A player’s career reaches its zenith when they represent their country; winning a major tournament solidifies their legacy.
Trophies won and time spent on the national team are the main ranking factors.
Through their accomplishments for their nations, international icons like Pele, Messi, and Ramos establish their reputation.
There is undoubtedly no greater honour in football than playing for your nation on a global scale. Wearing the colours of their national team is, in fact, the apex of the career for the great majority of players.
As the opening notes of their national anthem ring out, just observe the emotion in many of their eyes. However, compared to the number of international players, very few of them are able to make an impact on their country’s history. Therefore, GIVEMESPORT has chosen to rank the top ten international players of all time in this article.
Ranking Elements
Won trophies: The World Cup is more significant than other awards.
Longevity: greater value is placed on a longer track record of success with the national team.
A list of the top ten international football players of all time
Rank
The player
Country of origin
Duration of Career
Looks
Objectives
Honours
1.
Pele
Brazil
1957–1971
92
77
3 World Cups, 1 Copa Bernardo O’Higgins, 2 Roca Cups, 3 Taca Oswaldo Cruz, and 1 Taca do Atlantico
2.
Lionel Messi
Argentina
2005-Present
191
112
x1 World Cup, x2 Copa America, x1 Finalissima
3.
Cafu
Brazil
1990-2006
142
5.
x2 World Cup, x2 Copa America, x1 Confederation Cup
4.
Diego Maradona
Argentina
1977-1994
89
32
x1 World Cup, x1 Artemio Franchi Cup
5.
Ramos, Sergio
Spain
2005-2021
180
23
x1 World Cup, x2 Euro
6.
Franz Beckenbauer
West Germany
1965-1977
103
14
x1 World Cup, x1 Euro
7.
Ronaldo
Brazil
1994-2011
98
62
x2 World Cup, x2 Copa America, x1 Confederation Cup
8.
Angel Romano
Uruguay
1911-1927
70
28
x6 Copa America, x1 Olympic Games, x5 Copa Lipton, x4 Copa Newton, x5 Copa Premier Honor Uruguayo
9.
Ahmed Hassan
Egypt
1995-2012
184
33
Africa Cup of Nations, x4
10.
Ronaldo Cristiano
Portugal
From 2003 to the present
217
135
One Nations League and one European Championship.
10Cristiano Ronaldo — Portugal
217 caps, 135 goals (2003-Present)
It is one thing to say that Cristiano Ronaldo is among the best football players of all time, but it is quite another to say that his international career has not always been as successful as those of his peers. Naturally, this is not to imply that his career has been unsatisfactory; quite the contrary.
You may be surprised to learn that the renowned No. 7 has scored more goals for his country than any other player—131, to be exact. His objectives have not only made him a consistent and valuable member of the Selecao, but they have also added a few more accolades to his already impressive résumé. Among the tangible evidence are Euro 2016 and the title of leading scorer in the history of the European Championship (14 goals).
9Ahmed Hassan — Egypt
184 caps, 33 goals (1995-2012)
Ahmed Hassan is without a doubt one of the most significant figures in the history of African football. With 184 caps, the Egyptian is the fourth most-capped international player in history and has excelled on the continent. So much so that he has decided to compete in the African Cup of Nations.
Along with his former teammate Essam El Hadary, he is co-leader in the number of trophies lifted (4) and in the number of times he has participated in the event (8). If that’s not enough, you should be persuaded of his deserved position in this ranking by the fact that he was named the tournament’s top player twice, in 2006 and 2010.
8Angel Romano — Uruguay
70 caps, 28 goals (1911-1927)
Today in 1972 – Angel Romano passed away, one of @Uruguay's all-time greatest players
º 1x world champion ⭐️ [1924]
• 6x Copa Americas 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 (*Record) pic.twitter.com/j3lfi1Upys— Uruguay Football ENG (@UruguayFootENG) August 22, 2024
The Uruguayan national team, which FIFA has called “football’s first global powerhouse,” wrote some of the best lines in its history in the first part of the 20th century. And one of the key players behind them was Angel Romano. The Celeste striker was a member of the squad that won gold at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris and now holds the records for the most Copa America appearances (9) and triumphs (6).
This accomplishment was rendered even more remarkable by the fact that an American team had never before been asked to participate in an Olympic football event. Before its time, it was comparable to the World Cup and a foreshadowing of what would eventually grow to be the most prominent sport in the world.
7Ronaldo — Brazil
98 caps, 62 goals (1994-2011)
There are numerous repercussions for failure. Ronaldo’s desire to win the World Cup was dashed in 1998, and it served as motivation for the remainder of his career.
Ultimately, the man who is widely regarded as one of the greatest football goal scorers in history could never have envisioned finishing his career without getting to hold the fabled golden trophy for a second time — after 1994, at the conclusion of a tournament in which he did not play a single minute. In what he has always regarded as the “best team I’ve ever played for,” he eventually did so in 2002. The culmination of an incredible career that was given an even more extraordinary depth by two Copa America titles and a Confederations Cup.
6Franz Beckenbauer — West Germany
103 caps, 14 goals (1965-1977)
Few people can claim to have won the World Cup as a coach and a player. Among these is Franz Beckenbauer. It must be acknowledged that the “Kaiser,” who was unanimously honoured as one of the greatest defenders in football history, had an incredible international career.
The Munich-born defender, who was a fixture of the West German side from the middle of the 1960s to the middle of the 1970s, had to work extremely hard to earn the coveted trophy, which he did in 1974 at the conclusion of his third World Cup. Johan Cruyff’s Netherlands and their “total football” were eliminated in order to accomplish this. For the guy who had previously led his teammates to the top of Europe two years prior, it was the victory of a lifetime.
5Sergio Ramos — Spain
180 caps, 23 goals (2005-2021)
Only eight footballers worldwide have more caps than Sergio Ramos (180). If only the European zone (UEFA) is considered, the number drops to two. The Spanish defender has demonstrated consistency throughout his career, and his longevity is as impressive.
Since joining La Roja in March 2005, his career has propelled him to the highest level of football in the globe. A pivotal figure in Spain’s golden age, he won every championship from 2008 to 2012, including two European Championships and a World Cup, and his accomplishments still serve as an example today.
4Diego Maradona — Argentina
89 caps, 32 goals (1977-1994)
Diego Maradona had barely been playing professionally for four months when he was 16 years old and received his first cap for Argentina. It was the beginning of an almost two-decade international career that would make the Lanus native one of the greatest players of all time.
Additionally, it’s likely that the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal would be frequently mentioned in the answers if a panel of football fans were asked to identify THE match that best summed up the Argentine genius’ tenure with the Albiceleste. A match that saw two of the greatest goals ever scored on a football pitch: the ‘Hand of God’ and the ‘Goal of the Century’.
3Cafu — Brazil
142 caps, 5 goals (1990-2006)
Cafu’s skill is evident from the fact that he has the most caps (148 appearances) of any player in the history of the most illustrious national team. The Brazilian, who is regarded as one of the best right-backs to have ever played, is one of just 21 players (16 of whom were in the Auriverde team) to have won the World Cup twice and the only one to have participated in three finals.
And one of just twenty-two captains to have been honoured with the coveted trophy. A remarkable athlete with two Copa America championships and a Confederations Cup among his many accolades. If France hadn’t denied the South Americans a global title in 1998, it might have been even more spectacular. But history is like that.
2Lionel Messi — Argentina
191 caps, 112 goals (2005-Present)
Lionel Messi’s international career would undoubtedly make a compelling fiction narrative. The tale of a hero whose pursuit of the Holy Grail—in the literal sense of the word, the World Cup in this case—is continuously thwarted by outside forces. However, the Argentinian would come out of this trip a better man, as all good heroes do. And it was undoubtedly what he still need prior to 2022 in order for his countrymen to acknowledge him as, at the very least, on par with Maradona, who had personally admired him.
It was the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle that the kid from Rosario had taken almost two decades to find, but which the Copa America victory in 2021 had helped to highlight in the run-up to the World Cup. The victory in 2024 was just a testament to the triumph of a man who has finally been freed from a weight far greater than himself.
1Pele — Brazil
92 caps, 77 goals (1957-1971)
There is no doubting that Pele is the best international football player in history, regardless of whether you have watched him play. And his three World Cup victories are sufficient evidence of it. For the simple reason that no one of his contemporaries has ever been able to imitate such a performance.
This genuinely unprecedented accomplishment is further highlighted by the fact that he was just 17 years old when he achieved his first title success, to which he contributed significantly in 1958 by scoring a brace in the final and a hat-trick in the semi-final. After all, the Minas Gerais lad is regarded as one of the best of all time for a reason.
