Greatest Soccer (Football) Players of All Time

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1) Zico

“He is a coach of FENERBAHÃ‡E...

FenerbahÃ§e was played quarter final match with chelsea in CL.

FenerbahÃ§e will be most valuable football clup with Arthur ZÄ°CO

WE LOVE WHÄ°TE PELE ’ZÄ°CO’”

MAWENSY

“The best.

Better than Pele.

Unfortunatelly was injured early.

He is a legend.”

“His name alone goes with the other single-name greats like Pele, Ronaldo and Gherson.”

» more comments on "Zico"

2) Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento)

“he’s the best he was the youngest that ever played in a world cup”

last

“Pele is better than zico, ronaldinho and hagi combined”

rodoglez

“There is nobody better than Pele”

Crazydudewithabeard

» more comments on "Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento)"

3) Ronaldinho

“even greater than pele
”

“I agree, he is surely a clever player, but no one can be compared to others - everyone is a legend on their own terms.”

monk-e

“He made art with the ball”

MatrixGuy

» more comments on "Ronaldinho"

4) Gheorghe Hagi

“truly one of the greatest players what the world had, only a miracle had held back Romania to reach the World Cup 1994 Semi Finals with him”

MatrixGuy

“the bomb”

Chezlovakian

“The BEST player in Turkey and one of the best in the world.. Turkey and Galatasaray will never forget him!..”

LEO75

» more comments on "Gheorghe Hagi"

5) Enzo Francescoli

“He played 72 times for the Uruguay national team between 1982 and 1997, making him the most capped outfield player in Uruguayan international football. [1] He currently is the vice president of GOL TV and Tenfield.
His official debut was with the Uruguayan team Montevideo Wanderers. He played several years for River Plate of Argentina where he won five league titles and the Copa Libertadores in 1996 in his two spells with the club.

He also played for the French Racing Club de Paris (Matra Racing Paris at the time), Olympique de Marseille, and the Italian teams Cagliari and Torino.
He won the Copa AmÃ©rica three times with Uruguay in 1983, 1987 and 1995, he also played in the 1989 and 1993 editions of the tournament.
”

Allie22

“Great Uruguayan player, he played in Uruguay, Argentina, France and Italy.
He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
”

“Excellent Uruguayan soccer player.
”

» more comments on "Enzo Francescoli"

6) Diego Maradona

“Pele was good, but Maradona was better. He might not be a role model or an ambassador for the game, but he was the best. His skill, pace and general reading of the game is unsurpassed”

Keithmeister

“Better then Pele.”

judas

“Maradona is the best one.. He screwed it with the drugs but he is the best anyway.”

R-999

» more comments on "Diego Maradona"

7) Zinedine Zidane

“Zidane is the best soccer player ever. If you go on youtube he was just simply amazing.”

Exerama

“Simply the BEST”

dndanny

“Zidane is the best!”

» more comments on "Zinedine Zidane"

8) Cristiano Ronaldo

“keep up cristiano... you are the best”

“Cristiano Ronaldo is the best in skill moves with Manchester United and Portugal”

“C Ronaldo is the best.
Against Rooney, Henry, Ronaldinho,
Pele...He is the best”

» more comments on "Cristiano Ronaldo"

9) David Beckham

“his agreat soccer player remember when england needed awin against greece he did it his england #cap.
”

“David Beckham has come 2nd in world player of the year twice. He single-handedly led UNited to the treble and helped Real Madrid win the league last year.
He has done everything in his power to help England, and 2 days ago he was their oldest AND BEST PLAYER!
He moved to the United States and still plays for his country when they come calling and he is the REAL England Captain
You guys are a bunch of ignorant for callin cristiano the best of all time
im a united fan and i can call u an idio for that!”

“BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD!!!!”

» more comments on "David Beckham"

10) Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luiz Nazario da Lima)

“The best striker to ever play the game. People are fickle and forget from 1995-1998 there was nobody that has or ever will play like he did. 34 league goals in 37 league games says it all. 110 goals in 122 appearances. world cup all time top scorer. why do people forget how great he was ?”

“ronaldo is the greatest striker ever played football with that speed an skill he’s the best ever may i call him the phonomonen, the king , the number 9,the best ever rooooooooooooooooooonaldo”

“come on guys... yow know ronaldo is te best ever , nobody dribbles like him , he could never be better than pele ’cause he scored over 1000 goals but is second best in history , after these two it’s zidane with his magic skills and passes ;)”

» more comments on "Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luiz Nazario da Lima)"

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Choices Not In The Top Ten

11) Hakan Şükür

“all time best player of turkey”

12) Jari Litmanen

“See some old footage him playing... Simply the best!”

“pass and pass.”

13) Francesco Totti

“Totti is easily one of the top 5 best players ever. Here is my list.
1. Pele
2. Zidane
3. Steven Gerrard
4. Ronaldo
5. Francesco Totti”

peru12345

“he is the best....”

frattbellamy

“man he’s the best and he’s the reason I started playing soccer”

» more comments on "Francesco Totti"

14) Thierry Henry

“hello? why is Henry down here?... don’t you people have some conscience? Henry!”

iajaubab

“should be in top 5”

“he is the greatest forward in the world. I voter for him because he is my father and he is my favourite footballer. ronaldihno is the second.”

» more comments on "Thierry Henry"

15) Steven Gerrard

“THE BEST CAPTAIN IN THE WORLD”

LFCFAN9

“His motto was always ’’Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone’’ and that’s why he is the best in the world”

makii

“Stevie G owns all these worthless players. Gerrard is the only consistent player of the lot. LFC all the way Stevie G rules.”

» more comments on "Steven Gerrard"

16) George Best

“Most God Gifted Footballer ever more Gifted than Pele and the biggest self distructure ever a true Genius. once he said if I was born ugly you have never heard of the name Pele”

Maklet901

“"Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best."”

“Spot on the greatest”

» more comments on "George Best"

17) Johan Cruyff

“what the hell? How is Cruyff 16th and george best 15th? They are miles better than beckham, cristiano ronaldo and totti.”

whufc

“Have any of the people who’ve voted on this thing actually seen any of these legends play? Cos I’ve seen Cruyff and he was simply the best.”

“I agree Cruyff should be the second or third of the list of great players. His speed, agility and overall smarts on the pitch are unforgettable. If you count his contribution to the game as a manager, he is possibly first or second in the history of the game.”

» more comments on "Johan Cruyff"

18) Franz Beckenbauer

“Best defender in all of sports no doubt about it.”

“should be higher up on the list”

“easily the greatest defender of all time
”

19) Kaka

“He should be Top Ten”

KaKa

“Another great brazilian i think.

his name is just weird.”

supreme

“he’s #1”

mexico

» more comments on "Kaka"

20) Eusebio (Eusebio da Silva Ferreira)

“The best!”

“eusebio is THE BEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME. ronaldiniho gerrard henry dont deserve to be in the top 100”

“Eusebio was the best player in the world in 1966 world caup.”

» more comments on "Eusebio (Eusebio da Silva Ferreira)"

21) Hugo Sanchez

“Clearly in my top 10”

Coach

“most of his goals were bicycle kicks, HE IS THE BEST PLAYER WHO EVER PLAYED IN REAL MADRID”

“5 PICHICHIS (more goals in spanish league)”

» more comments on "Hugo Sanchez"

22) Alessandro Del Piero

“Fantastic, Unbelievable, Genius! If not the all-times number 1, he certainly deserves a place in all-times top 10. Personally, I could only compare him with Maradona.”

“Watson: "Del Piero is the icon of Italian football." No truer words have been said in football in a long time, Alessandro is truly a legend and his name will forever be engraved in the history books of not Italian football, but across the wolrd”

“Watson: "Del Piero is the icon of Italian football. " No truer words have been said in football in a long time, Alessandro is truly a legend and his name will forever be engraved in the history books of not Italian football, but across the world”

» more comments on "Alessandro Del Piero"

23) Michael Owen

“he is one of the best finishers in the world. it is same the injuries have destroyed him but he will come back as he always did
”

“Amazing striker and still has time 2 get to englands all time top goal scorer”

“Amazing forward nobody is or will be like him”

» more comments on "Michael Owen"

24) Lio Messi

“#1 best argentian soccer player”

“The greatest goal ever”

“The best ever known to soccer.
”

25) Roberto Baggio

“The best italian soccer player and should in the top 10”

“Baggio is italian soccer how can you put totti and del piero in front of him!!!”

“his soccer as poetry..unforgettable”

» more comments on "Roberto Baggio"

26) Ferenc Puskas

“think about it. how many times he has played in the champions league final and has scored in one. he got 4 goals in the 7-3 win in 1960”

“I have not seen him play, but as I heard of him I can visualize a general marching towards the summit of his goal undaunted, even in those days when tackling was like punches inside the boxing ring.”

“Have seen them all. Best opf all was Puskas at Hampden Park in the ’50s. A goal he scored that day must surely be the best. Anyone remeber? $ golas in the final, also at Hampden Park!! Greeting from the States.”

» more comments on "Ferenc Puskas"

27) Jorge "Mágico" González

“very good deserves the top ten not the best but the best el salvadorian player they will ever had he knows how to put magic in the game "El Magico"”

“the best ever”

“HE had all the skills he needed to be the best,and to tell u the truth he was the best ever,he was a MAGICO”

» more comments on "Jorge "Mágico" González"

28) Juan Roman Riquelme

“best all time postplayer”

29) Roy Keane

“Greatest Midfielder of all time, he dragged United to the Champions league final and Ireland to the 2002 world cup and didn’t get to play in either.”

“he is a star in the game no doubt
”

“you people know nothing about football. this man has captained his team in the greatest league in the world and won every competition worth winning and he did not have buck teeth”

30) Raúl Gonzalez

“raul the highest goal scorer of the champions league history
the highest goal scorer in spain history and over 200 league goals!”

31) Teofilo Cubillas

“one of the top ten players”

“DESERVES TO BE HIGHER THEN SOME PEOPLE IN THIS LIST.”

“The best 10 after Pele in the 70s and 80s. Star of Benfica”

32) Andriy Shevchenko

“Simply the best, he can make a come back!!!”

“As a AC Milan supporter fan, he did the best, he won a golden ball, he was the best, the kind of Milano, now he left for money milan to go to the chealse and now? what happen to him?”

33) Dennis Bergkamp

“what a legend should be number one
”

“he’s skills and he’s goal are superb”

34) Wayne Rooney

“He’s an amazing player.”

Lottie

“he’s the best ever going to Manchester United at the age of 16 should explain a lot”

“rooney is the best player on manchester united I your biggest fan ever”

» more comments on "Wayne Rooney"

35) Roberto Carlos

“he has the best left foot in the world...”

gfbmzb

“The Best Free Kick In The History Of Soccer. Better Than Beckham.”

“The best left foot in football history”

36) Lev Yashin

“the single most agile and most brilliant goalkeepe the world will ever see!”

37) Alfredo Di Stéfano

“Sorry I had to vote for the great Di Stefano just to get him above Harry Kewell!!!!!”

“scored 216 goals in 282 league matches between 1953 and 1964. One 14 league titles, European cup 5 times and was European footballer of the year twice.
and the best reason to have him in the top ten is because maradona said- "I don’t know if I was a better player than Pelé, but I can say without any doubt that Di Stéfano was better than Pelé. I am proud when one speaks of Di Stéfano.... I can say that Maradona could be worse than Pelé. But I emphasize Di Stéfano was better".
”

38) Michael Laudrup

39) Alan Shearer

“newcastle’s greatest ever player”

40) Luis Figo

“one of the best portugal has offered and one of the best the world has seen”

PR1MET1ME101

“He has the greatest class of any player, with his trademark curl, he is Portugal’s greatest asset.”

“A blessing sent by the soccer Gods!! One of the most fantastic players ever...clearly in the top 20...”

41) Fernando Torres

42) Eric Cantona

“eric should be on the top ten”

“he turned united from a great team to one wanted for breach of competition laws for monopolising the premeirship”

“He truely is the best french player ever”

» more comments on "Eric Cantona"

43) Henrik Larsson

“another legend ignored by you people.he played for the three greatest clubs of all time”

“The best player ever to put ona pair of boots and stand on gods green earth.”

44) Michael Ballack

“he’s a legend”

richie4life

45) Bobby Charlton

“BEST ENGLAND PLAYER EVER”

46) Carlos Valderrama

“without question the best no doubt
el pibe!”

“Great Overall player, full with joy, happiness and motivation that a lot of players lack today surely one of the best”

“Best Colombian player ever”

47) Frank Lampard

“the most wickedest player in the world”

“Lampard’z Really wicked
”

“lampard at present is arguably the best midfielder in english football..he has it all he can score from long distance
+ he can also put in those lovely passes for the strikers to score ..”

» more comments on "Frank Lampard"

48) Rıdvan Dilmen

“fast, tecnique.. amazig player....
”

Obscure

49) Zlatan Ibrahimović

“Underrated”

“i cannot believe he is not up here already, this player holds one of the most impressive highlight reels to date. dribbling through what seems to be an entire team and promptly puts the ball in the net. players like c. ronaldo make many pretty moves, but do not put the ball in the net. this player does.”

50) Memo Ochoa

“he should be in one of the 10 best players in the world!!!!

seriusly
”

“The Best goal keeper in Mexico”

51) Augustine Azuka ("Jay-Jay") Okocha

“Ja-Jay Okocha, is the best 10 Africa has ever produce and the best africa Player from 19994 - 2005, despite, Africa Man will always be an Africa Man, refuse to Honour Him as the best Africa at least Twice. For You to won an Award from BBC, goes to tell a lot. Thanks”

“this is the genius of our time,, talked in the same lines as the maradonas and peles of this world..love ronnie but he is not #1 .okochais in the top 5 of the world ..#1 in africa..”

“was so brilliant with the ball”

52) Cesc Fàbregas

“he is now the best player of his age and good looks too
”

“best passer inb the premier league go arsenal”

53) Harry Kewell

“great technique pin point crossing a typical winger”

54) Ole Gunnar Solskj

“Ole Gunnar, one of the best plyers in all time......come on, there are tons of plyers better than him.
Ridiculous!!!”

“best finisher ever”

55) Andrés Guardado

“He is the best player
”

“NOT ONLY HE’S MEXICAN HE IS THE BEST SOCCER PLAYER EVERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

$Vote for Gianfraco Zola$ 56) Gianfraco Zola

“best player eva you know he has the best attacking midfielder or mid ever in those days”

“he is just the ultimate player should be in da top 10”

57) Younis Mahmoud

“Yasser al Qahtani didnt deserve to win the afc award Younis should have!
Plus YOUNIS IS THE BEST!”

“mohammad younes is the best footbal player lted 1000.000.000.of persons happy
”

“he is a good player halping his team and making good goals and he letted 1000000 of persons to get happy
”

» more comments on "Younis Mahmoud"

58) George Weah

“I think George Weah is the best. The only world class who has not played world cup but yet won the FIFA, EUROPE, AFRICA the same year”

59) Michael Essien

“One of the graetest all time and best tactical midfielder to date. He won the best French player, sent his team to the world cup, won the the best player in his club team and can play all the positions in midfield and the defends. What a player!”

60) Marco Van Basten

“what a joke?Van BAsten was the Best players in 80ties and what a place in this list?...”

61) Guillermo Ochoa

“best goalie ever”

62) Titus Bramble

63) Didier Drogba

“He kills and he got the most goals for Chelsea in 2006. Better than all the other Africans. Go Ivory Coast.”

“Legend”

“he is the best.”

64) Georgi Asparuhov (Gundi)

“the best bulgarian footballplayer”

65) Gabriel Batistuta

“ohhhh! he was a total legend of Argentina. His goal scoring ability was great. He’s the best!”

66) Shunsuke Nakamura

“the best ever japanese player and probably the best freekick specialist in the world.”

67) Nery Castillo

“he good and he can go by you like crazy!”

“Best goals in the copa America ...
best Mexican player right know..”

68) Younes Mahmoud

“he is most best football player , he always halp his team
”

69) Petr Cech

“Amazing Goal Keeper. So sad that he was knocked unconscious. Still, after all that, he is an awesome goalie. Best Czech player by far and the most talented goalie in the EPL and before the injury, the best goalie in the world (and he has the trophie to prove it!). The goalie is the most vital part of the team. so often we overlook our defence. Look at the top ten! a bunch of strikers and midfielders. We need to learn to appreciate our defenders and goalies much more.”

70) Stanley Matthews

“The best player ever? most defently”

“He played pantastic football for England. Look at his dribbling. No doubt the top player of all time.”

71) Marcelo Salas

“Magical”

“When he was playing in river & then in Lazio he rocked!”

72) René Higuita

73) Hernan George Crespo

“doesnt get to play alot in inter which is stupid”

“He is amazing
Best Argentinian striker!
Has knowledge of the game!
Is not fat like Ronaldo”

74) Robinho - Robson de Souza

“i agree he should be in the top 20 atleast”

“made most goals in copa america
dribbles better than teves
Marco ortiz is awesome me”

75) Samuel Eto’o

“definetly NOT 97th all time best! one of the best strikers in barcelona history to me! definately the best not only in cameroon but in Africa!”

“all time African best player”

76) Paul Scholes

“1 of the best mid-feilders of all time ....ginja ninja!”

“BAller”

77) Cuauhtémoc Blanco

“he is the best of the world”

“he has having a great season with Chicago fire and got Club America to the final”

“"he doesn’t play for the money he plays because he loves it"
"best soccer player in Mexico""he will always be the best socccer player in Mexican soccer"”

78) Giovanni Dos Santos

“very good! one of the best young players ive ever seen! lot to learn but fantastic player!”

“Best Mexican Soccer Player ever!!”

79) Ruud Van Nistelrooy

“nistelrooy has proved over the years that he is certainly the best finisher in the present game >”

“the best”

“simply the greatest. Why hasnt he been listed already? or did i miss something”

80) Lukas Podolski

81) Omar Bravo

“i don’t know why the heck heâ€™s not on the list. People probably forgot about the chivas i guess. For everybody who doesn’t know who the chivas are they are the best soccer team in mexico and omar bravo is their best player and he really is the best mexican soccer player ever why do you think his last name is bravo”

82) Saviola

“defently bestt socer player in the world.. =D”

“Hes amazin 2nd best argentinian striker”

83) Gerd Müller

“If 68 goals in 62 internationals is not enough, consider 14 World Cup goals, and one of just 3 to score 10+ goals in a single edition (1970) of the World Cup (the others being Fontaine and Kocsis and they did it in the 1950’s when the scores tended to be higher). Definitely one of the top 10 strikers of all-time.
”

Relayer1971

84) Bobby Moore

“Only man to captain England to World Cup victory. Now that’s something”

“master defender

a great player and a gentleman
hailed by pele as the best defender he has played against”

85) Ruud Gullit

“The best AC Milan player of all time.”

86) Rivaldo

“Deserves to be higher than some of players that are in the list”

“amazing”

“best brazilian midfielder ever”

87) Giorgio Chinaglia

88) Tom Finney

“one of the world greats, played in 3 world cup finals, one time England top goalscorer and modest too”

“should be mentioned in yhe all time greats.”

89) Romário

“I don´t believe you guys forgot him!!! he won the 1994 world cup alone!! he´s one of the best striker alive.. end he doesn´t even like to training.”

90) Lee Dong Gook

“worlds greatest striker for the past 18 months surely.”

91) Bambang Pamungkas

92) Abedi Pelé

“heartbeat of contemporary african and world soccer”

“he was the most skillful african player”

93) Paolo Maldini

“greatest left back ever the face of Milan for the past 20 or so years”

94) Duncan Edwards

“You can keep all your Bests, Peles and Maradonas - Duncan Edwards was the greatest of them all
”

“a great player with even more potential better shot than lampard and unlike most players on this list could play anywhere and make a tackle”

“Only 21 when he died in the Munich air disaster, when almost all of Manchester United’s side where killed. This "Busby Babe" was considered the best by his pal Bobby Charlton. HE won over 25 caps before he was 21. Unbeleivable”

» more comments on "Duncan Edwards"

95) Carlos Edwards

“Great trinidadian footballer made it to the 06 world cup and almost scored a great goal against englang.He is one of the greatest trinidadian footballers of all time.”

96) Luis Figo

“he is one of the best mid-fielders”

97) Micheal Essien

“there is no football player as hard working as essien ..he is a managers player cause he can play as a defender + he can score in critical situations ...>”

“he is just the boss!”

98) Paolo Rossi

“1982 - 6 Goals FORZA RAGAZZI”

99) José Nasazzi

“The greatest Uruguayan Soccer Player ever and one of the main reasons they won 2 Olympic GOLD Medals in the 1920’s as well as the 1930 inaugural World Cup. A 2-time MVP in the COPA AMERICA, a great Captain and leader. One of the TOP 11 *REAL* soccer players of all-time and a "must starter" on any realistic "all-time team".
Amongst Uruguayans, Andrade might have been as good or better defensively, Varela might be comparable as a leader but Nasazzi has BOTH qualities, and only Enzo Francescoli amongst Uruguayans has matched his 2 MVP’s in the COPA America (also 12 years apart) but he didn’t win a World Cup!”

Relayer1971

100) Kalusha Bwalya