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Who is the All-Time Greatest Soccer Player?

Who are the greatest athletes from the sport of soccer? We are compiling the list which will then be voted on and the winner placed on the shortlist of the all time greatest athlete ever (all sports). The first stage is to get nominations for soccer before the vote is started. See the current list below of top football player, compiled using other published lists and visitor feedback. If you believe that there is someone missing from this list, please place a comment below, including any relevant details about the player.

A somewhat similar poll to determine the Greatest Soccer Athlete of All Time was conducted on the ESPN Sport Science website in 2012 - looking for the greatest athlete, not player, from the sport of soccer.



Soccer's Greatest Players

The athletes below are listed in alphabetical order (first name) - once the shortlist is complete then you will be able to vote for who you think is the greatest of all. It is expected that some of the greatest players ever will come from a list such as the greatest players of the 20th century, though the last 10 years have produced some outstanding players. There is also another list of the top players of last century.

Cristiano Ronaldo StatueCristiano Ronaldo - one of football's greatest

The list below is not complete - if you know of someone who you think should be listed, let us know using the comment form below.

name notes
Alfredo Di Stéfano from Argentina; Spain, 6th on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
Cristiano Ronaldo  
David Beckham  
Diego Maradona 2nd on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
Enzo Francescoli  
Eusébio Ferreira da Silva from Portugal, 10th on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
Ferenc Puskás from Hungary; Spain, 7th on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
Francesco Totti  
Franz Beckenbauer from West Germany, 4th on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
George Best from Northern Ireland, 8th on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
Gheorghe Hagi  
Jari Litmanen  
Johan Cruyff from Netherlands, 3rd on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
Kaka  
Lionel Messi  
Marco van Basten from Netherlands, 9th on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
Michel Platini from France, 5th on the list of greatest players of the 20th century
Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) voted the greatest player of the 20th century. youngest player to score in a World Cup final at age 17
Roberto Baggio  
Ronaldinho  
Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luiz Nazario da Lima)  
Steven Gerrard  
Thierry Henry  
Zico  
Zinedine Zidane  


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Lists Extra

Football/Soccer is clearly the world's most popular sport, and has the most popular athletes, but which sport has the fittest players (but not necessarily the greatest athlete). These players do not always earn the most. The best of the best have made it to our 7 Sporting Wonders Lists.

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