Top 100 Greatest Ever Footballers
It’s that time of the year again. The time when a random (ok, let’s call it ‘well-respected’ if you prefer) football publication makes an “All Time Best” ranking that never fails to create controversy and offend a few people.
FourFourTwo did one of those last month, this time it’s the turn of the ‘Association of Football Statisticians’ to make its Top 100, after studying every fact and figure from the beautiful game over the past 100 years.
Points are given for goals scored by forwards and clean sheets for defenders. Players also get awarded marks for trophies won, captaincy and the level they played at throughout their career.
It should come as no big surprise to see Pelé at nº1 spot (the Brazilian legend totalling 16,799.44 points), but the names and rankings further down the list are bound to raise some eyebrows. The analysis of The Sun highlights the biggest problems in English Premiership terms:
- Manchester United legends George Best, Denis Law and Eric Cantona don’t make the top 100.
- Ali Daei’s 109 goals in 149 games for Iran puts him at 26th – ahead of players like Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho.
- Diego Maradona is ranked only 6th.
The publishers explain to The Sun that Best misses out because he never participated in a World Cup tournament, and had a fairly short career, while Ali Daei won his place by scoring 109 goals in 149 international matches for… Iran.
The Daily Star takes a look the UK players, and finds out that England’s top star is Bobby Charlton in 23rd spot, two places above Scotland’s Kenny Dalglish. David Beckham is 44th, Kevin Keegan at 46th, Gary Lineker 56th, Welsh ace Ryan Giggs 62nd, and Michael Owen 68th. Alan Shearer misses out of the top 100.
Further analysis of the ‘Best 100′ reveals that the top 3 trio is 100% Brazilian (with Ronaldo 2nd and Romario 3rd… and Cafu closing down the Auriverde block at 10th). Figo is 4th, Zidane 5th, and other big names such as Platini (13th), Maldini (15th), Zico (16th), Gullit (18th) and Cruyff (21st) are excluded from the Top 10.
TThe most represented nation is France (with 16 players), followed by Brazil (11), Italy and Germany (10). England totals 7, Argentina 5 (Messi not included).
Also, in terms of overall football career, the most represented European league is the Serie A. Indeed, most of the Top 100 players worked at one point or another in Italy: Serie A totals at least 58 players in that ranking, closely followed by La Liga (44), and the EPL (36). Other represented leagues include the Bundesliga (22), the French Ligue 1 (22), the Dutch Eredivisie (20), and the Portuguese Superliga (5). As for South America, the Campeonato Brasileiro counts 11 players while the Argentine Apertura/Clausura only 8 (most of the Brazilian/Argentine stars obviously beginning their career back home). An interesting note is the total of 13 players who played in the MLS/USL (mostly at the end of their careers), making North America the destination of choice for footballers close to retirement.
As for the Italians, aside from the aforementioned Paolo Maldini the remaining 9 players in the list are Paolo Rossi (43rd), Alessandro Costacurta (49th), Dino Zoff (51st), Alessandro Del Piero (60th), Demetrio Albertini (64th), Giacinto Facchetti (75th), Franco Baresi (77th), Gianni Rivera (78th) and Roberto Baggio (79th).
The Top 100 is revealed in the book Greatest Ever Footballers, on sale next week by Headline publishers for £14.99 (€21.50).
Here’s the full list. Any thoughts?
| 1 |  |
Pelé | (Brazil) |
| 2 |  |
Ronaldo | (Brazil) |
| 3 |  |
Romário | (Brazil) |
| 4 |  |
Luís Figo | (Portugal) |
| 5 |  |
Zinedine Zidane | (France) |
| 6 |  |
Diego Maradona | (Argentina) |
| 7 |  |
Lothar Matthäus | (Germany) |
| 8 |  |
Gerd Müller | (Germany) |
| 9 |  |
Franz Beckenbauer | (Germany) |
| 10 |  |
Cafu | (Brazil) |
.
| 11 | Roberto Carlos | (Brazil) |
| 12 | Marco van Basten | (Holland) |
| 13 | Michel Platini | (France) |
| 14 | Rivaldo | (Brazil) |
| 15 | Paolo Maldini | (Italy) |
| 16 | Zico | (Brazil) |
| 17 | Raúl | (Spain) |
| 18 | Ruud Gullit | (Holland) |
| 19 | Eusébio | (Portugal) |
| 20 | Ferenc Puskás | (Hungary) |
| 21 | Johan Cruyff | (Holland) |
| 22 | Alfredo di Stefano | (Argentina) |
| 23 | Bobby Charlton | (England) |
| 24 | Jürgen Klinsmann | (Ger) |
| 25 | Kenny Dalglish | (Scotland) |
| 26 | Ali Daei | (Iran) |
| 27 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | (Ger) |
| 28 | Gabriel Batistuta | (Argentina) |
| 29 | Michael Laudrup | (Denmark) |
| 30 | Hristo Stoichkov | (Bulgaria) |
| 31 | Dennis Bergkamp | (Holland) |
| 32 | Frank Rijkaard | (Holland) |
| 33 | Thierry Henry | (France) |
| 34 | Pavel Nedved | (Czech Rep) |
| 35 | Gheorghe Hagi | (Romania) |
| 36 | Peter Schmeichel | (Denmark) |
| 37 | Andriy Shevchenko | (Ukraine) |
| 38 | Sepp Maier | (Germany) |
| 39 | Didier Deschamps | (France) |
| 40 | Lilian Thuram | (France) |
| 41 | Enzo Francescoli | (Uruguay) |
| 42 | Hakan Şükür | (Turkey) |
| 43 | Paolo Rossi | (Italy) |
| 44 | David Beckham | (England) |
| 45 | Jean-Pierre Papin | (France) |
| 46 | Kevin Keegan | (England) |
| 47 | Marcel Desailly | (France) |
| 48 | Oliver Kahn | (Germany) |
| 49 | Alessandro Costacurta | (Ita) |
| 50 | Clarence Seedorf | (Holland) |
| 51 | Dino Zoff | (Italy) |
| 52 | Patrick Kluivert | (Holland) |
| 53 | Jari Litmanen | (Finland) |
| 54 | Daniel Passarella | (Arg) |
| 55 | Bixente Lizarazu | (France) |
| 56 | Gary Lineker | (England) |
| 57 | Ronaldinho | (Brazil) |
| 58 | Sylvain Wiltord | (France) |
| 59 | Bebeto | (Brazil) |
| 60 | Alessandro Del Piero | (Italy) |
| 61 | Davor Šuker | (Croatia) |
| 62 | Ryan Giggs | (Wales) |
| 63 | David Trezeguet | (France) |
| 64 | Demetrio Albertini | (Italy) |
| 65 | Patrick Vieira | (France) |
| 66 | Jürgen Kohler | (Germany) |
| 67 | Laurent Blanc | (France) |
| 68 | Michael Owen | (England) |
| 69 | Youri Djorkaeff | (France) |
| 70 | Frank De Boer | (Holland) |
| 71 | Emilio Butragueño | (Spain) |
| 72 | Hugo Sánchez | (Mexico) |
| 73 | Rudi Völler | (Germany) |
| 74 | Djalma Santos | (Brazil) |
| 75 | Giacinto Facchetti | (Italy) |
| 76 | Kanu | (Nigeria) |
| 77 | Franco Baresi | (Italy) |
| 78 | Gianni Rivera | (Italy) |
| 79 | Roberto Baggio | (Italy) |
| 80 | Oscar Ruggeri | (Argentina) |
| 81 | Gheorghe Popescu | (Romania) |
| 82 | Jon Dahl Tomasson | (Denmark) |
| 83 | Raymond Kopa | (France) |
| 84 | Carlos Valderrama | (Colombia) |
| 85 | Rui Costa | (Portugal) |
| 86 | Gary Neville | (England) |
| 87 | Edgar Davids | (Holland) |
| 88 | Claudio Taffarel | (Brazil) |
| 89 | Paul Scholes | (England) |
| 90 | Diego Simeone | (Argentina) |
| 91 | Bryan Robson | (England) |
| 92 | Roy Keane | (Rep of Ireland) |
| 93 | Brian Laudrup | (Denmark) |
| 94 | Henrik Larsson | (Sweden) |
| 95 | Fabien Barthez | (France) |
| 96 | Michael Ballack | (Germany) |
| 97 | Jan Koller | (Czech Rep) |
| 98 | Edwin van der Sar | (Holland) |
| 99 | Robert Pirès | (France) |
| 100 | Johan Neeskens | (Holland) |
Marco Pantanella writes on the mCalcio blog
- Gabriele Marcotti’s top 50 footballers
- Who is the Premiership’s greatest player ever?
- Top 10 EPL Entertainers
- Kaka on the 2008 Time 100 list - why?
- Dennis Bergkamp and Arsenal - One Last Time At Ashburton Grove
Discussion - 102 Responses
Add Your Comment
Comments are moderated (our comments policy).
1. George Best is not there, but David beckham - that cannot even play football (except for crossing - is there?
not a very good indication of top 100 in my opinion.
2. Maradonna at no. 6? (This is supposed to be a joke hey?)
Number 97 Jan Koller - is it joke? There are two “All Time Best” players from Czech Rep.! Josef “Pepi” Bican (September 25, 1913 - December 12, 2001), SK Slavia Praha forward, one of the world’s most prolific goalscorers of all time, he claimed that he had scored 5000 goals (five times as many as Pelé) or Josef Masopust (born February 9, 1931), DUKLA Praha midfielder, European Footballer of the Year in 1962. Masopust was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.
Karl, I think you are missing the meaning of this list: it is based on statistics.
It just goes to show that the greatest players are not necessarily the best ones. Statistcally, David Beckham was considered the greatest passer of all time one season into his Real Madrid career. Nobody can deny that he is a true legend - whether some people will like to admit it or not.
But um….. where is Yassin?
This list is rubbish. Le King Cantona not included, George Best not in it either, you can’t make a Top 10 list without these players never mind a Top 100
i dont think ic ould have even made a worst list in my wildest dreams:
1) mardaonna at 6?
2) ronaldo 2? was a great player but 2nd of ALL TIME?
3) roberto carlos 11? yeah right
4) becks ahead of giggs AND keano? guy must be on drugs
5) laurent blanc and barthez make the list? no seriously…dont make me laugh
shit - even cantona not in there
All this list does is exemplify to serious shortcomings of statistical analysis conducted in a bubble. Bottom line a list like this is crap. So much of soccer is about intangibles, and statistics can’t capture that.
Well the problem is evident. This is a list of players who had great CAREERS, not great footballers.
It’s hard to do a top 100 list, players play in different leagues and in different eras, how do we know that that Iranian guy wouldn’t have scored as much in England? Maybe if he’d been born in 1940 he would have been England’s hero in 1966.
Gary Neville?? An example, Best’s exclusion shows this discriminates against the smaller nations. While based on statistics, as Andrei points out, I don’t believe this holds much credibility. Presumably because Ali Daei played at a World Cup, presuming 1998(?) in presumably 3 matches (pool games), this makes him a more worthy entrant than Best!
Daglish is there but stevey aint? wtf cafu 10? van baastan only 12? No Best? Michael Ballack? Maradona 6? Fat Ronaldo 2? Thuram?????
If this was based on true Talent there would certainly be more players from the “bruising age”
1. Pele
2. Maradonna
3. Best
4. Van Baasten
Kanu?!?!?! Does anyone else think that that’s absurd?
PRO ADVOCATE:
While the list may not be precise, I think it DOES include the world best players ever. So what if the order is not exact… the order depends on each person’s personal experience with the players and their favorite teams…
I think their Top 100 includes the best player ever…
that list is disgraceful…where is George Best or Cantona an why is Roy Keane 92!!!!?????
“Manchester United legends George Best, Denis Law and Eric Cantona don’t make the top 100.”
Statistics can kiss my backside this list is lame as hell
and i guess this is what happens when geeks with fat glasses do some work that involves passion/addiction/crazyness which most of footy fans have .
These guys are just trying to make a quick buck with the book and nothing else
I think maybe it was a joke
Maybe we could decide on the best footballer of all time, but no human, no statistics and no computer can make a correct top 100. Some players are born unlucky, if Best played for England he would certainly be the best footballer of all time, if Cantona wasn’t such a rebel he would have played more for France and be in contention for the best footballer of all time. To be the best player in the world doesn’t neccesarily mean you’re the best it only means you were lucky. THIS LIST IS A JOKE!!!!!!!
YOU GUYS, THESE ARE BASED ON STATISTICS. STATISTICS, NOT OPINION, THEREFORE ALI DAEI QUALIFIES AS TOP 100. And yes, he won shit all and yes, Maradona and Pele to street fight it out over the number one spot and yes, George Best is at least top 5 all day everyday. Beckham is just about top 60 material.
haha ,a super big JOKE !
who can beleive MARADONA at 6 and ROnaldo at 2 ?!
maybe ronaldo around 20~30 is more better !
change the list man :
1- Maradona
2- Zidane
3- Platini
4- Best
5- Johan Cruyff
7- Gerd Müller
8- Franz Beckenbauer
9- maldini
10- batistuta
maybe i’ve forgot somebody called pele there !? ^.^
but he is just a show man of FIFA !
very hard to compare players from different times my top five
1.zidane
2.pele
3.maradona
4.best
5.ronaldo
diffenitly influenced by my own age. but i have never seen footage of pele, maradona or best that matches the amazing skills of zidane he in my opinion is unmatched
forgot to add maldini at six, defenders get less respect than attacking footballers it seems…
There are three types of lies- lies, damn lies, and statistics.
zidane pele maradona are all equally great but not ronaldo to me
My list would be the same as AMIR [19.] list…but just because I have never seen footage of Pele play.
Have seen Maradonna on many occasions…just brilliant.
Pele is the undisputed no. 1, Ronaldo is a distant second for me.
My top 10:
1. Maradona
2. Pele
3. Beckenbauer
4. Cruijff/Cruyff/Whatever his name is
5. di Stefano
6. Puskas
7. Zidane
8. Dalglish
9. Passarella
10.Platini
Also how come Emlyn Hughes isn’t on any lists? The guy wins a host of trophies for Liverpool, he ran one of the greatest teams of all time from the central midfield and above all he was one of the most successful team captains in history?
Oh and granted he isn’t in my top 10, but he would definitly be in my top 20 for sure
Liverpool dominated far more and longer than any other team yet very few Liverpool players are ever given credit they deserve even now adays
where the fack is BATISTUTA? AND WHY IS GIGGS SO IMMATURE? you can see it in his eyes…..he’s capable of wrong choices all the time…..(kiddin of course) just tell me WHY IS RONALDO SECOND? what were the stupid criteria?
Sod all these Man U players that are missing; 79 Roberto Baggio! Are these statisticians high or something!? Baggio is one of the best Italian players ever. It’s debatable whether he is better than Zoff, Fachetti, Rivera or Baresi but he is way better than Rossi, Albertini and Costacurta who shouldn’t be on the list. Del Piero has spent 10 years in Baggio’s shadow, there is no way he should be higher. Maldini is a great player, one of the best defenders in the world but Baggio carried Italy for years and almost won the World Cup in 94 single handedly, I think he edges him slightly. My Top Ten would be:
Maradona
Pele
Cruyff
Zidane
Ronaldo
Matthaus
Van Basten
Platini
Baggio
Figo
I judge this based on the individual talent combined with achievements and can’t think of many others who would be better. Every single one of them was the best player in their team and best player in a major tournament (World Cup, Euro Champ, Euro Cup, major League). 6 of them were the best players in the World Cup at one point (Maradonna 86, Pele 70, Cruyff 74, Ronaldo 02, Zidane 98, Matthaus 90) the others have won major trophies and been the best players in their team and have other major honours (Van Basten 3 times winner Ballon D’or + Euro88 + European Cup & Serie A w/Milan, Platini 3x Ballon D’Or + European Cup & Serie A w/Juve). Figo & Baggio are not so easy to explain in stats. Figo has won a Ballon D’Or & a European Cup as well as La Liga w/Barca & Real & Serie A with Inter, and that is a great list of achievements and his skill put him in the same team as Zidane. Baggio I explained above, his lack of trophies is mainly due to the fact he never played in a truly great team who could help him win major honours. In 90 & 94 he was unlucky not to win the WC, none of Juve, Milan or Inter were at their best when he joined them but he was still the best player at every club he played for.
ok, problems i have on this…
roy keane should be up there, above 50 atleast… he was such an important player for manutd, same with Paul Scholes!
Zinedine Zidane should be above figo!, second in my book
Peter Schmeichel i am pleased with, one of the best goalkeeper ever
wheres stevy g?? thats what i really dont get, i kno im a united fan but come on!
Ronaldinho is down there :S why?? known as one of the best players of our time and somehow ronaldos second? not saying he should be second but Ronaldinho should be up there with him cuz of how memorable he is too football!
Kanu??? joking???, should be even in the top 500, the players he is above is a joke! such as ballack…
i kno its all down to opinions, but what i’m talking about is common sense!
players who should be in there…
Cantona
Best
Gerrard
I agree Mr Kitch360 too. However what u havent stated is that david beckham on there HOWEVER George Best is not.
I am a Manutd fan my self but what the hell is Dennis Bergkamp doing at number 31, the way i which he plays is with such flow and when he recieves the ball he always makes goal scoring opportunites. And where the F*@! hell is Eric Cantona are they MAD…. SORT UR LIVES OUT M8
Interista,
I agree with your top 4 in order…
For those that have never seen Pele play, WTF!! Havent you heard of YouTube? Him and Maradona and are the most talented footballers ever by a country mile, but very different in styles.
Cruyff was special too, again, loads of his genius on YouTube…
Anyway, wheres Bobby Moore?
See how all you Manure fans say “but so and so was so important to manure”… Arrogant twats, there’s a world outside Manchester… Of course you already know that, you’r e not from there!
Cantona
Best
Gerrard
yeh they shud fefianetly be der!!
ok, let’s say this list is based on statistics right?
FIGO is a very good player, but he’s no.4??
i dont know how u come up with such list, MALDINI won 5 CHAMPIONS LEAGUES, not to mention how many times he won the SCUDETTO or Coppa Italia. I think knowing how many times he won the champions league is enough to make’em better than FIGO in ranking.
that’s about maldini, and i dont even want to start comparing FIGO to MARADONA cuz it actually sounds stupid
[…] you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Yes, I’ve said it before: it’s ‘Top 100 Ranking’ time. Fresh of publishing their Top 100 footballers list […]
Of course Zidane is better than Figo,Romario and Ronaldo but why he is in the 5th place ?
Top players are :
Maradona
Zidane
Pele
Ronaldo
Puskas
Di Stefano
How can people compare Maradona with Pele’. Let us set the record straight? Who won his first World Cup at 17 years of age? Who is the player who scored more than 1000 goals?
Who is the player who won 3 World Championships? Who is the player that was twice World champion with a Club (I imagine that there are players with better stats than Pele (Santos) in this category, but this is just another thing under his accomplishments)? Who is the player who one dozens of championships in Brazil? Who is the player was the top scorer (not being a center forward - remember, Pele’ was a midfield playmaker) for dozen of times? Unbelievable that people even compare Maradona to Pele. Players with ability that could compare are Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho Gaucho only.
Who won a World Cup at 17? Who 3 World Cups? Who scored more goals than any other player in the World (playing as a playmaker not a center forward)? Who led the greatest team (Santos) of all times?
Sorry, you have to consider accomplishments when naming the greatest player ever: PELE! PELE!!!
From an statistical point of view he is right up there. Two times world champion (though he was on the reserves in 1994). I think he is tied for most goals scored in world cups. Has won several titles in Europe. And was, I believe, twice player of the year. Not many players with those stats. And stats do mean a lot. Stats don’t capture everything but they do capture quite a bit!
Perhaps not second, but from statistical point of view he is ahead of Maradona. Maradona should never been elevated to where people elevated him. Like I said before, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho and Figo are in higher place as for accomplishment than Maradona. Pele, of course, is head and shoulders above all!
My last comment (above) was about RONALDO. He has great accomplishments. LIKE HIM OR NOT!
Romario is the only other player (besides Pele’) to have scored more than 1000 goals. He also was World Champion. I have not followed his career. But I imagine he had other accomplishments.
That list is so crap the players in the wrong place by far my top ten would be 1 Pele,2 Maradonna,3 beckenbauer 4 Ronaldiniho 5 Ramario 6 Zidane 7 Henry 8 Ronaldo 9 Best 10 Cruyff yous ssucks
Someone mentioned Romario scoring 1000 career goals… well, alot of those arent even competitive football matches and they are from his own personal tally. I have no idea how he scored the last 15 or so, when he was over here on a guest stint at adelaide united he was absolutely terrible, definately the worst striker in the league with the worst work rate, and got 1 tap in goal after missing alot of other oppurtunities.
there is more to football than goals and not conceding their is magic build up play, crunching tackles, skipping through players making it look effortless, dynamite passes that catches the oppents dead.
If you think a goal scoring record entitles him to be at the top you have a lot to learn about football yet.
I still think he should be at the top but not because of his goal scoring record!!
[…] FourFourTwo’s Top 100 footballers list, the ‘Association of Football Statisticians’ Top 100 Greatest Ever Footballers, and recently once again FourFourTwo’s 2007 EPL ‘Rich List’, The Sun is jumping onto the […]
hw is maradona 6th like n figo 4th n ronaldo 2nd.zidane is miles ahead of figo n ronaldo.hw is best n cantona not in it either.dis is a disgraceful list
A top 5 without Di Stefano, Maradona, Best and Cruyff is rubbish. Period.
van der sar
y have i only noriced this now
I agree Ronaldo’s stats are impresssive. Forget the weight or Coach Dunga .Feel sorry for you who disagree press and perception should not brainwash you.
i’m from norn iron and G Best wouldn’t make top 1000 - absolute disgrace to his country - 37 caps prefered the boozer than playing for us.
So Gary Neville (86) is better than Gordon Banks, George Cohen, Ray Wilson, Bobby Moore, Jack Charlton, Geoff Hurst, Roger Hunt, Alan Ball, Nobby Stiles and Martin Peters, all of whom won World Cup medals ? YOU’RE ‘AVING A LARFFFF !
Not to mention Stanley Matthews, Jackie Milburn, etc., etc.
ali who @ 26 & denis bergkamp @ 31 ,says it all.what a load of ****.
Chox Papa i agree with you people who never saw ronaldo in 97/98 and 2002 man to all u who think ronaldo is not worth a 3nd place u have no idea look up some world cup vids of 1998 world cup brazil v holland he had pace strength and a great shot not to mention skill he was the ultimate striker so many goals so many accomplishments i admit that after his injury he went down hill but if he can win 3 world player of the year awards at such a young age he must have been something special in the top three greatest ever player there are pele ronaldo and Maradona hard to put them in place but it might go 1st pele 2nd Maradona 3rd ronaldo but take into it that defenders 30 years ago wert as go as todays which adds more to ronaldos case i h8 people who don’t think ronaldo was gd because they have watched him over the last 2 years when he has not bin at his best
this list gets raw air!
romario shouldnt even be in the top 20 never mind second.
and there seems to be to many players from the modern era in the top 20.
in all the list is a shambles.
my top 10
1.zidane
2.cruyff
3.pele
4.platini
5.di stefano
6.maradona
7.best
8.puskas
9.beckenbauer
10.muller
do you wanna talk about stats? ok this guy is number 57?
Ronaldinho Gaucho
Individual awards:
* FIFA World Player of the Year: 2004, 2005 (2006 3rd place)
* World Soccer Player of the Year: 2004, 2005
* European Footballer of the Year: 2005
* FIFPro World Player of the Year 2005, 2006
* FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006, 2007
* Onze d’Or: 2005
* UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2005-06
* UEFA Club Best Forward: 2004-05
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2004, 2005, 2006
* Best foreign player in La Liga: 2004, 2006
* EFE Trophy: Best Ibero-American Player in La Liga:2004
* FIFA World Cup 2002 All-Star team: 2002
* FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball Award: 2006
* FIFA Confederations Cup Top Scorer: 1999
* FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 1999
* Rio Grande do Sul State Championship Top Scorer: 1999
Club
* Rio Grande do Sul State Championship: 1999
* Rio Grande do Sul State Cup: 1999
* Intertoto Cup: 2001
* Spanish Liga: 2005, 2006
* Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006
* UEFA Champions League: 2006
* FIFA Club World Cup 2006: Runners-up
International
* FIFA U-17 World Cup: 1997
* Copa America: 1999
* FIFA World Cup: 2002
* Confederations Cup: 2005
Stats: average of 15+ goals and 14+ assist per season in 3 years.
and he is number 57? HAHAHAH
This is a big mistake not to put Roger Miller on such a list you have cross check your facts or statistics
Looking at a guys comment, emilio calleja, says that if best played for England he’d be better, and on the list. Thats like saying that if I was from luxembourg, I would have a better chance of playing international football than I do now… The fact of the matter is that he played for N.Ireland, and thats that. And as for Cantona, he retired at 28, and was banned for however long after kicking someone in the face. To be honest, I’m not bothered that someone who can do that isn’t on the list.
Will anyone with a sound mind think of the top 100 footballers listed a reality without inclusion of of the GREAT GEORGE WEAH of Liberia. Let’s stop playing politics with football. George received the African, European and world best all in a single year. What else may warrant his exclusion? Let’s call a spade a spade.
The selection of Kanu was made only to include an African and avoid classifying the list as racist. Pls pick out players that have attained the World Best title from your list by years attained and painfully struggle to fill the gap created by ommiting George Weah of Liberia.
1.Ballack
2.Messi
3.Kaka
3.Klose
4.Gerrald
5.Fabregas
lisen this people are jokeeeeeeeeeeeeing
fist of all ronadlo he to sick 3 times world best player ever from 1996 till 2002 no one could come close to ronaldo he deseves numba two sport along with zidane. by there way ronaldo one 2 world cupss for brazil he is the alltime top score jsut because he got fat so wat i remember ronadlo bak in the dayz going through playes in and out something maradona stat of which ronaldo floowed which now ronadlinho masterd if u think about the skill and genius ronaldinho should be the best but rona;ldinho was only at top level for 2 years and only for barca but u have to say that maradona is the best player pele that pele this come on ronaldo is the best brazilan ever but pele was good thour he just made the blocks of football which maradona showed has how to use and geroge best was not init this people are mad
wtf? why is ballack in there?? and jacques moolman should be no. 1. liverpool fan wtf? do you know anything about football? pussy
All these fackin liverpool fans need a lesson in football. Ballack was one of the best. he lead germany in 2 great world cup campaigns. and ryan giggs is the most overrated player ever to grace a football pitch. and liverpool is the kakest club ever to exist. and where the fack is tel ben haim and emiel heskey and sagna and especially jean du toit (the greatest pakistani ever) and not to mention jose mourinho(the greatest porra ever). this is the worst rankings ever im gonna bomb fifa’s headquaters(lol)
xx you’ve got some knowledge (ballack no.1) but who the fack is gerrald dude
okay who is chelsea fan and ballack 100? have they ever watched a game in there life? Guys dont waste our time you guys should stay in your room and wank stay away from football. i cant believe one of you is a chelsea fan. and just wana add gary neville? rivaldo? kanu? wtf? and raul 17? he is extremely overrated. and everyone’s questioning ronaldo’s position. his old now when he was young he played awesome football look at 2002? he deserves the no.2 spot.
okay who is chelsea fan and ballack 100? have they ever watched a game in there life? Guys dont waste our time you guys should stay in your room and wank stay away from football. i cant believe one of you is a chelsea fan. and just wana add gary neville? rivaldo? kanu? wtf? and raul 17? he is extremely overrated. and everyone’s questioning ronaldo’s position. his old now when he was young he played awesome football look at 1998 and 2002? he deserves the no.2 spot.
wtf!!!??? why the naai isnt santiago muniez from newcastle in the rankings ? omy fucking sack guys… no… there comes a time in a mans life where he realises that he missed out on a good opertunity.sorry top100 selecters but u made a mistake(Tear) didnt you c his free kick at the end of goal 1
?? and ok,so maybe he got carried away with fame in the second muvie but hay. look what hapend to farmer joe, when he got fame he also got slamed in the face with the bad media publicity equal to a fish paste sandwidch in the face…
Firstly i just wana say wtf? the latest rankings is a joke. and secondly you guys we need to cut scott carson some slack he is just aperson with feelings. i dnt want him to commit suicide because of us. and then thirdly why the fuck isnt mark fish an lucas radebe at least in the top 20??? they revolutionised the south african defence.
i should have been no.1. end of discussion!!! im here till monday
1 should be gerrard i mean he is not even on the thing
The list is a total craz. A list without Roger Milla is no list.
Where is Hernan Crespo? If Kanu is there, then wheres Crespo. An inspirational star who is still playing and may I say, at his peak!
1-How about Inzaghi? He won alot if you are interested only in statistics!!!!
2-How about Christian Panucci?
3-How about Predrag Mijatovic? Didn’t he beat juventus with del piero and zidane to win the champions league for madrid?
4-How about George Weah?
5-How about Geoff Hurst? Excuse me but a hattrick at the 1966 Final and a worldcup title places him way high in such a statistical list.
6-Explain why Fernando Hierro is not there?
The list will go on and on and on. This Book is nothing better than FIREWOOD on a cold night. WORTHLESS crap.
You should revise the list.
This list is a joke. No Best? eh. No CANTONA? eh. Figo ahead of Zidane? eh. Henry behind Ali Deai? Henry has won the world cup and was the top scoerer of the Premier League many times and also won the Euro 2000. They said they did not put Best in because he did not play in the world cup? And they put Ali Deai there infront of a world cup winner Henry? and they include Giggs who has not played in the world cup either? Their justifications for choice is not correct at all nor is it consistant. I cannot belive people like Kanu and Jon Dhal Thomasson make it but no Kaka or Gerrard? This is absurd.
Maradona behind Romario? HAHAH NO.
i havent seen anyone mention rooney, baresi(too low on the list) brehme, ravelli. kahn needs to be inside top 30. my top 10 (not in order)
Best
Cantona
Gerrard
Pele
Maradona
Sir charlton
Ronaldinho
Hurst
Beckenbauer
Ravelli
Acorrding to this, england’s best all time player stands at no.23 and ronaldo is at no.2. this list is bullshit.
whoa,ulgly
1-pelle
2-maradona
3-george weah
4-van basten
5-ronaldo
6-zidane
etc you can name the rest
Ronaldo 2? jajjaja youre kidding me! and where is lampard and gerrard? because the barbie beckham is there.
jajjaj where the hell is Paulo Wanchope lol
ronaldo deserves to get the number two spot everyone is judging his career by his current performance. in his young days he was unstopable no argumant. And Meza i am a chelsea fan but frank lampard is not that good only times when he’ll score is when he gets a lucky deflection. And whats this thing with gerrard? everyone thinks he should be top 5, sure he should be on the list but like in the top 50 at best.
1. Zidane
2. pele
3. henry
4. ronaldo
5. Maradona
6. Rooney
1.pele
2.maradona
3.best
4.beckenbaur
5.ronaldo
6.figo
7.zidane
8.muller
9.cafu
10.cruyff
my top 5 wud be
1.roy keane.cuz he is a leader a legend an irishman
2.diego maradona.cuz he can do anyting wit a football
3.pele.cuz he is special u dnt get much better
4.best.wud be no.2 after roy keane but he ruined his career n keane is a leader on nd off a pitch
5.cruyff.he is good
Where r the African legends.They should b Integrated in the man 100 list.Which i undastand is d whole idea of the football itself.I still dont believe its just only Kanu in dat list.I mean George Weah n Jay jay Okocha i strongly believe r exceptional enough to b mentioned.
pele
trezeguet
zidane
inzaghi
del piero
y the hell is christiano ronaldo not on this list???
hes the best player in the world at the moment
david hirst is the best player ever
what about kaka c.ronaldo and cesc fabregas
david hirst is brutal he lacks stamina balance and the ability to produce great passing.
OMFG cruijf is so mutch beter than the other dutch footballers. why (just watch old movies see for youself)
i give him an 5th place on this list.
why the hack is luis figo on this list, it is aan nasty player and he is only good to drop himself for the enemy goal and get an penalty, give him an place in 80 to 90.
all brazilians are overrated not counting pele.But where is garrincha the best brazilian after pele,george best,lev iashin,eric cantona,mario kempes?it is shame to rate maradona as number 6.ronaldo is phenomenon of modern football but i think number 2 must be diego without question.
Where is Carlos alberto and Tostao!!!Please don ever tel me that guys like Wiltord are among the mebst ever.
For me the best ever 20 would be
Maradona
Pele
Zidane
Eusebio
De stefano
Puskas
Pasarella
Carlos Alberto
Maldini
Figo
Ronaldo(Brazil)
Platini
Beckenbaur
Romario
Cruyff
Rivaldo
Vanbasten
Ronaldhino
Best
Gullit
Vanbesten
1- Maradona
2- Pele
3- Zidane
4- Di Stefano
5- Best
6- Cruyff
7- Ronaldo
8- Garrincha
9- Matthaus
10- Eusebio or Puskas
Please where is George Weah? I do not know why Wiltod should be in that list. To me Maradona is the best of all. He is just the greatest football legend.
1.eric CANTONA
2.PELE
3.RONALDO
4.ZIDANE
what the hell!?
This thing is completly messed - George Best should be in the top 5 for sure - he was the first real superstar of football - every1 wanted to be like him, not just on the pitch but also off! Yes this is about the best on the pitch but look at him - he played as he lived! George Best should at least be number 3 - Pele even said himself that the best player in the world is George Best - i think that comment speaks for itself really!
Correct this table:
1) Pele
2) Best/Maradona
3) Best/Maradona
4) Romário
5) Beckenbauer
I think this is a good list. It was well put together. Obviously any list put up will dissapoint some people because these sites are surfed by various people who like various different teams with various favourite players. However I think this one is good as it will get. Making it based on statistics is evident because I doubt Pele would have scored his 1000 goals in Maradona’s era with more well put together defenses but it was 1000 goals none the less and his number 1 spot is deserved. I can say i think this person or that person should be moved up or down but the list will never be perfect, and for the most part everything here seems accurate for the most part. Perhaps a little more goalkeeper recognition could be in there like moving up Kahn or including Buffon. However all in all I think its a great list and who did it did a great job.
I was suprised not to see more great spanish players from the golden days of Real Madrid like Gento and Santillana but I guess statistics didnt favour them.
1.Ronaldo
2.Maradona
3.Cantona
4.Zidane
5.Pele
6.Best
7.Nedved
8.Ronaldinho
9.Romario
10.Muller
11.Ballack
12.Batistuta
13.Kempes
14.Rossi
15.Baggio
16.Zico
17.Figo
18.Owen
19.Beckenbaur
20.Matthaeus