GOAT Rank · 730

Greatest Athletes who debuted in the 2000s

This ranking is led by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Phelps. GOAT Rank currently ranks 730 eligible athletes who debuted in the 2000s using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Lionel Messi ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 97.0.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

2280

Umar Gul

76.0

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2003–2016
Country: 🇵🇰 Pakistan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Umar Gul

2296

Serhiy Breus

76.0

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2006–2016
Country: 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Serhiy Breus

2299

Ma Long

75.9

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 2006–active
Country: 🇨🇳 China

Peak: 99.0
Dominance: 99.0
Statistics: 97.0
Honours: 99.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Ma Long

2307

Evgeni Malkin

75.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2003–active
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Evgeni Malkin

2308

Miguel Cabrera

75.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2003–2023
Country: 🇻🇪 Venezuela

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Miguel Cabrera

2325

Katie Hoff

75.9

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2004–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Katie Hoff

2357

Cullen Jones

75.8

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2006–2016
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Cullen Jones

2360

Caroline Burckle

75.8

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2005–2009
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Caroline Burckle

2390

George Groves

75.6

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2008–2018
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: George Groves

2408

Clayton Kershaw

75.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Clayton Kershaw

2410

Flavia Pennetta

75.5

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2000–2015
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Flavia Pennetta

2416

Kateřina Baďurová

75.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2000–2012
Country: 🇨🇿 Czechia

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Kateřina Baďurová

2418

Sammy Wanjiru

75.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2005–2010
Country: 🇰🇪 Kenya

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Sammy Wanjiru

2429

Patrick Kane

75.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Patrick Kane

2457

Yu Darvish

75.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2005–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Yu Darvish

2459

Buster Posey

75.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2009–2021
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Buster Posey

2460

Masahiro Tanaka

75.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Masahiro Tanaka

2480

Adrian Peterson

75.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 2007–2021
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Adrian Peterson

2481

Hilary Knight

75.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Hilary Knight

2483

Duncan Keith

75.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2002–2022
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Duncan Keith

2485

Meghan Duggan

75.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2007–2020
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Meghan Duggan

2490

Richard Seymour

75.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 2001–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Richard Seymour

2515

Jelena Janković

75.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2000–2017
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Jelena Janković

2517

Julie Chu

75.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2000–2018
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Julie Chu

2532

Fabiana Oliveira

75.1

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2000–2016
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Fabiana Oliveira

2536

David Ferrer

75.0

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2000–2019
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: David Ferrer

2541

Michelle Karvinen

75.0

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇫🇮 Finland

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Michelle Karvinen

2569

Fábio Luiz Magalhães

74.9

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2005–2021
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Fábio Luiz Magalhães

2571

Mario Balotelli

74.9

Sport: Football
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Mario Balotelli

2574

Jenni Hiirikoski

74.8

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2005–active
Country: 🇫🇮 Finland

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Jenni Hiirikoski

2576

Steve Hutchinson

74.8

Sport: American Football
Career: 2001–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Steve Hutchinson

2586

Nick Compton

74.8

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2001–2018
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Nick Compton

2588

Max Scherzer

74.7

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Max Scherzer

2590

Karolína Plíšková

74.7

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇨🇿 Czech Republic

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Karolína Plíšková

2630

LaDainian Tomlinson

74.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 2001–2011
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: LaDainian Tomlinson

2636

Chad Johnson

74.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 2001–2011
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Chad Johnson

2637

Aqib Talib

74.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 2008–2019
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Aqib Talib

2649

Henrik Lundqvist

74.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2000–2020
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Henrik Lundqvist

2650

Ed Reed

74.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 2002–2013
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Ed Reed

2664

Joe Thomas

74.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 2007–2017
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Joe Thomas

2666

Kim Martin

74.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2001–2016
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Kim Martin

2673

Luciano De Cecco

74.3

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2006–active
Country: 🇦🇷 Argentina

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Luciano De Cecco

2676

Maja Ognjenović

74.3

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2002–active
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Maja Ognjenović

2683

Thaísa Menezes

74.3

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2004–2023
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Thaísa Menezes

2688

Fabiana Claudino

74.2

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2002–2021
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Fabiana Claudino

2689

Sloane Stephens

74.2

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Sloane Stephens

2703

Richard Gasquet

74.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2002–2025
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Richard Gasquet

2710

Randall Bal

74.1

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2000–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 68.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Randall Bal

2716

William Arjona

74.1

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2000–2021
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: William Arjona

2724

Madison Keys

74.0

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Madison Keys

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
2280	Umar Gul	Cricket	🇵🇰 Pakistan	2003–2016	76.0
2296	Serhiy Breus	Swimming	🇺🇦 Ukraine	2006–2016	76.0
2299	Ma Long	Table Tennis	🇨🇳 China	2006–active	75.9
2307	Evgeni Malkin	Ice Hockey	🇷🇺 Russia	2003–active	75.9
2308	Miguel Cabrera	Baseball	🇻🇪 Venezuela	2003–2023	75.9
2325	Katie Hoff	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2004–2012	75.9
2357	Cullen Jones	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2006–2016	75.8
2360	Caroline Burckle	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2005–2009	75.8
2390	George Groves	Boxing	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2008–2018	75.6
2408	Clayton Kershaw	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2008–active	75.5
2410	Flavia Pennetta	Tennis	🇮🇹 Italy	2000–2015	75.5
2416	Kateřina Baďurová	Athletics	🇨🇿 Czechia	2000–2012	75.5
2418	Sammy Wanjiru	Athletics	🇰🇪 Kenya	2005–2010	75.5
2429	Patrick Kane	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	2007–active	75.4
2457	Yu Darvish	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	2005–active	75.3
2459	Buster Posey	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2009–2021	75.3
2460	Masahiro Tanaka	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	2007–active	75.3
2480	Adrian Peterson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2007–2021	75.2
2481	Hilary Knight	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	2007–active	75.2
2483	Duncan Keith	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	2002–2022	75.2
2485	Meghan Duggan	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	2007–2020	75.2
2490	Richard Seymour	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2001–2012	75.2
2515	Jelena Janković	Tennis	🇷🇸 Serbia	2000–2017	75.1
2517	Julie Chu	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	2000–2018	75.1
2532	Fabiana Oliveira	Volleyball	🇧🇷 Brazil	2000–2016	75.1
2536	David Ferrer	Tennis	🇪🇸 Spain	2000–2019	75.0
2541	Michelle Karvinen	Ice Hockey	🇫🇮 Finland	2008–active	75.0
2569	Fábio Luiz Magalhães	Volleyball	🇧🇷 Brazil	2005–2021	74.9
2571	Mario Balotelli	Football	🇮🇹 Italy	2007–active	74.9
2574	Jenni Hiirikoski	Ice Hockey	🇫🇮 Finland	2005–active	74.8
2576	Steve Hutchinson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2001–2012	74.8
2586	Nick Compton	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2001–2018	74.8
2588	Max Scherzer	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2008–active	74.7
2590	Karolína Plíšková	Tennis	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	2009–active	74.7
2630	LaDainian Tomlinson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2001–2011	74.5
2636	Chad Johnson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2001–2011	74.5
2637	Aqib Talib	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2008–2019	74.5
2649	Henrik Lundqvist	Ice Hockey	🇸🇪 Sweden	2000–2020	74.4
2650	Ed Reed	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2002–2013	74.4
2664	Joe Thomas	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2007–2017	74.3
2666	Kim Martin	Ice Hockey	🇸🇪 Sweden	2001–2016	74.3
2673	Luciano De Cecco	Volleyball	🇦🇷 Argentina	2006–active	74.3
2676	Maja Ognjenović	Volleyball	🇷🇸 Serbia	2002–active	74.3
2683	Thaísa Menezes	Volleyball	🇧🇷 Brazil	2004–2023	74.3
2688	Fabiana Claudino	Volleyball	🇧🇷 Brazil	2002–2021	74.2
2689	Sloane Stephens	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	2009–active	74.2
2703	Richard Gasquet	Tennis	🇫🇷 France	2002–2025	74.1
2710	Randall Bal	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2000–2012	74.1
2716	William Arjona	Volleyball	🇧🇷 Brazil	2000–2021	74.1
2724	Madison Keys	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	2009–active	74.0

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Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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