The IFFHS formally declares Lionel Messi the greatest football player of all time, confirming his title as the greatest of all time.
Puskas, Muller, Maldini, and Platini are notable absences, while the top 10 has just one defender and no goalkeepers.
Ranking highly, Diego Maradona and Pele demonstrate their legendary stature in football history.
The prestigious International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) has finally revealed their choice for the greatest football player of all time, after ranking the top ten players in history. It’s not easy to pick the best football player of all time. Because they fervently support their own legends as the greatest of all time, fans frequently adopt club-colored glasses, making impartiality a rare commodity in this debate.
Typical suspects Naturally, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, and Pele dominate the discussion. As expected, they are also highly ranked in the IFFHS rankings, albeit not always in the order you might anticipate. However, some readers may be surprised by the remaining ten.
Notable omissions from the list include Michel Platini, Paolo Maldini, Gerd Muller, and Ferenc Puskas. It’s also important to note that only one defender and no goalkeepers are selected.
IFFHS Ranks The 10 Greatest Footballers of All Time
Lionel Messi wears the crown, Cristiano Ronaldo ranks fourth
10. Ronaldinho
In a time before Xavi and Andres Iniesta reached their prime, Ronaldinho embodied the tiki-taka traits that Barcelona would soon come to be admired for. The Brazilian won the World Cup and Champions League during his career, and in just 207 games during his finest period in Catalonia, he scored 90 goals and provided 70 assists.
9. Di Stefano Alfredo
Alfredo Di Stefano, the sole recipient of the Super Ballon d’Or, is far higher on the list of the greatest big-game performers. He scored 49 goals in 58 European Cup matches for Real Madrid. Between 1956 and 1960, he was a member of the Los Blancos side that scored in five straight European Cup victories, an unbeatable accomplishment.
8. Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer is still cited by many as the model centre-back since he had it all and was ranked higher on this list than any other defender in the world. It is unheard of for a player in his position to win two Ballon d’Ors. He also led Germany to World Cup and European Championship victory before managing the country to repeat the feat.
7. Zidane Zinedine
Zinedine Zidane would most likely be the football player who played “Nessun Dorma” in Puccini’s Turandot. One of the most technically talented players in history, the Frenchman won the World Cup and the Ballon d’Or in 1998. Observing him manage midfields with his signature style was like witnessing a poet or painter lost in contemplation.
After winning the Champions League three times while in the hot seat at the Bernabeu from 2015 to 2018, he was also a rather good manager, but everyone wishes he had given it a try for a little while longer.
6. Ronaldo
Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d’Or and the World Cup twice, has a strong case to be considered the best striker of all time. Despite playing for Inter Milan, AC Milan, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, he ended his career without winning a European Cup, which is unfortunate because injuries prevented his record of 372 goals in 581 games from being any healthier.
5. Cruyff, Johan
Johan Cruyff, ranked fifth, is renowned for not only playing the game the Total Football manner but also for advancing the science underlying it. Prior to radically altering the perception of the beautiful game as Barcelona’s manager, he won the European Cup three times in a row with Ajax and would go on to win the same number of Ballon d’Or mantles during his playing career.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
Although Mr. Champions League has already acknowledged that he would place first, Cristiano Ronaldo settles for fourth. Football’s all-time leading goalscorer, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has an impressive resume of standout performances. Perhaps, though, he lacks the creative aspect of the game that all of his superiors have in plenty.
3. Diego Maradona
When it came to using a football to accomplish feats that no one had ever seen before, the late but incredibly talented Diego Maradona was like a magician. It’s arguable that no one today could accomplish even half of what he accomplished for Argentina and Napoli. He was the best dribbler of all time, and he demanded so much attention that he would quiet any arena where he played.
2. Pele
When it came to using a football to accomplish feats that no one had ever seen before, the late but incredibly talented Diego Maradona was like a magician. It’s arguable that no one today could accomplish even half of what he accomplished for Argentina and Napoli. He was the best dribbler of all time, and he demanded so much attention that he would quiet any arena where he played.
2. Pele
It will scarcely come as a surprise that the IFFHS has named Lionel Messi as the best player of all time. After finally lifting the World Cup in 2022, the small kid from Rosario, Argentina, had nothing more to prove. A master of both scoring and creating, Messi has pushed supporters into a continual state of excitement for nearly two decades with his all-around skill. See the full standings below:
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