The coolest player in the world. The best football players in the world

Top 10 great football players in the world

Pele won three world championships, photo: sportskeeda.com

Ask the Maradona Church in Napoli who is the best footballer in the world and you will get a clear answer. Ask the same question in Brazil and people of different ages will give different names. It is hard for the modern football fan to believe that there has ever been a player capable of performing on the field as well as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

We tried to compile an objective top 10 best players. To do this, we took as a basis the titles and records of football players, and also took into account their contribution to the popularization and development of football.

10. Zinedine Zidane

Club career: 1988–2006

Zidane received a football player's license at the age of 10, and at 14 he signed his first contract with the French club Caen. He played for all French youth teams from 17 to 21 years old. At the age of 23, he won his first title with Bordeaux - the Intertoto Cup. In 1996, at the age of 24, Zinedine left the French championship and moved to Juventus. In 1998, he became the world champion with the French national team and received the Golden Ball. Two years later, Zidane and the French team won the European Championship. In 2001, Zinedine moved to Real Madrid, with whom he won six trophies.

During his career, Zidane won six trophies each with Juventus and Real Madrid, winning the championship and Super Cup in both Italy and Spain. Zidane won the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the Intertoto Cup twice each.

Zidane received the Ballon d'Or once and was named FIFA's best player in the world three times: in 1998, 2000 and 2003. Zinedine was included in the FIFA 100 list in 2004, and in the symbolic team of the 21st century according to UEFA in 2012. Recognized as the best French football player of all time by France Football and L'Équipe in 2016 and 2018.

FIFA 100 is a list of the 125 best football players in the world from FIFA and Pele.

9. Ronaldo

Club career: 1993–2011

Ronaldo started playing football at the age of six, and at 12 he became a regular player in the Valqueire children's futsal club. In 1993, Ronaldo moved to his first professional football club, the Brazilian Cruzeiro. After Cruzeiro, Ronaldo played for PSV, Barcelona, ​​Inter, Real Madrid, Milan and Corinthians.

Ronaldo became the champion of Spain twice, won the Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. Ronaldo won the World Cup twice and received the Ballon d'Or twice.

Ronaldo is the youngest player (20 years old) to win the FIFA Player of the Year award and the first player to win it twice in a row. Ronaldo holds the Brazilian team's record for the most goals at the World Cup - 15. "Nibbler" is also included in the FIFA 100 list.

8. Gianluigi Buffon

Club career: 1995–present

Buffon played for Italian amateur teams from the age of six. In 1995, at the age of 17, he signed a contract with the Italian Parma, for whom he played for six years. Buffon spent 17 years of his career with Juventus, and since 2018 he has been playing for PSG.

Buffon won the Italian Championship 11 times, the Italian Cup and Super Cup 5 times each. Won the UEFA Cup once with Parma. Won the French Super Cup with PSG. Buffon is a world champion and European youth champion.

Buffon was named goalkeeper of the year 12 times in Italy, three times the best goalkeeper of the Champions League and once the best goalkeeper of the World Cup. In the 2015/16 season, Buffon set a Serie A record for the most time without conceding a goal - 974 minutes (11 matches). Buffon is the only goalkeeper to win the Champions League Best Player award.

Buffon finished second in the 2006 Ballon d'Or poll, behind Fabio Cannavaro. Gianluigi has played the most caps for the national team among all European footballers. Buffon played for the Italian national team for 20 years. Included in the FIFA 100 list.

7. Maradona

Club career: 1976–1997

Maradona began playing at the age of nine with the Argentinos Juniors youth team. Everyone on the team was three years older than Maradona, but Maradona’s level allowed him to play with the older ones. At the age of 16, Maradona joined the main team. Throughout his career, Maradona played for Boca Juniors, Barcelona, ​​Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys.

Maradona won the Argentine Championship with Boca Juniors, the Copa, the Super Cup and the Spanish League Cup with Barcelona. Won the championship, Italian Cup and Super Cup, as well as the UEFA Cup with Napoli. Maradona is the 1986 world champion. He also won the World Cup with the under-20 team in 1979.

Maradona became the top scorer of the Argentine championship five times, and also became the top scorer of the championship and the Italian Cup.

Maradona is the FIFA Player of the Century, the best Argentine footballer of all time according to the AFA in 1993, and the best player in the 1986 World Cup.

Until 1995, only European footballers could receive the Ballon d'Or. Therefore, only in 1996 Maradona was awarded the honorary Ballon d'Or for his contribution to the development of football. In 2014, Maradona was recognized as the second winner in 1986 and 1990, along with Igor Belanov and Lothar Matthäus.

6. Lionel Messi

Club career: 2003–present

Messi started playing football at the age of five at the amateur club Grandoli. In 1995, at the age of eight, he began playing for his first professional club, Newell's Old Boys. At the age of 13, Lionel signed a contract with Barcelona. For three years, Messi played for the second and third teams of the Catalans, and in 2003, at the age of 16, he played his first match for the main team.

In 19 years at Barcelona, ​​Messi won nine Spanish championships, six Spanish Cups and eight Spanish Super Cups. Four Champions League Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, three Club World Cups. With the Argentina national team, Messi won the Olympic Games in 2008 and the World Youth Championship in 2005.

Messi is a five-time Golden Boot winner and a five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Lionel has been named Argentina's best player of the year 11 times and top scorer in the Champions League five times. Messi is Argentina's all-time top scorer with 65 goals. He is included in the list of the 50 best football players in the UEFA Champions League over the past 20 years and in the symbolic Argentina national team of all time.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo

Club career: 2002–present

At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for the amateur team Andorinha. In 1995, at the age of 10, Cristiano signed a contract with the local club Nacional. Throughout his career, Ronaldo also played for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and has been playing for Juventus since 2018.

With Manchester United, Cristiano won three Premier League titles, two League Cups, an FA Cup and Super Cup, a Champions League and a Club World Cup. With Real Madrid, Ronaldo won the championship, the Spanish Cup and the Super Cup twice each. He won the Champions League four times, the UEFA Super Cup twice and the Club World Cup three times. Ronaldo won the Italian Super Cup with Juventus. And with the Portuguese national team he became the European champion in 2016.

Ronaldo received the Golden Boot four times and the Ballon d'Or five times, and became the top scorer of the Champions League seven times. Cristiano is the top scorer in European Cup history with 106 goals, the top scorer in UEFA Champions League history with 104 goals and the top scorer in Club World Cup history with seven goals.

4. Johan Cruyff

Club career: 1964–1984

At the age of 10, Cruyff began playing for the Ajax youth team, and at 17 he moved to the main team. Johan Cruyff played for Barcelona, ​​Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante and Feyenoord.

With Ajax, Cruyff won eight Dutch league titles, five Dutch Cups, three European Cups, a UEFA Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup. With Barcelona he won the championship and the Spanish Cup. With Feyenoord – the championship and the Dutch Cup.

Johan Cruyff received the Ballon d'Or three times. In 2010, he was awarded FIFA’s highest award, the FIFA Order of Merit, for his significant contribution to the development of football. He is in first place in the list of the best European football players of the 20th century according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFIIS). Included in the FIFA 100 list.

3. Franz Beckenbauer

Club career: 1964–1983

Beckenbauer played for the Munich 1906 team from the age of nine. Throughout his career, Beckenbauer played for three more clubs: Bayern Munich, New York Cosmos and Hamburg.

With Bayern, Beckenbauer won the German championship and the German Cup four times. Three times in a row - the European Cup, once - the Cup Winners' Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. With New York Cosmos he won the US Championship three times. With Hamburg he won the German championship once. With the German national team, Beckenbauer won both the World Championship and the European Championship.

Franz Beckenbauer won the Ballon d'Or twice and became German Footballer of the Year four times. Beckenbauer was included in the World Team of the 20th century in 1998 and in the symbolic teams of three world championships: 1966, 1970 and 1974. Included in the FIFA 100 list.

2. Marco Van Basten

Club career: 1981–1993

Van Basten started playing football at the age of seven in the Dutch team EDO. At the age of 17, Marco moved to Ajax, where he spent six years, after which he moved to Milan.

With Ajax, Van Basten won the Dutch league and Cup three times, as well as the Cup Winners' Cup. With Milan, Marco won the Italian championship and the Italian Super Cup four times, as well as the European Champions Cup, European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup twice each. With the Dutch national team, Van Basten became the 1988 European champion.

Van Basten received the Golden Ball three times and the Golden Boot once. He became the top scorer of the Dutch championship four times and the Italian championship two times. Became the best player and scorer of the 1988 European Championship. In 2012 he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame and is included in the FIFA 100 list.

1. Pele

Club career: 1956–1977

Pele began playing football at the age of seven, playing for youth teams. He began his professional career as a player at the age of 15, playing for Santos. Pele changed clubs only once, moving to the New York Cosmos at 35 years old.

Pele won the Brazilian championship six times and the Brazilian Cup five times. He won the Paulista League 10 times and the Rio-São Paulo tournament four times. He won the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup twice each. Also won the Intercontinental Champions Super Cup. With the New York Cosmos, Pelé won the North American Soccer League. With the Brazilian national team he won the World Cup three times.

Pele is the only football player to become a three-time world champion. Pele is the athlete of the century according to the IOC in 1999, the player of the century according to FIFA, and ranks first among the best football players in the world of the 20th century according to the IFFIS survey. Named to the 2002 World Cup All-Time Team and included in the FIFA 100 list.

At 73, Pele was awarded the honorary Ballon d'Or for his contribution to the development of football. After the awards were revised in 2014, Pelé became the second winner from 1958 to 1961 and in 1963, 1964 and 1970.

Football is the favorite game of millions of people around the world. It is played by both children and adults, both on courtyards and in famous stadiums. But what is football without football players? We present to your attention the top 10 best football players in the world at the moment.

The best football players in the world in 2019

Determining the best player is not an easy task, because there are many evaluation criteria: the number of goals scored, trophies received, both team and individual, the overall level of performance and much more. In addition, everything changes very quickly, and a football player, who has not particularly shown himself this season, can suddenly distinguish himself and rise in the rankings. Below we present the top 10 best football players at the moment, based on an assessment of their achievements in clubs and national teams.

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Lionel Messi is a football player who, over the years, not only does not lose ground, but only becomes stronger and more experienced, winning more and more titles and trophies. The captain of Barcelona, ​​the best scorer in the history of the Spanish club and the Argentine national team, continues to properly perform his main function - scoring goals and putting his team ahead. We can say that Barcelona's entire game is built on Messi, because it is with him that the club achieves most of its victories. It would take a very long time to list all of Lionel’s achievements and records, and soon the five-time winner of the Golden Boot and Golden Ball can add them to his collection, again setting a record for the number of trophies won.

2. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

By the age of 20, French footballer Kylian Mbappe has achieved unprecedented success. Already at the age of 19, the young football player became the winner of the 2018 FIFA World Cup as part of the French national team. He also became the best young player of the championship. As part of PSG, he won the French Cup, the French League Cup, and was also a two-time French champion. Considering that the striker is just beginning his sports career, one can only guess what heights he will reach in the future. Mbappe is already in the race for the Golden Boot, and if he continues in the same spirit, he could very soon receive his first Ballon d'Or.

3. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk moved to English Liverpool on January 1, 2018 and quickly gained a leadership position. Already on January 5, in his first match with the club against Everton, he scored the winning goal in the 84th minute, making the score 2:1 in favor of Liverpool. Van Dijk performs his function perfectly on the field, protecting the goal and stopping many attacks from opponents. In addition, Virgil performs well in matches as part of the Dutch national team and has been its captain since March 22 of this year.

4. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Raheem Sterling is a young English footballer, midfielder for Manchester City and the England national team. As part of Pep Guardiola's team, Sterling became the Champion of England, a two-time winner of the Football League Cup, as well as the FA Super Cup. In 2014 he received the Golden Boy Award, which is awarded to the best young goal-scorer in Europe. The footballer shows himself not only as an excellent midfielder, but also as a goalscorer with excellent starting speed. Of course, he is valuable not only for the club, but also for the national team, being one of the most gifted and promising football players.

5. Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

Another representative of Barcelona in our top is the Uruguayan footballer Luis Suarez. On the field in the club's matches, he performs in tandem with Lionel Messi, and together they pose a great threat to the opponents. Now Suarez is one of the strongest strikers in the world, with many trophies, 12 of which were received with Barcelona. The two-time Golden Boot winner and top scorer in the history of the Uruguay national team is in excellent shape at 32 years old and is in no hurry to retire, which means we can expect many more victories from him.

6. Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)

One of the main driving forces behind both the Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the French national football team is, without a doubt, Antoine Griezmann. The French striker is incredibly accurate, technical and has great speed. As part of Atlético Madrid, the player won the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup, as well as the winner of the UEFA Europa League. At the 2016 European Championship, he became the best player and scorer, and at the 2018 World Cup he played in all matches and scored 4 goals, including in the final match with the Croatian national team, which ended in victory for France. For his achievements at the tournament, Antoine received the Bronze Ball. It is quite possible that Griezmann will soon move to another, stronger club.

7. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Argentine striker Sergio Aguero has already become the top scorer in the history of the Manchester City club, but he is not going to stop there. The footballer is one of the main players in the main squad, who successfully copes with the opponents' defense and scores goals well. As a member of the club, he received 9 trophies, including English Super Cups, Football League Cups and English Championship titles. At the age of 15, Aguero became the youngest player to make his debut in the Argentine Championship, thereby breaking Diego Maradona's record.

8. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah distinguished himself in 2018, becoming the player of the season in the English Premier League. He scored a record number of goals (32) and immediately stood on a par with other football stars. In addition, Salah is one of the top five scorers in the history of the Egyptian national team. The fast, technical striker is certainly one of the main figures on the field in Liverpool matches. He was named the best player of the season several times and was included in the 2018 PFA team.

9. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

One of the most prominent, famous and discussed figures in the world of football is the Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo. For a long time he played for Manchester United, then for Real Madrid, and in the summer of 2018 he decided to move to the Italian Juventus. Cristiano is 34 years old, but his game has only gotten better over the years. As in the case of Messi, it makes no sense to list all his many achievements, because their list is incredibly huge. Ronaldo is recognized as the best player in the history of Portuguese football and the top scorer of all time in European tournaments, is a four-time winner of the Golden Boot and five times the Golden Ball. Cristiano Ronaldo is an outstanding player and we are confident that he will continue to prove himself.

10. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Belgian Eden Hazard is one of the best football players in the world, who is compared to Messi and Ronaldo. On the field, Hazard demonstrates excellent speed, technique, ability to handle the ball and masterful dribbling. Now the attacking midfielder successfully plays for the English club Chelsea, with which he has already become the Champion of England twice, as well as the winner of the Football League Cup, the FA Cup and the winner of the Europa League. Eden also performed well as part of the Belgian national team, which became the bronze medalist of the World Championship in 2018, and Hazard himself received the Silver Ball.

For those who are interested in sports and interested in football life, they are of great interest soccer stars. Their sports and personal lives are always visible; they are a kind of integral part of the theater called “football”. Surely every fan who has loved the number one sport in the world since childhood has a favorite player whom he watched and experienced his ups and downs with. While playing football in the yard, many had the name of their favorite football player emblazoned on their backs. These little fans grew up, and with them, from ordinary famous players, football players gradually turned into real football legends. Francesco Totti, Ronaldo, Gabriel Batistuta, Raul, Alessandro Del Piero, Thierry Henry - this is not a complete list of legends whose careers ended a real football era. Some of them became a coach, some a businessman, all have different destinies, but they have one thing in common - they forever inscribed their names not only in the chronicle of football life, but also in our hearts, the hearts of fans and connoisseurs of real football.

Football legends

Some famous football players They are reluctant to share stories from their biography, since not everyone’s life is bright and rosy. Some parents brought them to football school, providing them with everything they needed, while others went hungry to training, combining them with hard work not intended for minors. But, as a rule, any history of the legend just starts with unpleasant memories. It is the difficult fate that prepares obstacles on the path to glory that fosters in people a strong spirit and incredible perseverance. Thanks to this, in the future, from an ordinary football player, a personality grows, whose name is “ Football star».

Having overcome all obstacles and achieved recognition, star football players they get almost everything they dreamed of. Expensive cars, beautiful wives, big salaries, but not all of this is always beneficial. There are many cases in history when legendary football players, world stars stop being like that. After a stunning start to a career, an equally rapid and painful fall follows. And it turns out that the most famous football player is remembered not for its sporting achievements, but for its scandals and public disgrace.

Famous football players

The most famous football players have an interesting biography, which we will introduce you to on our website in the “football stars” section. We will talk about many legendary football players. We will show their best goals, matches, interviews. Let's tell you how their lives turned out and how they live without football. We'll show you photos of famous football players of the world, having fun and crying, sad and happy. Together with you we will see outstanding moments of glory of football players and farewell to fans. Many legends are still present and work in the football field, many are no longer with us... But the memory of them will live forever, and even if in the distant future football ceases to exist, the myths about legendary football players will not be erased from the memory of many generations, because football is Not just a sport, football is life with its own unique history!

Popular football portal "FourFourTwo"formed the hundred best football players of all time. “Sokker.ru” introduces readers to an interesting rating.

Places 100 to 91:

100. Gheorghe Hagi (Romania)

99. Mario Coluna (Portugal)

98. Mario Kempes (Argentina)

97. Neymar (Brazil)

96. Obdulio Varela (Uruguay)

95. Jalma Santos (Brazil)

94. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)

93. Philipp Lahm (Germany)

92. Sandor Kocsis (Hungary)

91. Sepp Mayer (Germany)

Getting into the top 100 players in the history of the Game is a huge honor, so if someone's position seems unfairly low to you, remember how many thousands of players remained outside the top 100. Therefore, we take the “FourFourTwo” rating as a given, because we can argue on this topic ad infinitum, especially when it comes to the distribution of positions at the very top. In the top ten from the end we see the “Carpathian Maradona” Hadji and the Swedish star of all times Ibrahimovic. There are four world champions here: Brazilian Jalma Santos, German Philipp Lahm, Uruguayan Obdulio Varela and Argentinean Mario Kempes. The great German goalkeeper Mayer, the Hungarian goalscorer Kocsis, the Benfica legend Coluna are here, as is Neymar, who has the best years of his career ahead of him.

Places 90 to 81:

90. Roberto Carlos (Brazil)

89. Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)

88. Allan Simonsen (Denmark)

87. Javier Zanetti (Argentina)

86. Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina)

85. Uwe Seeler (Germany)

84. Giacinto Facchetti (Italy)

83. Ryan Giggs (Wales)

82. Hugo Sanchez (Mexico)

81. Dragan Dzajic (Yugoslavia)

Of the world champions, only Roberto Carlos is here, but we see two Golden Ball winners - Stoichkov and Simonsen. Giggs and Batistuta don’t need additional introductions; Hugo Sanchez’s goals for Atlético and Real Madrid will tell the story. We note the presence of two legends of Inter Milan from different eras - Facchetti and Zanetti. Uwe Seeler, nicknamed “Furious”, was the brightest German player in the interval between the first two world championships. Well, Dragan Dzhajic in general is perhaps the greatest Serbian player in history.

Places 80 to 71:

80. Thierry Henry (France)

79. Gigi Riva (Italy)

78. Juste Fontaine (France)

77. Frank Rijkaard (Netherlands)

76. Dennis Lowe (Scotland)

75. Cafu (Brazil)

74. Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia)

73. Omar Sivori (Argentina)

72. Jose Andrade (Uruguay)

71. John Charles (Wales)

Masopust, Sivori and Low won the Ballon d'Or in the first half of the 60s, with only Lev Yashin wedged between them. Jose Andrade, Cafu and Henry are world champions. John Charles is one of the top 20 Welsh heroes in the history of Wales, and Juste Fontaine holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup (13 goals scored, 1958 World Cup). Riva and Rijkaard were each stars in their respective eras, and Gigi spent almost his entire career at Cagliari, he is the main symbol of this club.

Places 70 to 61:

70. Paul Breitner (Germany)

69. Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands)

68. Sandro Mazzola (Italy)

67. Florian Albert (Hungary)

66. Teofilo Cubillas (Peru)

65. Jimmy Johnston (Scotland)

64. Johan Neeskens (Netherlands)

63. Gordon Banks (England)

62. Dixie Dean (England)

61. Peter Schmeichel (Denmark)

Three Britons at once: the cult Celtic player Jimmy Johnston, the great goalkeeper and world champion Banks, and the hero of the early 20th century Dixie Dean. The Dutch Bergkamp and Neeskens worked magic, although they never became world champions, Johan even scored in one of his finals, but Paul Breitner responded in kind and eventually celebrated the victory as part of the West German team. Mazzola is another Inter legend and the idol of future generations, Florian Albert can boast of the Ballon d'Or, and Theo Cubillas is the best player in the history of Peru. You probably already recognized Peter Schmeichel: the famous goalkeeper of Manchester United and accomplice of the “Danish Fairy Tale 1992”.

Places 60 to 51:

60. Kevin Keegan (England)

59. Andres Iniesta (Spain)

58. Adolfo Pedernera (Argentina)

57. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany)

56. Daniel Passarella (Argentina)

55. Dino Zoff (Italy)

54. Gunnar Nordahl (Sweden)

53. Gaetano Scirea (Italy)

52. Roberto Baggio (Italy)

51. Jairzinho (Brazil)

There are three Italians at once - the winners of the 1982 World Cup Zoff and Scirea, as well as Roberto Baggio, who missed the decisive penalty in 1994 and was left with silver. But Andres Iniesta scored the only goal in the 2010 World Cup final, for which he has since been applauded in all stadiums in Spain. Jairzinho and Passarella are also world champions, but Karl-Heinz Rummenigge did not win the world championship with Germany, but he has two Golden Balls to his name, like Kevin Keegan. Nordahl rocked Serie A in the mid-20th century, where he played for Milan and Roma, but the Argentine Pedernera is the most mysterious figure in this top ten. It is known that his names were Genius, Maestro and Football Napoleon, but Adolfo’s career took place in South America in the 30s, 40s and 50s of the last century, so there is not much evidence of his greatness.

Places 50 to 41:

50. Xavi (Spain)

49. Nilton Santos (Brazil)

48. Mikael Laudrup (Denmark)

47. Roberto Rivellino (Brazil)

46. ​​Juan Alberto Schiaffino (Uruguay)

45. Oleg Blokhin (USSR/Ukraine)

44. Didi (Brazil)

43. Fritz Walter (Germany)

42. Matthias Sindelar (Austria)

41. Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)

This ten has a diverse composition. Here are a bunch of world champions from different countries and different eras, and the famous scorer of Dynamo Kiev, winner of the Golden Ball Oleg Blokhin, and the Austrian Sindelar with a tragic fate, and Buffon, who is still performing at a high level, and the iconic German captain Fritz Walter, who was in Soviet captivity during World War II. And also the ex-coach of Moscow “Spartak” Mikael Laudrup and Didi, who did not give in to Di Stefano and Puskas at Real, who did not want to share the glory.

Places 40 to 31:

40. Kenny Dalglish (Scotland)

39. Nandor Hidegkuti (Hungary)

38. Gianni Rivera (Italy)

37. Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)

36. Paco Gento (Spain)

35. Luis Suarez Miramontes (Spain)

34. Stanley Matthews (England)

33. Gunter Netzer (Germany)

32. Paolo Rossi (Italy)

31. Jose Manuel Moreno (Argentina)

There is not a single active player in this top ten, although all these names are well-known to this day. For example, Paco Gento is the record holder for the number of European Cups; the Spaniard won this trophy six times. Paolo Rossi scored in the World Cup final and won the Ballon d'Or, and Nandor Hidegkuti was part of the Hungarian Golden Squad. A special place here goes to Sir Stanley Matthews, who played football until he was 50, was a model gentleman and won the first ever Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year. A few years later, this award went to Luis Suarez Miramontes, who at the time of the award played for Barcelona, ​​and then moved to Inter, where he spent nine years.

Places 30 to 21:

30. Lothar Matthäus (Germany)

29. Raymond Kopa (France)

28. Socrates (Brazil)

27. Bobby Moore (England)

26. Valentino Mazzola (Italy)

25. Carlos Alberto (Brazil)

24. Ronaldinho (Brazil)

23. Eusebio (Portugal)

22. Lev Yashin (USSR/Russia)

21. Romario (Brazil)

We note the high position of Lev Ivanovich Yashin: he is the only goalkeeper to win the Golden Ball in 22nd place in the ranking. There are four Brazilians in the top ten with him, and Romario is higher than Ronaldinho, Carlos Alberto and Socrates. Why, Shorty even bypassed Eusebio, who, symbolically, took the next place with his friend Yashin. Bobby Moore and Lottar Matthäus are the captains of their teams at the victorious world championships and cult football players of their countries. Special attention should be paid to Valentino Mazzola, who is seriously ahead of his son. Valentino and Sandro are the only father and son to be in the top 100 strongest football players of all time. A unique achievement.

Places 20 to 11:

20. Paolo Maldini (Italy)

19. Bobby Charlton (England)

18. Giuseppe Meazza (Italy)

17. Gerd Müller (Germany)

16. Zico (Brazil)

15. Franco Baresi (Italy)

14. George Best (Northern Ireland)

13. Marco van Basten (Netherlands)

12. Michel Platini (France)

11. Garrincha (Brazil)

Everyone is a world football star, although it is clear that it is impossible to create an “all-time” ranking based on objective indicators, because such indicators do not exist. How can we compare, say, Giuseppe Meazza and Paolo Maldini? It turns out that the basis is a certain historical “media rating”: the names of the big stars of the past still ring loudly, although decades have passed. Thanks to this, Garrincha and Muller, Charlton and van Basten, Best and Maldini, Meazza and Platini, Zico and Baresi can be located in neighboring positions. But who is cooler than them and who got No. 1, the end is near!

Places 10 to 1:

10. Ronaldo (Brazil)

9. Ferenc Puskás (Hungary)

8. Zinedine Zidane (France)

7. Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)

6. Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina)

5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

4. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)

3. Pele (Brazil)

2. Lionel Messi (Argentina)

1. Diego Maradona (Argentina)

Led by two Argentines, the King of Football Pele has dropped to third place, and Cristiano Ronaldo is only fifth. Eight of the top ten players, besides Pelé and Beckenbauer, played for Real Madrid or Barcelona in their careers. This is how “FourFourTwo” got a hundred. How do you like it?

The green lawns of the world's stadiums have been seen by countless players, because the history of football begins more than a hundred years ago. Some names are shouted out with reverence by thousands of fans; their names evoke delight and inspire hope in the victory of their favorite team. These people with the prefix “great”, their skills, talent, and refined game mechanics make fans freeze. Who are they, goalkeepers and forwards, defenders and team captains?

Lev Yashin - goalkeeper of all time

The most famous goalkeeper in world football, the only one to receive the Golden Ball. He “read” the game perfectly, controlled the location of the ball and at the same time chose a player to pass the ball.

Recognized as the best player in his role (version of the International Federation of Football History (statistics), FIFA, several French magazines: France Football, Placar, 11 times was awarded the title of the best goalkeeper (USSR), five-time champion of the Soviet Union (as part of the team "Dynamo"). 207 out of 812 matches played, the goalkeeper led with a zero score. 1956 - 1960 Lev Ivanovich deserved the Olympic champion and won the European Cup.

David Beckham - 10th place

The ranking of ten famous players opens with the man who “turned football around.” He has 6 championship titles to his name; winning the Champions League "Manchester United"; victory in the Spanish championship (Real Madrid squad) in 2007; France with PSG (2013).

He is known among fans as an excellent performer of standard kicks. Beckham is a media icon with impeccable style and unforgettable hair. He starred in several commercials and earned the status of an idol of millions.

Alfredo Di Stefano – 9th place

9th place was given to a unique player of his kind, who earned the title of the third football player of the 20th century (FIFA version). He was part of the national teams of Colombia, Argentina and Spain. An important part of his career can be called the period of playing for Real (Madrid), where 8 victories were won and 5 European Champions Cups were won.

He played as a center forward for Real and scored 412 goals. The total number of goals in a football player’s career is 706. He ranks honorably fourth among the best football players of the 20th century, according to the verdict of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. France Football magazine ranked Di Stefano 6th among the best players of the 20th century. Has 2 Golden Ball awards.

Johan Cruyff – 8th place

A great football player, no less famous coach - a native of Holland , scored 425 goals, owner of 3 Golden Balls. His football career started in the Ajax youth team; the transition to the adult level occurred in 1964. 319 matches were played for Ajax, 251 goals were scored.

1973 becomes a landmark year - there is a move to Barcelona (63 goals scored), games in the United States of America, in Spain (Levant), then again a couple of seasons with his native Ajax and the Feyenoord season. Johan Cruyff is a three-time European Cup winner, eight-time champion of his native Netherlands, in which he played 48 matches, scoring 33 goals.

Michel Platini – 7th place

France Football named the Frenchman the best French football player of the 20th century. The period 1983 – 1985 became “golden” - he was awarded the Golden Ball for three years in a row. His football career began in Nancy, the game lasted 7 seasons, 127 goals were scored. The next three seasons are “Saint-Etienne”. 1982 culminated in a transfer to Juventus Turin.

This club is significant for Platini, the player received the title of two-time Italian champion, was awarded three Golden Balls, and won the European Champions Cup (season 84/85). Scored 104 goals for Juve in 224 games.

Franz Beckenbauer – 6th place

The famous defender is a four-time German champion (as part of the Bayern team). Played 850 matches, 111 goals were scored. Among fans he is called “the inventor of the role of a free defender.” He also has the title of three-time European Champions Cup winner.

Awarded two Golden Balls. His career started in his native Bayern, and he spent 14 seasons with the team. The next 7 seasons were intense: 4 in New York Cosmos, 2 in Hamburg and one New York Cosmos.

Ronaldinho - 5th place

The career of this great football player is rich, interesting and multifaceted. It was thanks to him that many people fell in love with football. The Brazilian was once given a standing ovation by the huge, completely filled Santiago Bernabeo in Madrid. Awarded the Golden Ball (2005), winner of the well-deserved title “Best Footballer” in 2004–2005, according to FIFA.

Played 765 matches, scored 297 goals. List of teams for which Ronaldinho played: “PSG”, “Gremio”, “Barcelona” (was the champion of Spain twice, won the Champions League once), “Milan” (won the title of Italian champion), “Flamengo”, “ Atlético Mineiro (Brazil), as well as Queretaro (Mexico).

Zinedine Zidane – 4th place

The greatest footballer, a great coach at the end of his career. The title of the best player at the turn of the millennium. Winner of the Golden Ball award (1998), three-time best football player in the world (according to FIFA). '98 as a member of the French national team, Zidane receives the title of world champion.

2000 brought the player the status of European champion, 2006 - vice world champion. His debut in professional football occurred in the same 1989, as part of the French team Cannes. 1992 - transfer to Bordeaux, 1996 - Juventus, where he received the Golden Ball. In 2001, he accepted a tempting offer from Real Madrid (75 million euros). It was here that he became a leader, a bright star of the Galacticos.

Diego Armando Maradona – 3rd place

Perhaps the most legendary football player , whose name was on everyone’s lips after scoring a goal in the quarter finals of the World Cup against England (1986). The team that included the player won the champion title. Diego made his debut at the age of 16, in the Argentios Juniors team, for which he scored 116 goals.

Six months later, he transferred to the national team, replenished the number of goals by another 35 (Argentine championship, Boca Juniors club. 1982 became a landmark year, Maradona joined Barcelona for the proposed 8 million US dollars (a huge, record amount at that time In a couple of years, he scored 38 goals.In the summer, in 1982, the footballer moved to Napoli, scoring 122 goals over seven years.

Pele – honorable second place

Legendary player, owner of the title “king of football” according to many versions. He holds a record, incredible number of goals scored - 1228 throughout his career, played 3 world champions. The best football player of the century (FIFA version), the best player of the 20th century (World Soccer magazine version). Almost his entire career is concentrated in the Santos team (1956 - 1974). During this period he scored 1087 goals.

“New York Cosmos” - three seasons, 64 goals scored. Recognized as the top scorer of the Brazilian national team (77 goals).

Gold - first place

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi - two amazing, greatest players in the history of world football. There are different versions, disputes, criticism and discussions, but the total number of team and individual trophies is a powerful argument. 9 Golden Ball awards (for two), more than 1000 goals - not the least of his achievements.

Ronaldo He scored almost 600 goals throughout his career and made more than 100 assists (assists). Awards: four golden boots, 4 Golden Balls, 4 well-deserved Champions League titles, 5 championships won - two for Real Madrid, three for Manchester United. In 2004 he received silver at the European Championship, 2016 brought him gold.

– owner of excellent statistics: more than 500 goals scored, more than 160 assists throughout his career. The list of awards is no less impressive: 5 Golden Balls, three golden boots. He won the title of champion of Spain 8 times (Barcelona squad). He won the Champions League four times, Argentina with the football player took an honorable second place in the America's Cup tournament three times, and once won silver at the World Championship (2014).

Each of the listed football players is great, their names are included in world rankings, the contribution of each to the football industry is priceless.