The World Cup Invincibles

Percentage of lost games at World Cups 1930-2022 (min. 13 games played)

6,2% Roberto Baggio    

6,7% Didi

7,1% Pelé, Zico, Kylian Mbappé  

7,7% Neymar

8,3% Garrincha

11,1% Franz Beckenbauer

11,8% Thierry Henry     

13,0% Paolo Maldini     

13,3% Arjen Robben    

14,3% Paolo Rossi, Terry Butcher    

15,0% Philipp Lahm    

15,4% Gerd Müller, David Beckham    

15,8% Berti Vogts, Ronaldo 

16,0% Lothar Matthäus   

16,7% Miroslav Klose   

17,6% Roberto Carlos    

18,8% Luis Suárez (Uruguay)

19,0% Uwe Seeler   

19,2% Leo Messi

20,0% Grzegorz Lato, Xavi

21,1% Luka Modrić     

21,4% Ruud Krol, Andrés Iniesta     

23,1% Kazimierz Deyna, Kevin De Bruyne   

23,8% Diego Maradona  

25,0% Jairzinho, Zbigniew Boniek    

26,3% Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

28,6% Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore 

31,8% Cristiano Ronaldo  

36,8% Rafa Márquez     

38,9% Mario Kempes    

46,2% Teófilo Cubillas    

 

The top 100 players of the 21st century

1 Lionel Messi (Argentina)

2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

3 Andrés Iniesta (Spain)

4 Zinédine Zidane (France)

5 Xavi (Spain)

6 Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Brazil)

7 Thierry Henry (France)

8 Luka Modrić (Croatia)

9 Luis Suárez (Uruguay)

10 Sergio Ramos (Spain)

11 Kaká (Brazil)

12 Karim Benzema (France)

13 Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)

14 Ronaldo (Brazil)

15 Andrea Pirlo (Italy)

16 Manuel Neuer (Germany)

17 Dani Alves (Brazil)

18 Wayne Rooney (England)

19 Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)

20 Sergi Busquets (Spain)

21 Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

22 Philipp Lahm (Germany)

23 Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon)

24 Neymar (Brazil)

25 Toni Kroos (Germany)

26 Iker Casillas (Spain) 

27 Thomas Müller (Germany)

28 Steven Gerrard (England)

29 Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

30 Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)

31 Francesco Totti (Italy)

32 Piqué (Spain)

33 Sergio "Kun" Agüero (Argentina)

34 Gareth Bale (Wales)

35 Patrick Vieira (France)

36 Carles Puyol (Spain)

37 Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)

38 Mo Salah (Egypt)

39 Rio Ferdinand (England)

40 Luís Figo (Portugal)

41 Claude Makélélé (France)

42 Kylian Mbappé (France)

43 Franck Ribéry (France)

44 Frank Lampard (England)

45 Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)

46 John Terry (England)

47 Didier Drogba (Côte d'Ivoire)

48 Vincent Kompany (Belgium)

49 Yaya Touré (Côte d'Ivoire)

50 Paolo Maldini (Italy)

51 Xabi Alonso (Spain)

52 Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands)

53 David Villa (Spain)

54 Radamel Falcao (Colombia)

55 Pavel Nedvěd (Czech Republic)

56 Petr Čech (Czech Republic)

57 Michael Ballack (Germany)

58 Ángel Di María (Argentina)

59 Paul Scholes (England)

60 Roberto Carlos (Brazil)

61 Eden Hazard (Belgium)

62 Nemanja Vidić (Serbia)

63 Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands)

64 Marcelo (Brazil)

65 David Beckham (England)

66 Cafú (Brazil)

67 Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)

68 Raúl (Spain)

69 Cesc Fàbregas (Spain)

70 Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)

71 Alessandro Nesta (Italy)

72 David Silva (Spain)

73 Jan Oblak (Slovenia)

74 N'Golo Kanté (France)

75 Harry Kane (England)

77 Ivan Rakitic (Croatia)

78 Edinson Cavani (Uruguay)

79 Alexis Sánchez (Chile)

80 Ryan Giggs (Wales)

81 Raheem Sterling (England)

82 Raphaël Varane (France)

83 Henrik Larsson (Sweden)

84 Fernando Torres (Spain)

85 Juan Román Riquelme (Argentina)

86 Thiago Silva (Brazil)

87 Ashley Cole (England)

88 Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)

89 Hernán Crespo (Argentina)

90 Arturo Vidal (Chile)

91 Carlos Tévez (Argentina)

92 Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands)

93 Mesut Özil (Germany)

94 Javier Zanetti (Argentina)

95 Deco (Brazil/Portugal)

96 De Gea (Spain)

97 Luca Toni (Italy)

98 Rivaldo (Brazil)

99 Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)

100 Miroslav Klose (Germany)

Goalkeepers in red.

               1- 51-tot

Spain           7  7  14

Brazil          5  6  11

England         5  6  11

France          7  2   9

Germany         4  4   8

Italy           4  3   7

Argentina       2  5   7

Netherlands     1  4   5

Belgium         2  2   4

Portugal        2  1   3

Côte d'Ivoire   2  0   2

Croatia         1  1   2

Uruguay         1  1   2

Sweden          1  1   2

Wales           1  1   2

Czech Republic  0  2   2

Chile           0  2   2

Poland          1  0   1

Cameroon        1  0   1

Ukraine         1  0   1

Ukraine         1  0   1

Egypt           1  0   1

Colombia        0  1   1

Serbia          0  1   1

Slovenia        0  1   1

Premio Bravo 1997

Guerin Sportivo's award to the best U21 player in Europe.

1. Ronaldo (Barcelona)

2. Raúl (Real Madrid)

3. Thierry Henry (Monaco)

4. Gianluigi Buffon (Parma)

5. Iván de la Peña (Barcelona)

6. Lars Ricken (Dortmund)

7. Jon Dahl Tomasson (Heerenveen)

8. Phil Neville (Man United)

9. Boudewijn Zenden (PSV)

10. Robert Ibertsberger (Austria Salzburg)

Brazil ratings in World Cups, 1986-2002

Minimum seven rated appearances.

6,86 Ronaldo (14 rated appearances)

6,84 Careca (8)

6,73 Romário (8)

6,64 Rivaldo (15)

6,53 Marcos, Mauro Silva (7)

6,43 Dunga (17)

6,41 Alemão (8)

6,38 César Sampaio (6)

6,30 Márcio Santos (7)

6,29 Cafú (15)

6,26 Gilberto Silva (7)

6,25 Edmílson (6)

6,23 Denílson (8)

6,18 Roberto Carlos (13)

6,16 Taffarel (16), Jorginho (9)

6,14 Branco (11)

6,11 Aldair (11), Lúcio (7)

6,10 Müller (8)

6,06 Bebeto (14)

5,98 Zinho (7)

5,93 Leonardo (11)

5,92 Roque Júnior (6)

5,81 Júnior Baiano (7)

Brazil ratings in the 2002 World Cup

 

7,08 Ronaldo
6,78 Rivaldo
6,56 Marcos
6,39 Ronaldinho, Kléberson
6,30 Roberto Carlos, Juninho Pernambucano
6,28 Gilberto Silva
6,26 Cafú
6,24 Edmílson
6,19 Denílson
6,08 Lúcio
5,91 Edílson
5,90 Roque Júnior
5,65 Ânderson Polga

The 40 best players in the 2002 World Cup

 

Based on ratings and surveys in the international sports press. 

1. Ronaldo
2. Oliver Kahn
3. Rivaldo
4. Michael Ballack
5. Rio Ferdinand
6. Damien Duff
7. Ronaldinho
8. Hasan Şaş
9. Hong Myung-bo
10. Roberto Carlos
11. Marc Wilmots
12. Junichi Inamoto
13. Raúl
14. El Hadji Diouf
15. Rüştü Reçber
16. Papa Bouba Diop
17. Gerardo Torrado
18. Cafu
19. Hierro
20. Bernd Schneider
21. Carles Puyol
22. Edmílson
23. Thomas Linke
24. Anders Svensson
25. Marcos
26. Alpay Özalan
27. Khalilou Fadiga
28. Landon Donovan
29. Henri Camara
30. Álvaro Recoba
31. Carsten Ramelow
32. Iker Casillas
33. Johan Mjällby
34. Fabio Cannavaro
35. Rónald Gómez
36. Torsten Frings
37. Miroslav Klose
38. Lúcio
39. Song Chong-gug
40. Jay-Jay Okocha

Brazil average ratings in World Cups, 1998-2022

Ratings: Kicker. Minimum eight rated appearances.

7,50 Neymar (13)

7,39 Rivaldo (14)

7,31 Casemiro (8)

7,07 Thiago Silva (15)

7,04 Gilberto Silva (14)

7,00 Juan (10)

6,88 Júlio César (12)

6,82 Ronaldo (19)

6,80 Ronaldinho (10)

6,76 Cafú (17)

6,72 Alisson (9)

6,68 Lúcio (17)

6,62 Maicon (8)

6,61 Kaká (9)

6,59 Roberto Carlos (17)

6,27 Paulinho (11)

6,17 Marcelo (9)

6,12 Dani Alves (8)

 National team topscorers

Average ratings Real Madrid 2002/03

6,66 Iker Casillas

6,58 Zinédine Zidane

6,25 Roberto Carlos

6,23 Ronaldo

6,19 Raúl

6,13 Iván Helguera, Luís Figo, Claude Makélélé

6,04 Portillo

5,97 Guti

5,93 Pavón

5,89 Hierro

5,83 Míchel Salgado

5,80 Esteban Cambiasso

5,78 Flávio Conceição

5,64 Morientes

5,63 Steve McManaman, Santiago Solari

5,56 Miñambres

Average ratings Inter 2001/02

6,50 Ronaldo

6,43 Christian Vieri

6,27 Francesco Toldo

6,26 Cristiano Zanetti

6,22 Javier Zanetti

6,14 Mohamed Kallon

6,11 Clarence Seedorf

6,10 Alvaro Recoba

6,07 Luigi Di Biagio

6,02 Farinós

6,00 Marco Materazzi

5,98 Ivan Córdoba

5,93 Emre Belözoğlu

5,92 Dario Šimić, Stéphane Dalmat

5,75 Andrés Guglielminpietro

5,71 Sérgio Conceição

5,60 Nicola Ventola

5,56 Vratislav Greško

5,50 Grigoris Georgatos

5,38 Nelson Vivas

National teams' World Cup scores with key players

                                  w d l goals points avg score

Brazil with Pelé                 12 1 1 37-14 89,3%  2,64-1,00
Brazil with Garrincha            10 1 1 30-12 87,5%  2,50-1,00
West Germany with F. Beckenbauer 15 1 2 45-19 86,1%  2,37-1,00
France with Kylian Mbappé        11 2 1 30-14 85,7%  2,09-0,98
West Germany with Gerd Müller    11 0 2 31-14 84,6%  2,27-1,02
Brazil with Didi                 11 3 1 38-14 83,3%  2,48-0,91
Brazil with Ronaldo              15 1 3 42-16 81,6%  2,17-0,83
Germany with Philipp Lahm        15 2 3 45-13 80,0%  2,11-0,61
Brazil with Sócrates              7 2 1 25-7  80,0%  2,42-0,68
Holland with Arjen Robben        11 2 2 27-12 80,0%  1,69-0,75
Italy with Franco Baresi          7 2 1 11-3  80,0%  1,03-0,28
Brazil with Roberto Carlos       13 1 3 33-13 79,4%  1,90-0,75
Brazil with Zico                  9 4 1 31-9  78,6%  2,16-0,63
Holland with Johan Cruyff         5 1 1 15-3  78,6%  2,14-0,43
Italy with Roberto Baggio        10 5 1 23-10 78,1%  1,33-0,58
Germany with Miroslav Klose      17 3 4 52-15 77,1%  2,08-0,60
Brazil with Neymar                8 4 1 25-9  76,9%  1,83-0,66     
Spain with Xavi                  11 1 3 24-14 76,7%  1,53-0,89
Colombia with James Rodríguez     6 0 2 17-6  75,0%  2,12-0,75
Italy with Paolo Rossi            9 3 2 21-12 75,0%  1,50-0,86
France with Zinédine Zidane       7 4 1 19-6  75,0%  1,50-0,47
Italy with Alessandro Del Piero   7 4 1 17-6  75,0%  1,28-0,45
Italy with Paolo Maldini         14 6 3 31-15 73,9%  1,26-0,61
West Germany with Berti Vogts    12 4 3 40-19 73,7%  2,03-0,97
Belgium with Kevin De Bruyne      9 1 3 21-11 73,1%  1,58-0,82
Poland with Kazimierz Deyna       9 1 3 22-11 73,1%  1,69-0,85
Spain with Raúl                   7 2 2 27-13 72,7%  2,38-1,15
USSR with Albert Shesternev       6 1 2 15-6  72,2%  1,61-0,64
Germany with Lothar Matthäus     15 6 4 43-26 72,0%  1,68-1,01 
Uruguay with Luis Suárez         10 3 3 21-11 71,9%  1,29-0,67
West Germany with Uwe Seeler     13 4 4 45-26 71,4%  2,05-1,18
West Germany with Paul Breitner   9 2 3 25-14 71,4%  1,74-0,98
Argentina with Leo Messi         16 5 5 47-28 71,2%  1,68-1,00
France with Thierry Henry         9 6 2 22-8  70,6%  1,22-0,44
Poland with Grzegorz Lato        12 4 4 33-16 70,0%  1,65-0,80
Brazil with Jairzinho            10 2 4 29-17 68,8%  1,81-1,06
Italy with Francesco Totti        6 3 2 17-7  68,2%  1,42-0,58
Spain with Andrés Iniesta         8 3 3 18-15 67,9%  1,23-1,02
Holland with Ruud Krol            8 3 3 30-13 67,9%  2,09-0,91
Argentina with Diego Maradona    12 4 5 33-17 66,7%  1,52-0,78
Spain with Emilio Butragueño      5 2 2 17-8  66,7%  1,76-0,83
Sweden with "Nacka" Skoglund      5 2 2 18-18 66,7%  2,00-2,00
England with David Beckham        6 5 2 17-9  65,4%  1,24-0,66
England with Bobby Charlton/Moore 8 2 4 20-13 64,3%  1,36-0,89
England with Terry Butcher        6 6 2 18-8  64,3%  1,20-0,53
England with Harry Kane           6 2 3 25-11 63,6%  2,14-0,94
Italy with Andrea Pirlo           6 2 3 16-8  63,6%  1,37-0,69
Argentina with Daniel Passarella  7 1 4 23-11 62,5%  1,86-0,89
France with Jean Tigana           6 3 3 23-16 62,5%  1,77-1,23
Denmark with Michael Laudrup      5 1 3 19-13 61,1%  2,11-1,44
Poland with Zbigniew Boniek       7 5 4 18-16 59,4%  1,12-1,00
Croatia with Luka Modrić          7 8 4 30-14 57,9%  1,45-1,16
Argentina with Gabriel Batistuta  6 2 4 20-12 58,3%  1,62-0,97
England with Gary Lineker         5 4 3 15-9  58,3%  1,15-0,69
Belgium with Eric Gerets          6 2 4 18-16 58,3%  1,35-1,20
France with Michel Platini        6 4 4 26-18 57,1%  1,77-1,23
Hungary with Flórián Albert       4 0 3 16-10 57,1%  2,29-1,43
Hungary with József Bozsik        4 1 3 30-15 56,2%  3,75-1,88
Scotland with Kenny Dalglish      3 3 2 14-13 56,2%  1,75-1,62
West Germany with K-H Rummenigge  7 7 5 30-22 55,3%  1,53-1,12
Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo   9 6 7 34-24 54,5%  1,52-1,07
Mexico with Cuauhtémoc Blanco     4 4 3 15-13 54,5%  1,36-1,18
Italy with Giacinto Facchetti     5 3 4 17-14 54,2%  1,38-1,14
Argentina with Mario Kempes       8 3 7 32-23 52,8%  1,75-1,25
Mexico with Rafa Márquez          8 4 7 21-20 52,6%  1,09-1,03
Holland with Ronald Koeman        3 3 3 11-10 50,0%  1,22-1,11
England with Wayne Rooney         3 5 3 10-11 50,0%  0,88-0,97
Portugal with Pepe                4 3 5 17-16 45,8%  1,42-1,33
Sweden with Tomas Brolin          3 3 4 18-14 45,0%  1,74-1,35
Cameroon with Roger Milla         3 3 4  9-19 45,0%  0,84-1,78
Peru with Teófilo Cubillas        4 3 6 18-27 42,3%  1,38-2,08
Ghana with Asamoah Gyan           3 3 5 11-15 40,9%  0,94-1,29
Sweden with Björn Nordqvist       3 2 5  9-10 40,0%  0,90-1,00
Sweden with Zlatan Ibrahimović    1 2 2  3-5  40,0%  0,60-1,00
Sweden with Ralf Edström          2 3 4  8-9  38,9%  0,89-1,00
Uruguay with Luis Cubilla         3 1 5  7-12 38,9%  0,75-1,29
Sweden with Bo Larsson            2 4 5  8-10 36,4%  0,73-0,91
Colombia with Carlos Valderrama   3 1 6  9-12 35,0%  0,84-1,12
Ivory Coast with Didier Drogba    2 1 5 10-12 31,2%  1,25-1,50
Chile with Elías Figueroa         0 3 6  6-15 16,7%  0,67-1,67

Brazil ratings in the 2002 World Cup

 

7,08 Ronaldo
6,78 Rivaldo
6,56 Marcos
6,39 Ronaldinho, Kléberson
6,30 Roberto Carlos, Juninho Pernambucano
6,28 Gilberto Silva
6,26 Cafú
6,24 Edmílson
6,19 Denílson
6,08 Lúcio
5,91 Edílson
5,90 Roque Júnior
5,65 Ânderson Polga

The 25 best goals in history

25. Francesco Totti, Sampdoria 1-Roma 4, Serie A 2006

24. Andrés Iniesta, Chelsea 1-Barcelona 1, CL semifinal 2009

23. Lionel Messi, Real Madrid 0-Barcelona 2, CL semifinal 2011

22. Ronaldinho, Real Madrid 0, Barcelona 3, La Liga 2005

21. Tony Yeboah, Leeds 1-Liverpool 0, Premier League 1995

20. Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi, Romania 3-Colombia 1, WC 1994 group stage

19. Ronaldo, Barcelona 5-Compostela 1, La Liga 1996

18. Roberto Baggio, Juventus 1-Brescia 1, Serie A 2001

17. George Weah, Milan 4-Verona 1, Serie A 1996

16. Maxi Rodríguez, Argentina 2-Mexico 1, WC 2006 round of 16

15. Cristiano Ronaldo, FC Porto 0-Man United 1, CL 2009 quarterfinal

14. Carlos Alberto Torres, Brazil 4-Italy 1, WC final 1970

13. Neymar, Santos 5-Flamengo 4, Brasileirão 2011

12. Roberto Carlos, Tenerife 4-Real Madrid 3, La Liga 1998

11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ajax 6-NAC Breda 2, Eredivisie 2004

10. Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus 0-Real Madrid 3, CL quarterfinal 2018

9. Pelé, Sweden 2-Brazil 5, WC 1958 final

8. Dennis Bergkamp, Newcastle 0-Arsenal 2, PL 2002

7. Wayne Rooney, Man United-Man City, PL 2011

6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden 4-England 2, friendly 2012

5. Roberto Carlos, Brazil 1-France 1, Tournoi de France 1997

4. Zinédine Zidane, Real Madrid 2-Bayer Leverkusen 1, CL final 2002

3. Lionel Messi, Barcelona 5-Getafe 2, La Liga 2007

2. Marco van Basten, Netherlands 2-Soviet Union 0, Euro 1988 final

1. Diego Maradona, Argentina 2-England 1, WC 1986 quarterfinal

World Soccer's reader poll: the top 200 players of all time [1999]

 

1. Pelé : 5499 points
2. Diego Maradona : 3949
3. Johan Cruyff : 3388
4. Franz Beckenbauer : 2780
5. Michel Platini : 1854
6. Alfredo Di Stéfano : 1541
7. Ferenc Puskás : 1537
8. George Best : 1190
9. Marco van Basten : 1026
10. Eusébio : 1022
11. Lev Yashin : 821
12. Bobby Charlton : 680
13. Ronaldo : 541
14. Bobby Moore : 539
15. Gerd Müller : 498
16. Roberto Baggio : 486
17. Stanley Matthews : 429
18. Zico : 390
19. Franco Baresi : 371
20. Garrincha : 361
21. Paolo Maldini : 345
22. Kenny Dalglish : 334
23. Gabriel Batistuta : 300
24. Éric Cantona : 299
25. Gheorghe Hagi : 293
26. Romário : 257
27. Jairzinho : 248
28. Zinédine Zidane : 238
29. Ruud Gullit : 221
30. John Charles : 212
31. Lothar Matthäus : 202
32. Gordon Banks : 178
33. Jürgen Klinsmann : 168
34. Dennis Bergkamp : 150
35. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge : 149
36. Gary Lineker : 134
37. Giuseppe Meazza : 132
38. Rivelino : 124
39. Didi : 123
40. Ian Rush : 109
41. Peter Schmeichel & Paolo Rossi : 104
43. George Weah : 99
44. Michael Owen : 90
45. Just Fontaine : 88
46. Duncan Edwards : 86
47. Dino Zoff : 80
48. Hristo Stoichkov : 77
49. David Beckham : 74
50. Tom Finney : 72
51. Rivaldo : 71
52. Claudio Caniggia : 64
53. Tostão : 63
54. Frank Rijkaard : 62
55. José Luis Chilavert : 61
56. Kevin Keegan : 60
57. Paul Gascoigne : 57
58. Roger Milla : 56
59. Michael Laudrup : 55
60. Andriy Shevchenko : 54
61. David Ginola, Glenn Hoddle & Sócrates : 53
64. Roberto Carlos & Alan Shearer : 52
66. Daniel Passarella : 51
67. Davor Suker : 50
68. "Dixie" Dean, Sándor Kocsis, Christian Vieri & Juan Schiaffino : 49
72. Mario Kempes, Johan Neeskens & Gigi Riva : 47
75. José Nasazzi & Günter Netzer : 46
77. Alessandro Del Piero & Carlos Valderrama : 43
79. Ricardo Zamora : 42
80. Enzo Francescoli : 41
81. Edgard Davids & Paco Gento : 40
83. Jim Baxter, Falcão, Ryan Giggs & Sepp Maier : 38
87. Zbigniew Boniek, Pat Jennings & György Sárosi : 37
90. Giacinto Facchetti : 36
91. Alan Hansen, Raymond Kopa, Bryan Robson & Mattias Sammer : 34
95. László Kubala & Neville Southall : 33
97. Gerson : 32
98. Paulo Futre & Preben Elkjær : 31
100. Bebeto : 30
101. Mattias Sindelar, Jaap Stam, Luis Suárez [Spain], Gianni Rivera, Andoni Zubizarreta, Ariel Ortega, László Détári & Jürgen Kohler : 29
109. Teófilo Cubillas, Sunday Oliseh, Nílton Santos, Gaetano Scirea & Steve McManaman : 28
114. Giuseppe Bergomi, Marcelo Salas, Bernd Schuster & Oleh Blokhin : 27
118. Fernando Hierro, Gianfranco Zola & Gianluca Vialli : 26
121. Thomas Hässler, Nwankwu Kanu, Ronald Koeman, Sandro Mazzola & Liam Brady : 25
126. Dragan Džajić, Billy Bremner, Marius Lăcătuş, Brian Laudrup, Jimmy Greaves & Zoltán Czibor : 24
131. John Barnes, Edwin van der Sar, Jimmy Johnstone, Dejan Savičević & Claudio López : 23
136. Claudio Gentile & Geoff Hurst : 22
138. Ángel Amadeo Labruna, Sol Campbell, Diego Simeone & Nándor Hidegkuti : 21
142. Danny Blanchflower & Luis Hernández : 20
144. Leônidas, Ciro Ferrara, Hugo Sánchez & Denílson : 19
148. Emilio Butragueño, Obdulio Varela, Dwight Yorke & Salvatore Schillaci : 18
152. Dunga, Mario Basler, Silvio Piola, Rudi Völler, Ray Wilson, Gheorghe Popescu, Djalma Santos, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Roberto Mancini & Colin Bell : 17
162. Ray Clemence, Wolfgang Overath, Karlheinz Förster, Juan Sebastián Verón, Oliver Bierhoff, Peter Shilton & Jozsef Boszik : 16
170. Gilmar, Rob Rensenbrink, Billy Wright & Alan McInally : 15
174. Éder, Lawton, Domingos da Guia, I. Wright, Krol, Giles & Ardiles : 14
181. Ademir, L. Sánchez, van Hanegem, Ugarte, Thuram & Köpke : 13
187. Roy Keane, Kluivert, H. Larsson, McCoist, Moreno, Rui Costa, Seeler, Haller & Cafu : 12
196. Jorginho, Juninho Paulista, Pearce, Plánička, Vavá & Friedenreich : 11.



Per nation:
1. Brazil : 27
2. England : 26
3. Italy : 21
4. Germany : 19
5. Holland : 14
6. Argentina : 13
7. Hungary : 8
8. Scotland, France & Spain : 7
11. Uruguay, Wales & Denmark : 4
14. Yugoslavia, Romania, Portugal, Ireland & Northern Ireland : 3
19. Cameroon, Nigeria, Chile, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Mexico : 2

The 200 greatest footballers of all time

Goalkeepers in red.

1. Lionel Messi
2. Pelé
3. Diego Maradona
4. Johan Cruyff
5. Franz Beckenbauer
6. Cristiano Ronaldo
7. Alfredo Di Stéfano
8. Zinédine Zidane
9. Ronaldo
10. Garrincha
11. Michel Platini
12. Ferenc Puskás
13. Gerd Müller
14. George Best
15. Marco van Basten
16. Eusébio
17. Zico
18. Paolo Maldini  
19. Ronaldinho
20. Bobby Charlton
21. Romário
22. Franco Baresi
23. Lev Yashin
24. Giuseppe Meazza
25. Lothar Matthäus
26. Roberto Baggio
27. Raymond Kopa
28. Andrés Iniesta
29. Ruud Gullit
30. Kylian Mbappé
31. Xavi
32. Sócrates
33. Carlos Alberto Torres
34. Bobby Moore
35. Gigi Buffon
36. Rivelino
37. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
38. Luis Suárez (Spain)
39. José Manuel "Charro" Moreno
40. Jairzinho
41. Didi
42. Johan Neeskens
43. Michael Laudrup
44. Thierry Henry
45. Gianni Rivera
46. Matthias Sindelar
47. Valentino Mazzola
48. Stanley Matthews
49. Dennis Bergkamp
50. Dino Zoff
51. Paolo Rossi
52. Kenny Dalglish
53. Nándor Hidegkuti
54. Paco Gento
55. Juan Alberto Schiaffino
56. Nílton Santos
57. Oleg Blokhin
58. Gordon Banks
59. Kevin Keegan
60. Frank Rijkaard
61. Fritz Walter
62. Roberto Carlos
63. Gunnar Nordahl
64. Luka Modrić
65. Hristo Stoichkov
66. Neymar
67. Günter Netzer
68. Paul Breitner
69. Cafú
70. Luís Figo
71. Daniel Passarella
72. Rivaldo
73. Hugo Sánchez
74. Zlatan Ibrahimović
75. George Weah
76. Gaetano Scirea
77. Peter Schmeichel  
78. José Leandro Andrade
79. Just Fontaine
80. Sándor Kocsis
81. Ryan Giggs
82. Omar Enrique Sívori
83. Teófilo Cubillas
84. Andrea Pirlo
85. John Charles
86. Raúl
87. Denis Law
88. Sergio Ramos
89. Adolfo Pedernera
90. Giacinto Facchetti
91. Sandro Mazzola
92. Iker Casillas
93. Alessandro Del Piero
94. Gheorghe Hagi
95. Gabriel Batistuta
96. Jimmy Johnstone
97. Éric Cantona
98. Samuel Eto'o
99. Kaká
100. Mario Kempes
101. Jürgen Klinsmann
102. Josef Masopust
103. Flórián Albert
104. William Ralph "Dixie" Dean
105. Ronald Koeman
106. Oliver Kahn
107. Uwe Seeler
108. Andriy Shevchenko
109. Franceso Totti
110. Lilian Thuram
111. Didier Drogba
112. Carles Puyol
113. Zbigniew Boniek
114. Djalma Santos
115. Dragan Džajić
116. Jean-Pierre Papin
117. Jimmy Greaves
118. Pavel Nedved
119. Gary Lineker
120. Alessandro Nesta
121. József Bozsik
122. Gigi Riva
123. Elías Figueroa
124. Allan Simonsen
125. Philipp Lahm
126. Enzo Francescoli
127. Marcel Desailly
128. Berti Vogts
129. Zizinho
130. Obdulio Varela
131. Mário Coluna
132. Javier Zanetti
133. Ruud Krol
134. Fabio Cannavaro
135. Fernando Redondo
136. László Kubala
137. Steven Gerrard
138. Manuel Neuer
139. Emilio Butragueño
140. Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
141. Bernd Schuster
142. Clarence Seedorf
143. Dani Alves
144. Robert Lewandowski
145. Sepp Maier
146. Tostão
147. Patrick Vieira
148. Josef Bican
149. Rudi Völler
150. Kurt Hamrin
151. Roger Milla
152. Karim Benzema
153. Franck Ribéry
154. David Beckham
155. Alan Shearer
156. Wayne Rooney
157. Roy Keane
158. Arjen Robben
159. Kevin De Bruyne
160. Riquelme
161. Toni Kroos
162. György Sárosi
163. Silvio Piola
164. Sergio Busquets
165. Clodoaldo
166. Rinat Dasaev
167. Gérson
168. Paulo Roberto Falcão
169. Carlos Valderrama
170. Ubaldo Fillol
171. Ruud van Nistelrooy
172. Leônidas
173. Graeme Souness
174. Tom Finney
175. Yaya Touré
176. Giuseppe Bergomi
177. Henrik Larsson
178. Marco Tardelli
179. Arsenio Erico
180. Mattias Sammer
181. Ian Rush
182. Steve Bloomer
183. Neil Franklin
184. Miroslav Klose
185. Preben Elkjær
186. Antoine Griezmann
187. Amancio
188. Gianluca Vialli
189. Paul Gascoigne
190. Bryan Robson
191. Salif Keita
192. Didier Deschamps
193. Ricardo Zamora
194. Claudio Gentile
195. Rabah Madjer
196. Duncan Edwards
197. Xabi Alonso
198. Hierro
199. Ricardo Bochini
200. Marcelo

The 40 best players in the 1998 World Cup

 

1. Edgar Davids (Hol)
2. Lilian Thuram (Fra)
3. Rivaldo (Bra)
4. Ronaldo (Bra)
5. Marcel Desailly (Fra)
6. Zinédine Zidane (Fra)
7. Dunga (Bra)
8. José Luis Chilavert (Par)
9. Davor Šuker (Cro)
10. Michael Owen (Eng)
11. Dennis Bergkamp (Hol)
12. Frank de Boer (Hol)
13. Ariel Ortega (Arg)
14. Brian Laudrup (Dan)
15. Roberto Carlos (Bra)
16. Fabien Barthez (Fra)
17. Michael Laudrup (Dan)
18. Carlos Gamarra (Par)
19. Cafu (Bra)
20. Emmanuel Petit (Fra)
21. Laurent Blanc (Fra)
22. Jay-Jay Okocha (Nig)
23. Juan Sebastián Verón (Arg)
24. Mehdi Mahdavikia (Irn)
25. Dražen Ladić (Cro)
26. Mustapha Hadji (Mar)
27. Christian Vieri (Ita)
28. Gianluca Pagliuca (Ita)
29. Faryd Mondragón (Col)
30. Sol Campbell (Eng)
31. Bixente Lizarazu (Fra)
32. Luis Hernández (Mex)
33. Thierry Henry (Fra)
34. Didier Deschamps (Fra)
35. Paul Ince (Eng)
36. Peter Schmeichel (Dan)
37. Fabio Cannavaro (Ita)
38. Pedro Sarabia (Par)
39. Marcelo Salas (Chl)
40. Paolo Maldini (Ita)

Top 250 best football players of all time

Based on 41 rankings published in 13 European and American countries between 2015 and June 2021.

1. Messi 

2. Maradona 

3. Pelé 

4. Cruyff 

5. Beckenbauer 

6. Di Stéfano 

7. Zidane 

8. Cristiano Ronaldo 

9. Ronaldo 

10. Platini 

11. Garrincha 

12. Puskás 

13. G. Müller 

14. Best 

15. van Basten 

16. Eusébio 

17. Zico 

18. Maldini 

19. F. Baresi 

20. Ronaldinho 

21. B. Charlton 

22. Romário 

23. Meazza 

24. Yashin 

25. Matthäus 

26. R. Baggio 

27. Kopa 

28. Iniesta 

29. Gullit 

30. Xavi 

31. Buffon 

32. Sócrates 

33. Carlos Alberto Torres 

34. Moore 

35. Rivelino 

36. Kh. Rummenigge 

37. Luis Suárez (Spain) 

38. Charro Moreno 

39. Neeskens 

40. Jairzinho 

41. Didi 

42. Rivera 

43. M. Laudrup 

44. Rossi 

45. Matthews 

46. Zoff 

47. V. Mazzola 

48. Gento 

49. Sindelar 

50. Hidegkuti 

51. Henry 

52. Nílton Santos 

53. Bergkamp 

54. Dalglish 

55. Breitner 

56. Kocsis 

57. Rijkaard 

58. Nordahl

59. Schiaffino 

60. Roberto Carlos 

61. Banks 

62. Stoichkov

63. F. Walter 

64. Netzer

65. Rivaldo

66. H. Sánchez 

67. Cafu 

68. Keegan 

69. Figo 

70. Casillas 

71. Weah 

72. Passarella 

73. Ibrahimovic 

74. Blokhin 

75. P. Schmeichel  

76. J. Charles 

77. Facchetti 

78. Pedernera 

79. Fontaine 

80. Batistuta 

81. Andrade 

82. Neymar 

83. Sergio Ramos 

84. Scirea 

85. Pirlo

86. Raúl 

87. Giggs 

88. Sívori 

89. Cubillas 

90. Kempes 

91. S. Mazzola 

92. Kaká 

93. Eto'o 

94. Djalma Santos

95. Klinsmann 

96. Hagi 

97. Džajić

98. Dean

99. Cantona

100. Litmanen 

101. Bozsik 

102. Kahn 

103. Zizinho 

104. Totti 

105. Del Piero 

106. Johnstone 

107. Redondo 

108.  Thuram 

109. F. Albert 

110. Law

111. O. Varela 

112. Seeler

113. R. Koeman 

114. Drogba 

115. Masopust 

116. Shevchenko 

117. Coluna 

118. Riva

119. Krol 

120. Puyol  

121. Francescoli  

122. Boniek 

123. Papin 

124. Tostão

125. Lahm 

126. Nedved

127. Lineker 

128. Figueroa 

121. Vogts

129. F. Cannavaro 

130. Kubala 

131. Desailly 

132. Greaves

133. Nesta 

134. Hamrin 

135. Gerrard 

136. Maier 

137. Lewandowski

138. J. Zanetti

139. Seedorf

140. Clodoaldo

141. Riquelme 

142. Bican 

143. Simonsen

144. N. Franklin

145. Schuster

146. Kroos

147. Modrić 

148. Gérson 

149. Butragueño 

150. Vieira

151. Luis Suárez (Uruguay)

152. Fillol 

153. Falcão

154. Ribéry

155. Roy Keane

156. Valderrama 

157. Benzema 

158. Völler

159. Sárosi 

160. Mbappé

161. van Nistelrooy

162. Milla 

163. Leônidas 

164. De Bruyne

165. Dasaev 

166. Bergomi 

167. Finney 

168. Beckham 

169. Dani Alves 

170. Robben 

171. Tardelli 

172. Piola

173. Klose 

174. Erico

175. Shearer

176. Sammer

177. Griezmann 

178. Vialli 

179. Amancio

180. Busquets 

181. Krankl

182. Y. Touré 

183. Gentile

184. Owen

185. Marcelo 

186. Hierro 

187. Rush 

188.  Zamora 

189. Burgnich

190. Keizer

191. Falcao García

192. Bryan Robson 

193. Skoglund

194. Elkjær

195. Bale

196. D. Edwards

197. Rooney

198. Guardiola

199. Bochini

200. Xabi Alonso 

201. Chilavert 

202. Lampard

203. Overath

204. Salif Keita

205. Blanchflower

206. Kónrád

207. Deschamps

208. J. Jones

209. Gascoigne

210. Zarra

211. Neuer

212. van der Sar 

213. Bloomer

214. David Villa 

215. Lato

216. Carrizo 

217. Mágico González

218. Madjer 

219. M. Olsen

220. Van Himst

221. Rensenbrink

222. Santamaría

223. Savićević

224. Cabrini

225. Ardiles 

226. E. Hazard

227. Trésor

228. Prohaska

229. Brehme

230. Belanov

231. Tigana

232. Ademir 

233. Agüero

234. Ballack

235. Deyna

236. T. Müller

237. Pichichi

238. A. Schaffer

239. Davids

240. Blanc

241. B. Wright

242. Suurbier

243. McGrory

244. Liedholm

245. Fàbregas

246. Scifo

247. Scholes

248. Júnior

249. Czibor

250. Scarone