The 100 Greatest Golfers of All-Time

Every ranking update ever (Last golf update: 1/2/26 Next golf update: January ’26)

The making of the list.

The Rules

If you disagree with the placement of an athlete whose prime occurred before 1975, please read The ChatGPT Cautionary Tale before commenting.

Historically undervalued: 🔵

RankPlayerYearsCountry
1Tiger WoodsWhy?1999-activeUSA
2Jack Nicklaus1957-2005USA
3Phil Mickelson🔵Why?1990-activeUSA
4Ben Hogan1934-1967USA
5Sam Snead1937-1983USA
6Arnold Palmer1952-2004USA
7Tom Watson1970-2016USA
8Gary Player1956-2009S. Africa
9Rory McIIroy2007-activeN. Ireland
10Bobby Jones1916-1948USA
11Scottie Scheffler2016-activeUSA
12Ernie Els🔵1989-activeS. Africa
13Nick Faldo1976-2015England
14Seve Ballesteros1975-2007Spain
15Lee Trevino1966-2000USA
16Greg Norman🔵1977-2009Australia
17Brooks Koepka2012-activeUSA
18Walter Hagen1913-1942USA
19Gene Sarazen1920-1976USA
20Byron Nelson1934-1966USA
21Vijay Singh1989-activeFiji
22Nick Price1975-2006Zimbabwe
23Dustin Johnson2008-activeUSA
24Bernhard Langer1976-2023Germany
25Billy Casper1956-2005USA
26Raymond Floyd1963-2009USA
27Jordan Spieth2012-activeUSA
28Ben Crenshaw1970-2015USA
29Hale Irwin1966-2004USA
30Payne Stewart1981-1999USA
31Xander Schauffele2017-activeUSA
32Pádraig Harrington1996-activeIreland
33Jon Rahm2016-activeSpain
34Justin Thomas2014-activeUSA
35Sergio Garcia1996-activeSpain
36Justin Rose1998-acitveEngland
37Jason Day2010-activeAustralia
38Adam Scott2000-activeAustralia
39Julius Boros1950-1980USA
40Harry Vardon1893-1929Jersey
41John Henry Taylor1893-1929England
42James Braid1894-1938Scotland
43José María Olazábal1984-2018Spain
44Johnny Miller1966-1994USA
45Larry Nelson1976-2011USA
46Davis Love III1986-2020USA
47Fred Couples1979-2024USA
48Jim Furyk🔵1994-2022USA
49Cary Middlecoff1946-1971USA
50Lanny Wadkins1970-2001USA
51Tom Kite1970-2004USA
52Tom Weiskopf1965-2004USA
53Reteif Goosen1999-2012S. Africa
54Louis Oosthuizen🔵2004-activeS. Africa
55Henrik Stenson2001-activeSweden
56Lee Westwood🔵1995-2022England
57Martin Kaymer2008-activeGermany
58David Duval1990-2022USA
59Steve Elkington🔵1988-2011Australia
60Justin Leonard1993-2024USA
61Hubert Green1969-1996USA
62Curtis Strange1975-2002USA
63Mark O’Meara1980-2018USA
64Bryson DeChambeau2015-activeUSA
65Ian Woosnam1982-2021Wales
66Fuzzy Zoeller1976-2009USA
67Tom Lehman1986-2019USA
68Collin Morikawa2019-activeUSA
69Bubba Watson2004-activeUSA
70Zach Johnson2004-activeUSA
71Angel Cabrera1997-2019Argentina
72Sandy Lyle1974-2013Scotland
73Lee Janzen1985-2015USA
74David Graham1970-1995Australia
75Jerry Pate1975-2011USA
76Dave Stockton1968-1997USA
77Paul Azinger1983-2009USA
78Hal Sutton1980-2005USA
79Tommy Fleetwood2014-activeEngland
80Leo Diegel1920-1939USA
81Jimmy Demaret1935-1967USA
82Denny Shute1926-1972USA
83Tony Jacklin1963-2007England
84Colin Montgomerie🔵1990-2016Scotland
85Luke Donald1999-2024England
86Craig Wood1925-1964USA
87Ralph Guldahl1930-1973USA
88Ian Poulter2000-2022England
89Rickie Fowler2008-activeUSA
90Hideki Matsuyama2011-activeJapan
91Matt Kuchar1998-activeUSA
92Corey Pavin1981-2010USA
93Darren Clarke1991-activeN. Ireland
94Stewart Cink1996-activeUSA
95Peter Thomson1951-1984Australia
96Steve Stricker🔵1993-2021USA
97Craig Stadler1974-2014USA
98Andy North1974-1995USA
99John Daly1986-2024USA
100David Toms1996-2019USA

The rest of the best golfers of all time.

The 100 Greatest Mixed Martial Artists (MMA) of All-Time

Every ranking update ever (Last MMA update: 1/1/26)

The making of the list.

The Rules

If you disagree with the placement of an athlete whose prime occurred before 1975, please read The ChatGPT Cautionary Tale before commenting.

RankFighterYears
1Jon JonesWhy?2008-active
2Islam Makhachev2010-active
3Anderson Silva1997-2020
4Alexander Volkanovski2012-active
5George St-Pierre2002-2017
6Khabib Nurmagomedov2008-2020
7Ilia Topuria2015-active
8Khamzat Chimaev2018-active
9Merab Dvalishvili2013-active
10Daniel Cormier2009-2020
11Stipe Miocic2010-2024
12Alex Pereira2015-active
13Israel Adesanya2009-active
14Fedor Emelianenko2000-active
15Francis Ngannou2013-active
16Dricus Du Plessis2013-active
17Kamaru Usman2012-active
18Max Holloway2010-active
19Dominick Cruz2003-active
20Magomed Ankalaev2014-active
21Lyoto Machida2003-active
22Dan Henderson1997-2016
23Shogun Rua2002-active
24Demetrious JohnsonWhy?2007-active
25Leon Edwards2011-active
26Henry Cejudo2013-active
27Fabricio Werdum2002-active
28Rampage Jackson1999-active
29Alexandre Pantoja2007-active
30Chuck Liddell1998-2010
31Randy Couture1997-2011
32Matt Hughes1998-2013
33Alistair Overeem1999-active
34Charles Oliveira2008-active
35Dustin Poirier2009-active
36Conor McGregor2008-active
37Jose Aldo2004-active
38Frank Shamrock1994-2010
39Royce Gracie1993-2016
40Rashad Evans2003-2018
41Tito Ortiz1997-active
42Wanderlei Silva1996-2018
43Robert Whittaker2009-active
44Aljamain Sterling2010-active
45Brandon Moreno2011-active
46Cain Velasquez2006-2019
47Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira1999-2015
48Junior dos Santos2006-active
49Chris Weidman2009-active
50Petr Yan2014-active
51Ken Shamrock1993-2016
52Bas Rutten1993-2006
53Rickson Gracie1980-2000
54Anthony Johnson2006-active
55Vitor Belfort1996-active
56Jake Shields1999-active
57Forrest Griffin2001-2012
58Glover Teixeira2002-active
59Justin Gaethje2011-active
60Vadim Nemkov2013-active
61Ryan Bader2007-active
62Phil Davis2008-active
63Frankie Edgar2005-active
64Mirko Cro Cop2001-2019
65Ricardo Arona2000-2009
66Gegard Mousasi2003-active
67Antonio Rogerio Nogueira2000-2020
68Kazushi Sakuraba1996-active
69TJ Dillashaw2010-active
70Josh Barnett1997-2016
71Masakatsu Funaki1993-2012
72Cyril Gane2018-active
73Deiveson Figueiredo2012-active
74Jan Blachowicz2007-active
75Belal Muhammad2012-active
76Mark Coleman1996-2010
77Yoel Romero2009-active
78Nick Diaz2001-2015
79BJ Penn2001-2019
80Tyron Woodley2006-active
81Jiri Prochazka2012-active
82Luke Rockhold2007-active
83Jacare Souza2003-active
84Stephen Thompson2010-active
85Eddie Alvarez2003-active
86Rich Franklin1999-2015
87Rafael dos Anjos2004-active
88Arman Tsarukyan2015-active
89Sean O’Malley2013-active
90Sean Strickland2008-active
91Jack Della Maddalena2016-active
92Sean Brady2014-active
93Colby Covington2012-active
94Tony Ferguson2008-active
95Anthony Pettis2007-active
96Benson Henderson2006-active
97Robbie Lawler2001-active
98Shavkat Rakhmonov2014-active
99Tom Aspinall2014-active
100Frank Mir2001-active

The rest of the best MMA fighters of all time.

The 125 Greatest Soccer Players of All-Time

Every ranking update ever (Last soccer update: 1/1/2026 Next soccer update: January ’27)

The making of the list.

The Rules

If you disagree with the placement of an athlete whose prime occurred before 1975, please read The ChatGPT Cautionary Tale before commenting.

Historically undervalued: 🔵

RankPlayerPositionYearsCountry
1Lionel MessiWhy?F2003-activeArgentina
2Cristiano RonaldoF2002-activePortugal
3PeléF1956-1977Brazil
4Diego MaradonaM1976-1997Argentina
5Robert Lewandowski🔵Why?F2005-activePoland
6Gerd Müller🔵F1963-1981Germany
7Zinedine ZidaneM1989-2006France
8Andrés IniestaM2000-activeSpain
9Kylian MbappéF2015-activeFrance
10Johan CruyffM1964-1984Netherlands
11Paolo MaldiniD1984-2009Italy
12Luka ModrićM2003-activeCroatia
13Franz BeckenbauerD1964-1983Germany
14RonaldoF1993-2011Brazil
15Manuel Neuer🔵G2004-activeGermany
16XaviM1997-2019Spain
17Luis SuárezF2005-activeUruguay
18Karim BenzemaF2004-activeFrance
19Michel PlatiniM1972-1987France
20Marco van BastenF1981-1995Netherlands
21Harry Kane🔵F2009-activeEngland
22Sergio RamosD2003-2024Spain
23Gianluigi BuffonG1995-2023Italy
24Alfredo Di StéfanoF1945-1966Argentina
25Ferenc PuskásF1943-1966Hungary
26Thierry HenryF1994-2012France
27Bobby CharltonM1956-1980England
28Mohamed SalahF2010-activeEgypt
29EusébioF1957-1960Portugal
30Lothar MatthäusM1978-2000Germany
31RonaldinhoM1998-2015Brazil
32Iker Casillas🔵G1998-2018Spain
33Zlatan IbrahimovićF1999-2023Sweden
34Karl-Heinz RummeniggeF1974-1989Germany
35Toni KroosM2007-2024Germany
36Roberto CarlosD1991-2016Brazil
37Kevin DeBruyneM2008-activeBelgium
38GarrinchaM1951-1972Brazil
39NeymarF/M2009-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
52Erling HaalandF2015-activeNorway
53Ruud GullitF/M/D1979-1998Netherlands
54Paolo RossiF1973-1987Italy
55Mario KempesF1970-1996Argentina
56Giuseppe MeazzaF1927-1947Italy
57MarceloD2005-activeBrazil
58Hugo Sánchez🔵F1976-1997Mexico
59Alan ShearerF1988-2006England
60Virgil van DijkD2011-activeNetherlands
61Andriy SchevchenkoF1993-2012Ukraine
62KakáM2000-2017Brazil
63Andrea PirloM1995-2017Italy
64Bobby MooreD1958-1977England
65Steven GerrardM1998-2016England
66Franck RibéryM2000-2022France
67Ángel Di María🔵M2005-activeArgentina
68Alessandro NestaD1993-2013Italy
69Lilian ThuramD1991-2008France
70Ruud van NistelrooyF2000-2012Netherlands
71CafuD1989-2008Brazil
72José Manuel MorenoF1935-1961Argentina
73Edinson Cavani🔵F2006-2024Uruguay
74Sergio AgüeroF2006-2022Argentina
75Samuel Eto’oF1998-2018Cameroon
76Gonzalo HiguaínF2006-2022Argentina
77Alessandro Del PieroF1993-2014Italy
78Gerard PiquéD2002-2019Spain
79George BestM1963-1984N. Ireland
80Miroslav Klose🔵F1999-2016Germany
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 BeckhamM1994-2013England
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 Chiellini🔵D2002-2023Italy
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.

The rest of the best soccer players of all time.