GOAT Rank · 13

Greatest Football athletes of the 1950s

This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.

#AthleteGOAT Score

4

94.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1956–1977
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 97.0
Dominance: 96.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 95.0
Longevity: 90.0

16

90.9

Sport: Football
Career: 1950–1971
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Lev Yashin

24

89.9

Sport: Football
Career: 1956–1975
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

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

Athlete: Bobby Charlton

80

87.6

Sport: Football
Career: 1952–1971
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Paco Gento

156

85.6

Sport: Football
Career: 1956–1974
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Denis Law

164

85.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1952–1971
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

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

Athlete: Kurt Hamrin

173

85.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1959–1979
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

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

Athlete: Gianni Rivera

203

84.9

Sport: Football
Career: 1953–1972
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Garrincha

213

84.7

Sport: Football
Career: 1950–1974
Country: 🇨🇿 Czechia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Josef Masopust

231

84.3

Sport: Football
Career: 1953–1972
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Uwe Seeler

269

83.6

Sport: Football
Career: 1954–1969
Country: 🇦🇷 Argentina

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Omar Sívori

285

Flórián Albert

83.3

Sport: Football
Career: 1958–1974
Country: 🇭🇺 Hungary

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Flórián Albert

292

83.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1953–1962
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 98.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Just Fontaine

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
4	Pelé	Football	🇧🇷 Brazil	1956–1977	94.2
16	Lev Yashin	Football	🇷🇺 Russia	1950–1971	90.9
24	Bobby Charlton	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1956–1975	89.9
80	Paco Gento	Football	🇪🇸 Spain	1952–1971	87.6
156	Denis Law	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	1956–1974	85.6
164	Kurt Hamrin	Football	🇸🇪 Sweden	1952–1971	85.5
173	Gianni Rivera	Football	🇮🇹 Italy	1959–1979	85.4
203	Garrincha	Football	🇧🇷 Brazil	1953–1972	84.9
213	Josef Masopust	Football	🇨🇿 Czechia	1950–1974	84.7
231	Uwe Seeler	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1953–1972	84.3
269	Omar Sívori	Football	🇦🇷 Argentina	1954–1969	83.6
285	Flórián Albert	Football	🇭🇺 Hungary	1958–1974	83.3
292	Just Fontaine	Football	🇫🇷 France	1953–1962	83.2

Compare the leaders

Pelé vs Lev Yashin

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?

Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.

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