Top 10 Football Players of all Time
Here is the list of top 10 football player of all times. The most popular sport in the world, football, has had some true heroes who have transcended the game itself and cemented their legacy in the minds of football fans forever. In this article, we have attempted to do just that. While it has been no easy task, we have tried to break down the selection into three main factors: Ability to win matches single-handedly, longevity, and performance under pressure.
1. Pele
Full name: Edson
Arantes do Nascimento
Date of birth:
October 23, 1940 (age 81)
Place of birth:
Brazil
Career Goals: 1279 Career Assists: 231
Pelé made his
international debut in 1957 at age 16. And the following year played his first
game in the World Cup finals in Sweden.
In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International
Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two
joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363
games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.
In his final appearance in the
competition, Pele guided Brazil to a record third World Cup title in 1970 where
they beat Italy 4-1 in the final. He had provided two assists and scored a goal
in the final game.
Full name: Diego
Armando Maradona[1]
Date of birth: 30
October 1960
Place of birth:
Lanús, Argentina
Career Goals: 293 Career Assists: 226
Diego Armando
Maradona was an Argentine professional football player and manager. During his
time with the Argentina national team, Maradona scored 34 goals in 91
appearances. He made his full international debut at age 16 against Hungary, on
27 February 1977.Maradona played his first World Cup tournament in 1982 in his
new country of residence, Spain. Argentina played Belgium in the opening game
of the 1982 Cup at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. Maradona captained Argentina
again in the 1990 World Cup in Italy to yet another World Cup final. In 1995 he returned to Boca Juniors and
played his last match on October 25, 1997.
3. Lionel Messi
Full name: Lionel Andrés Mess
Date of birth: 24 June 1987 (age 35)
Place of birth: Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Career Goals: 773 Career Assists: 352
During the 2003–04 season, his fourth with
Barcelona, Messi rapidly progressed through the club's ranks, debuting for a
record five youth teams in a single campaign.
At 16 years, four months, and
23 days old, Messi made his first team debut when he came on in the 75th minute
during a friendly against José Mourinho's Porto on 16 November 2003. Messi's strike took his career tally to 773
goals for club and country - 672 for Barcelona, 86 for Argentina and 15 at PSG
- taking the 35-year-old past Romário and into the top three top scorers in
football history.
Full
name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Date of
birth: 5 February 1985 (age 37)
Place of
birth: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Career Goals: 815 Career Assists: 270
Ronaldo made his international
debut for Portugal in 2003 at the age of 18 and has since earned over 180 caps,
making him Portugal's most-capped player. Five-time
Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo, who has scored more than 800 goals for club and
country, is the top goal scorer in men's international football with 117 in 189
matches for Portugal. One of Ronaldo's favourites and most successful tricks is
"the Ronaldo chop." When facing a player from the opposition, the
Real Madrid man often attacks him at pace, using the inside of either foot to
move the ball inside the standing leg and at such an angle that it takes him in
a different direction.
5. Johan Cruyff
Full name: Hendrik Johannes Cruijff
Date of birth: 25 April 1947
Place of birth: Amsterdam,Netherlands
Career Goals: 296 Career Assists: 167
Cruyff joined the Ajax youth system on his tenth birthday. Cruyff and his friends would frequently visit a "playground" in their neighbourhood and Ajax youth coach Jany van der Veen, who lived close by, noticed Cruyff's talent and decided to offer him a place at Ajax without a formal trial. He made his first team debut on 15 November 1964 in the Eredivisie, against GVAV, scoring the only goal for Ajax in a 3–1 defeat. That year,Ajax finished in their lowest position since the establishment of professional football, in 13th. In the process, he played 240 games and scored 190 goals; for his achievements, he was awarded the Ballon d'Or twice, in 1971 and 1973. On 19 August 1973, he played his last match for Ajax where they defeated FC Amsterdam 6–1, the second match of the 1973–74 season.
Full name: Zinedine Yazid Zidane
Date of birth: 23
June 1972 (age 50)
Place of birth: Marseille, France
Career Goals: 152 Career
Assists: 149
Zidane made his professional debut with Cannes on 18 May 1989 in a French Division 1 match against Nantes. He scored his first goal for the club on 10 February 1991 also against Nantes in a 2–1 win. During his active soccer years, no player would surpass the way he controlled and received the ball. He scored 31 goals, out of his 108 international outings. Since his retirement, Zidane has actively participated in his beloved game as a manager.On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup, played his farewell match and scored in a 3–3 draw with Villarreal.
Full name: Ronaldo
LuÃs Nazário de Lima
Date of birth: 18
September 1976 (age 46)
Place of birth: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Career Goals: 357 Career
Assists: 94
Ronaldo quickly attracted
attention from big clubs, and his agent's rejected offers from Botafogo and São
Paulo, before receiving an offer of €50,000 from Cruzeiro, where he scored four
goals on his youth team debut. Ronaldo
played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals and is the third highest
goalscorer for his national team. At age 17, he was the youngest member of the
Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He had spells at AC Milan and Corinthians before
retiring in 2011, having suffered further injuries. Ronaldo played for Brazil
in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals and is the third highest goalscorer for his
national team. At age 17, he was the youngest member of the Brazilian squad
that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
8. Ronaldinho
Full name: Ronaldo de Assis Moreira
Date of birth: 21 March 1980 (age 42)
Place of birth: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Career Goals: 230 Career
Assists: 187
Ronaldinho made his career
debut for Grêmio, in 1998. At age 20, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in France
before signing for Barcelona in 2003. In his second season with Barcelona, he
won his first FIFA World Player of the Year award as Barcelona won the 2004–05
La Liga title. Ronaldinho once scored all 23 goals in his side's 23-0 win.
Brazilian legend and 2002 World Cup winner Ronaldinho once scored all the goals
in his side's 23-0 victory in a local youth match. Ronaldinho was aged 13 and
was in fifth grade when he achieved the feat which helped him catch the
attention of the media. In his
international career with Brazil,Ronaldinho earned 97 caps and scored 33 goals
and represented his country in two FIFA World Cups. The Brazilian legend played at Barcelona from
2003-2008. During that period, he won six titles including two La Ligas and one
Champions League. In January 2018, Ronaldinho announced his retirement from
professional football.
Full name: Franz
Anton Beckenbauer
Date of birth: 11
September 1945 (age 77)
Place of birth: Munich, Germany
Career Goals: 72 Career
Assists: 76
Beckenbauer made his debut with Bayern in a
Bundesliga promotion play-off match on the left wing against FC St. Pauli on 6
June 1964. In his first season in the Regionalliga Süd ("Regional League
South", then the second level in Germany), 1964–65, the team won the
league and eventually promoted to the Bundesliga. The player, also known as Der Kaiser because of his
style, dominance and leadership on the field, went on to score 109 times in his
19-year-long career. Most of his goals came with his boyhood club Bayern
Munich, for whom he scored 64 goals in 439 appearances. After a return to German football in the Hamburg
team (1980-1982), Beckenbauer putting a glorious end to his player career in
1984.
Full name: Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé
Date of birth: 4 July 1926
Place of birth: Buenos Aires,Argentina
Career Goals: 302 Career
Assists: 1
Di Stéfano made his
international debut on 4 December 1947, in a match against Bolivia at the
Estadio George Capwell in Ecuador, during the 1947 South American Championship.
He scored his first international goal in that same match, helping Argentina to
a 7–0 win. Eighteen trophies in eleven
seasons and 308 official goals made him a symbol of the club and the idol of
the fans. His performances in the European Cup Finals were particularly
memorable as he scored at least one goal in all of them. From 1961 to 1964, Di Stefano, now an ageing
superstar, helped Madrid to four consecutive La Liga titles, before leaving the
club to go to Espanyol in 1964. He retired in 1966, after scoring 216 goals in
282 league matches for Real Madrid, a record which stands to this day.