- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1997–2016
- Country
- 🇷🇴 Romania
- Peak
- 80.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 65.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
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
- 2016–active
- Country
- 🇷🇸 Serbia
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 68.0
- Longevity
- 65.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1978–1994
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 65.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2017–active
- Country
- 🇺🇾 Uruguay
- Peak
- 80.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 65.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1960–1973
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 75.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 72.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2019–active
- Country
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- Peak
- 84.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 50.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2014–active
- Country
- 🇬🇳 Guinea
- Peak
- 84.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 74.0
- Honours
- 60.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2004–2018
- Country
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- Peak
- 72.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 72.0
- Honours
- 66.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2007–active
- Country
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- Peak
- 64.0
- Dominance
- 62.0
- Statistics
- 64.0
- Honours
- 58.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2015–active
- Country
- 🏳️ England
- Peak
- 74.5
- Dominance
- 50.2
- Statistics
- 74.9
- Honours
- 26.0
- Longevity
- 57.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1962–1980
- Country
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- Peak
- 42.0
- Dominance
- 38.0
- Statistics
- 44.0
- Honours
- 34.0
- Longevity
- 58.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 636 | Adrian Mutu | Football | 🇷🇴 Romania | 1997–2016 | 73.9 |
| 637 | Dušan Vlahović | Football | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 2016–active | 73.8 |
| 638 | Yannick Stopyra | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 1978–1994 | 73.6 |
| 642 | Darwin Núñez | Football | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 2017–active | 72.8 |
| 643 | Philippe Gondet | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 1960–1973 | 72.7 |
| 645 | Salma Paralluelo | Football | 🇪🇸 Spain | 2019–active | 72.3 |
| 646 | Serhou Guirassy | Football | 🇬🇳 Guinea | 2014–active | 72.3 |
| 649 | Lotta Schelin | Football | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 2004–2018 | 69.9 |
| 654 | Kosovare Asllani | Football | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 2007–active | 63.1 |
| 656 | Marcus Rashford | Football | 🏳️ England | 2015–active | 55.3 |
| 665 | Bo "Bosse" Larsson | Football | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 1962–1980 | 42.9 |
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.
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