- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2011–active
- Country
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
GOAT Rank · 161
Greatest Football Forwards of all time
This ranking is led by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marta Vieira da Silva. GOAT Rank currently ranks 161 eligible Football forwards 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
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2002–2020
- Country
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2009–active
- Country
- 🇬🇦 Gabon
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 85.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1970–1994
- Country
- 🏴 England
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2002–2020
- Country
- 🇹🇬 Togo
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2012–active
- Country
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1982–1998
- Country
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1972–1988
- Country
- 🇪🇬 Egypt
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2005–2021
- Country
- 🇭🇷 Croatia
- Peak
- 83.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 85.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1969–1987
- Country
- 🇷🇴 Romania
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1993–2012
- Country
- 🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1970–1979
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 94.0
- Longevity
- 60.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2010–active
- Country
- 🇰🇷 South Korea
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 65.0
- Longevity
- 85.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2015–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1979–2001
- Country
- 🏴 Scotland
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 85.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 85.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2006–2025
- Country
- 🇧🇪 Belgium
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2006–active
- Country
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 77.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 85.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1989–2003
- Country
- 🇭🇷 Croatia
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2020–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 66.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2014–active
- Country
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1978–1993
- Country
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1978–1992
- Country
- 🇩🇿 Algeria
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1975–1988
- Country
- 🇵🇱 Poland
- Peak
- 84.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 74.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2003–2021
- Country
- 🇬🇭 Ghana
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1983–1994
- Country
- 🇹🇷 Turkey
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 85.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2011–active
- Country
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- Peak
- 80.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1983–1997
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1986–2002
- Country
- 🏴 England
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 56.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2019–active
- Country
- 🏴 England
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1995–2008
- Country
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2018–active
- Country
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1992–2011
- Country
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2023–active
- Country
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2000–2018
- Country
- 🇷🇺 Russia
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 74.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2013–active
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1986–2002
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 84.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 74.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1987–2003
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 80.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2021–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 64.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1988–2004
- Country
- 🇨🇴 Colombia
- Peak
- 87.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 65.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2013–active
- Country
- 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2016–2025
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 65.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2017–active
- Country
- 🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Peak
- 84.0
- Dominance
- 79.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1985–2006
- Country
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 65.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2021–2025
- Country
- 🏴 England
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 60.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2010–2020
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 65.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2007–active
- Country
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2016–active
- Country
- 🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 72.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 65.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1953–1973
- Country
- 🇨🇱 Chile
- Peak
- 75.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2015–active
- Country
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 65.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2017–active
- Country
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
- Peak
- 80.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 72.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 470 | Andressa Alves | Football | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 2011–active | 81.7 |
| 476 | Robinho | Football | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 2002–2020 | 81.6 |
| 481 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Football | 🇬🇦 Gabon | 2009–active | 81.5 |
| 483 | Trevor Francis | Football | 🏴 England | 1970–1994 | 81.4 |
| 484 | Emmanuel Adebayor | Football | 🇹🇬 Togo | 2002–2020 | 81.4 |
| 487 | Lina Hurtig | Football | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 2012–active | 81.3 |
| 495 | Emilio Butragueño | Football | 🇪🇸 Spain | 1982–1998 | 81.2 |
| 496 | Mahmoud El Khatib | Football | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 1972–1988 | 81.2 |
| 501 | Mario Mandžukić | Football | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 2005–2021 | 81.1 |
| 504 | Dudu Georgescu | Football | 🇷🇴 Romania | 1969–1987 | 81.0 |
| 506 | Nwankwo Kanu | Football | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 1993–2012 | 80.9 |
| 516 | Uli Hoeneß | Football | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1970–1979 | 80.7 |
| 518 | Son Heung-min | Football | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 2010–active | 80.7 |
| 520 | Mallory Swanson | Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 2015–active | 80.6 |
| 525 | Ally McCoist | Football | 🏴 Scotland | 1979–2001 | 80.5 |
| 526 | Dries Mertens | Football | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 2006–2025 | 80.5 |
| 527 | Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha | Football | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 2006–active | 80.5 |
| 541 | Davor Šuker | Football | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 1989–2003 | 79.8 |
| 554 | Sophia Smith | Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 2020–active | 79.4 |
| 555 | Nahikari García | Football | 🇪🇸 Spain | 2014–active | 79.4 |
| 559 | Aldo Serena | Football | 🇮🇹 Italy | 1978–1993 | 79.2 |
| 565 | Rabah Madjer | Football | 🇩🇿 Algeria | 1978–1992 | 78.9 |
| 566 | Zbigniew Boniek | Football | 🇵🇱 Poland | 1975–1988 | 78.9 |
| 570 | Asamoah Gyan | Football | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 2003–2021 | 78.8 |
| 571 | Tanju Çolak | Football | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 1983–1994 | 78.8 |
| 576 | Gerard Moreno | Football | 🇪🇸 Spain | 2011–active | 78.6 |
| 580 | Eric Cantona | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 1983–1997 | 78.3 |
| 581 | Matthew Le Tissier | Football | 🏴 England | 1986–2002 | 78.3 |
| 583 | Bukayo Saka | Football | 🏴 England | 2019–active | 78.1 |
| 585 | Patrick Stephan Kluivert | Football | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 1995–2008 | 78.0 |
| 587 | Rafael Leão | Football | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 2018–active | 77.9 |
| 591 | Mário Jardel | Football | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 1992–2011 | 77.8 |
| 593 | Lamine Yamal | Football | 🇪🇸 Spain | 2023–active | 77.7 |
| 594 | Andrei Arshavin | Football | 🇷🇺 Russia | 2000–2018 | 77.6 |
| 597 | Serge Gnabry | Football | 🇩🇪 Germany | 2013–active | 77.6 |
| 600 | David Ginola | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 1986–2002 | 77.5 |
| 604 | Oliver Bierhoff | Football | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1987–2003 | 77.2 |
| 605 | Trinity Rodman | Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 2021–active | 77.1 |
| 606 | Faustino Asprilla | Football | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 1988–2004 | 76.9 |
| 608 | Sébastien Haller | Football | 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | 2013–active | 76.6 |
| 614 | Christopher Nkunku | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 2016–2025 | 76.2 |
| 615 | Victor Osimhen | Football | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 2017–active | 76.2 |
| 618 | Giuseppe Signori | Football | 🇮🇹 Italy | 1985–2006 | 75.9 |
| 624 | Cole Palmer | Football | 🏴 England | 2021–2025 | 75.3 |
| 627 | André Schürrle | Football | 🇩🇪 Germany | 2010–2020 | 75.0 |
| 629 | Mario Balotelli | Football | 🇮🇹 Italy | 2007–active | 74.9 |
| 630 | Ademola Lookman | Football | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 2016–active | 74.7 |
| 632 | Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros | Football | 🇨🇱 Chile | 1953–1973 | 74.3 |
| 633 | Artem Dovbyk | Football | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 2015–active | 74.1 |
| 634 | João Félix | Football | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 2017–active | 74.0 |
Compare the leaders
Lionel Messi vs Cristiano RonaldoRead 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 methodologyFrequently 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.
Related rankings
Greatest Boxers of all timeGreatest Swimmers of all timeGreatest Football Players of all timeGreatest active Football PlayersGreatest retired Football PlayersGreatest Football female of all timeGreatest Football male of all timeGreatest Football Players from ArgentinaGreatest Football Players from PortugalGreatest Football Players from BrazilGreatest Football Players from EnglandGreatest Football Players from Italy