GGOATRANK

GOAT Rank · 674

Greatest Football Players of all time

This ranking is led by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marta Vieira da Silva. GOAT Rank currently ranks 674 eligible Football players 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
1979–1998
Country
🇳🇱 Netherlands
Peak
89.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Ruud Gullit
Sport
Football
Career
1964–1984
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
84.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
74.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Emlyn Hughes
Sport
Football
Career
1997–2013
Country
🇵🇹 Portugal
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Deco
Sport
Football
Career
1958–1975
Country
🇮🇹 Italy
Peak
86.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Mario Corso
Sport
Football
Career
2002–2021
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 United Kingdom
Peak
86.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Wayne Rooney
Sport
Football
Career
1970–1986
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland
Peak
88.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
78.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: John Robertson
Sport
Football
Career
1996–2016
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
87.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Rachel Yankey
Sport
Football
Career
1993–2013
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 United Kingdom
Peak
84.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Paul Scholes
Sport
Football
Career
1978–1994
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
92.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Gary Lineker
Sport
Football
Career
1978–1997
Country
🇧🇷 Brazil
Peak
90.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Careca
Sport
Football
Career
2001–2015
Country
🇫🇷 France
Peak
85.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
92.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Eric Abidal
Sport
Football
Career
1965–1979
Country
🇩🇪 Germany
Peak
88.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Berti Vogts
Sport
Football
Career
1984–2000
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
88.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Marieanne Spacey
Sport
Football
Career
2005–2019
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
87.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Karen Carney

Compare the leaders

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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