon d'Or in 2004 and 2005 with a s… |
| 45 | David Villa Spanish · b.1981 |
Football | Spain's all-time top scorer, World Cup winner and the finest Spanish striker of … |
| 46 | Fernando Torres Spanish · b.1984 |
Football | El Niño — Liverpool's electric striker at peak, Spain's World Cup hero, and Atle… |
| 47 | Luis Suárez Uruguayan · b.1987 |
Football | One of the most clinical strikers in football history — Liverpool hero, Barcelon… |
| 48 | Paolo Maldini Italian · b.1968 |
Football | AC Milan's greatest ever player and arguably the finest defender in football his… |
| 49 | Franco Baresi Italian · b.1960 |
Football | AC Milan's imperious sweeper and Italy captain — arguably the greatest defensive… |
| 50 | Andrea Pirlo Italian · b.1979 |
Football | Football's most elegant deep-lying playmaker — Italy's World Cup winner whose pr… |