The 125 Greatest Soccer Players of All-Time

Methodology. (Last update: 8/12/2024)

RankPlayerPositionYearsCountry
1Lionel MessiF2003-activeArgentina
2Cristiano RonaldoF2002-activePortugal
3PeléF1956-1977Brazil
4Robert LewandowskiF2005-activePoland
5Gerd MüllerF1963-1981Germany
6Diego MaradonaF1976-1997Argentina
7Zinedine ZidaneM1989-2006France
8Andrés IniestaM2000-activeSpain
9Johan CruyffM1964-1984Netherlands
10Kylian MbappéF2015-activeFrance
11Paolo MaldiniD1984-2009Italy
12Luka ModrićM2003-activeCroatia
13Franz BeckenbauerD1964-1983Germany
14RonaldoF1993-2011Brazil
15Manuel NeuerG2004-activeGermany
16XaviM1997-2019Spain
17Luis SuárezF2005-activeUruguay
18Karim BenzemaF2004-activeFrance
19Michel PlatiniM1972-1987France
20Marco van BastenF1981-1995Netherlands
21Sergio RamosD2003-2024Spain
22Gianluigi BuffonG1995-2023Italy
23Alfredo Di StéfanoF1945-1966Argentina
24Ferenc PuskásF1943-1966Hungary
25Harry KaneF2009-activeEngland
26Thierry HenryF1994-2012France
27Bobby CharltonM1956-1980England
28EusébioF1957-1960Portugal
29Lothar MatthäusM1978-2000Germany
30RonaldinhoM1998-2015Brazil
31Iker CasillasG1998-2018Spain
32Zlatan IbrahimovićF1999-2023Sweden
33Karl-Heinz RummeniggeF1974-1989Germany
34Toni KroosM2007-2024Germany
35Roberto CarlosD1991-2016Brazil
36Mohamed SalahF2010-activeEgypt
37Kevin DeBruyneM2008-activeBelgium
38GarrinchaM1951-1972Brazil
39NeymarF2009-activeBrazil
40Roberto BaggioF/M1982-2004Italy
41RomárioF1985-2007Brazil
42Franco BaresiD1977-1987Italy
43Francesco TottiF1993-2017Italy
44RaúlF1994-2015Spain
45Philipp LahmD2001-2017Germany
46Dani AlvesD2001-2023Brazil
47Carles PuyolD1996-2014Spain
48Luís FigoF/M1989-2009Portugal
49Lev YashinG1950-1970Soviet Union
50RivaldoM1990-2015Brazil
51Thomas MüllerF2007-activeGermany
52Ruud GullitF/M/D1979-1998Netherlands
53Paolo RossiF1973-1987Italy
54Mario KempesF1970-1996Argentina
55Giuseppe MeazzaF1927-1947Italy
56MarceloD2005-activeBrazil
57Hugo SánchezF1976-1997Mexico
58Alan ShearerF1988-2006England
59Andriy SchevchenkoF1993-2012Ukraine
60KakáM2000-2017Brazil
61Andrea PirloM1995-2017Italy
62Bobby MooreD1958-1977England
63Erling HaalandF2015-activeNorway
64Steven GerrardM1998-2016England
65Franck RibéryM2000-2022France
66Ángel Di MaríaM2005-activeArgentina
67Virgil van DijkD2011-activeNetherlands
68Alessandro NestaD1993-2013Italy
69Lilian ThuramD1991-2008France
70Ruud van NistelrooyF2000-2012Netherlands
71CafuD1989-2008Brazil
72José Manuel MorenoF1935-1961Argentina
73Edinson CavaniF2006-2024Uruguay
74Sergio AgüeroF2006-2022Argentina
75Samuel Eto’oF1998-2018Cameroon
76Gonzalo HiguaínF2006-2022Argentina
77Alessandro Del PieroF1993-2014Italy
78Gerard PiquéD2002-2019Spain
79George BestM1963-1984N. Ireland
80Miroslav KloseF1999-2016Germany
81Pavel NedvědM1990-2009Czech Republic
82Daniel PassarellaD1971-1989Argentina
83Antoine GriezmannM/F2009-activeFrance
84Gareth BaleF2005-activeWales
85Wayne RooneyF2002-2021England
86ImmobileF2008-activeItaly
87Peter SchmeichelG1981-2003Denmark
88Petr ČechG1999-2019Czech Republic
89Marcel DesaillyD1986-2006France
90ZicoM1971-1994Brazil
91Oliver KahnG1987-2008Germany
92Paul BreitnerM/D1970-1983Germany
93Oleg BlokhinF1969-1990Ukraine
94Gordon BanksG1958-1977England
95Kevin KeeganF1968-1985England
96Fabio CannavaroD1991-2011Italy
97Jean-Pierre PapinF1981-2004France
98Raymond KopaF1949-1967France
99George WeahF1984-2003Liberia
100Giacinto FachettiD1960-1978Italy
101John TerryD1998-2018England
102Thiago SilvaD2002-activeBrazil
103Didier DrogbaF1998-2018Ivory Coast
104Jimmy GreavesF1957-1980England
105David VillaF2001-2019Spain
106Gary LinekerF1978-1994England
107Frank LampardM1995-2016England
108David BeckhamF1994-2013England
109Sergio BusquetsD2007-activeSpain
110Filippo InzaghiF1995-2012Italy
111Gianni RiveraM1959-1979Italy
112Robin van PersieF2001-2019Netherlands
113Antonio Di NataleF2001-2016Italy
114Dennis BergkampF1986-2006Netherlands
115Gigi RivaF1962-1976Italy
116Nemanja VidićD2000-2016Serbia
117Hristo StoichkovF1981-2003Bulgaria
118Carlos AlbertoD1963-1982Brazil
119Frank RijkaardM1980-1995Netherlands
120Giorgio ChielliniD2002-2023Italy
121Rob RensenbrinkF1965-1982Netherlands
122QuiniF1967-1987Spain
123RivellinoM1965-1981Brazil
124Luis SuárezM1953-1973Spain
125Michael OwenF1996-2013England

* In 2004, Pele–in conjunction with FIFA–released a list of the greatest footballers of all-time. Pele was tasked by FIFA to produce a list of 100 players, but found it too difficult to narrow the list to 100. He landed on 125. This is the only list on the site that has a top-125 as a nod to Pele.

Leave a Reply

Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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