GOAT Rank · 4154

Greatest male of all time

This ranking is led by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Phelps. GOAT Rank currently ranks 4154 eligible athletes 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

874

Emmanuel Petit

82.6

Sport: Football
Career: 1988–2004
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Emmanuel Petit

875

Colin Cowdrey

82.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1954–1975
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Colin Cowdrey

876

Jeff Dujon

82.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1974–1993
Country: 🇯🇲 West Indies

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Jeff Dujon

878

Caeleb Dressel

82.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Caeleb Dressel

879

Ken Rosewall

82.5

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1951–1980
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

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

Athlete: Ken Rosewall

880

Isiah Thomas

82.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1981–1994
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Isiah Thomas

881

Matt Biondi

82.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1984–1992
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Matt Biondi

882

José Nápoles

82.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1958–1975
Country: 🇲🇽 Mexico

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

Athlete: José Nápoles

883

Moses Kiptanui

82.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1990–1999
Country: 🇰🇪 Kenya

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Moses Kiptanui

884

Kostya Tszyu

82.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1992–2005
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Kostya Tszyu

885

Jersey Joe Walcott

82.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1930–1953
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jersey Joe Walcott

886

Guillermo Rigondeaux

82.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇨🇺 Cuba

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Guillermo Rigondeaux

887

Tim Southee

82.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2008–2024
Country: 🇳🇿 New Zealand

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Tim Southee

888

Jason Lezak

82.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1998–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jason Lezak

890

Fighting Harada

82.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1960–1970
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Fighting Harada

891

Connie Hawkins

82.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1961–1976
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Connie Hawkins

892

Jean Borotra

82.5

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1922–1956
Country: 🇫🇷 France

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

Athlete: Jean Borotra

893

Mike Barrowman

82.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1988–1992
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Mike Barrowman

894

Mike Donovan

82.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1866–1891
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Mike Donovan

896

Alberto Gilardino

82.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2000–2018
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 85.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Alberto Gilardino

897

Blaise Matuidi

82.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2005–2021
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Blaise Matuidi

898

David de Gea

82.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 85.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: David de Gea

899

Gonzalo Higuaín

82.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2005–2022
Country: 🇦🇷 Argentina

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 85.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Gonzalo Higuaín

900

Ivan Ćurković

82.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1961–1981
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

Peak: 85.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ivan Ćurković

901

Ivor Allchurch

82.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1950–1968
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 75.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ivor Allchurch

902

George Foreman

82.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1967–1997
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: George Foreman

903

Ashton Eaton

82.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2008–2016
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Ashton Eaton

904

Wes Unseld

82.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1968–1981
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Wes Unseld

906

Safet Sušić

82.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1974–1991
Country: 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Safet Sušić

908

Yoko Gushiken

82.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1974–1981
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Yoko Gushiken

909

Pop Gates

82.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1938–1955
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Pop Gates

910

Al Cervi

82.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1937–1953
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Al Cervi

913

Mel Daniels

82.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1967–1977
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Mel Daniels

914

Mark Johnson

82.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1990–2006
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Mark Johnson

916

Bruno Conti

82.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1974–1991
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 75.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 85.0

Athlete: Bruno Conti

917

Georginio Wijnaldum

82.4

Sport: Football
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 85.0

Athlete: Georginio Wijnaldum

918

Ivan Lendl

82.3

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1978–1994
Country: 🇨🇿 Czechia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 91.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ivan Lendl

919

Jimmy Connors

82.3

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1972–1996
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jimmy Connors

920

Sebastian Coe

82.3

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1975–1990
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Sebastian Coe

923

Lasse Virén

82.3

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1969–1980
Country: 🇫🇮 Finland

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Lasse Virén

928

Michael Holding

82.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1972–1989
Country: 🇯🇲 Jamaica

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Michael Holding

930

Ilie Năstase

82.3

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1966–1985
Country: 🇷🇴 Romania

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

Athlete: Ilie Năstase

931

Jermell Charlo

82.3

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Jermell Charlo

932

Yuvraj Singh

82.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2000–2019
Country: 🇮🇳 India

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Yuvraj Singh

935

Bryan Robson

82.3

Sport: Football
Career: 1975–1997
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Bryan Robson

938

Don Schollander

82.3

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1962–1968
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Don Schollander

940

Joe Dumars

82.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1985–1999
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Joe Dumars

941

Michael Owen

82.3

Sport: Football
Career: 1996–2013
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Michael Owen

942

Alessandro Andrei

82.3

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1979–1993
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Alessandro Andrei

943

László Fazekas

82.3

Sport: Football
Career: 1965–1985
Country: 🇭🇺 Hungary

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 85.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: László Fazekas

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
874	Emmanuel Petit	Football	🇫🇷 France	1988–2004	82.6
875	Colin Cowdrey	Cricket	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1954–1975	82.6
876	Jeff Dujon	Cricket	🇯🇲 West Indies	1974–1993	82.6
878	Caeleb Dressel	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2013–active	82.5
879	Ken Rosewall	Tennis	🇦🇺 Australia	1951–1980	82.5
880	Isiah Thomas	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1981–1994	82.5
881	Matt Biondi	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	1984–1992	82.5
882	José Nápoles	Boxing	🇲🇽 Mexico	1958–1975	82.5
883	Moses Kiptanui	Athletics	🇰🇪 Kenya	1990–1999	82.5
884	Kostya Tszyu	Boxing	🇦🇺 Australia	1992–2005	82.5
885	Jersey Joe Walcott	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1930–1953	82.5
886	Guillermo Rigondeaux	Boxing	🇨🇺 Cuba	2009–active	82.5
887	Tim Southee	Cricket	🇳🇿 New Zealand	2008–2024	82.5
888	Jason Lezak	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	1998–2012	82.5
890	Fighting Harada	Boxing	🇯🇵 Japan	1960–1970	82.5
891	Connie Hawkins	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1961–1976	82.5
892	Jean Borotra	Tennis	🇫🇷 France	1922–1956	82.5
893	Mike Barrowman	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	1988–1992	82.5
894	Mike Donovan	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1866–1891	82.5
896	Alberto Gilardino	Football	🇮🇹 Italy	2000–2018	82.5
897	Blaise Matuidi	Football	🇫🇷 France	2005–2021	82.5
898	David de Gea	Football	🇪🇸 Spain	2009–active	82.5
899	Gonzalo Higuaín	Football	🇦🇷 Argentina	2005–2022	82.5
900	Ivan Ćurković	Football	🇷🇸 Serbia	1961–1981	82.5
901	Ivor Allchurch	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales	1950–1968	82.5
902	George Foreman	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1967–1997	82.4
903	Ashton Eaton	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	2008–2016	82.4
904	Wes Unseld	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1968–1981	82.4
906	Safet Sušić	Football	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	1974–1991	82.4
908	Yoko Gushiken	Boxing	🇯🇵 Japan	1974–1981	82.4
909	Pop Gates	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1938–1955	82.4
910	Al Cervi	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1937–1953	82.4
913	Mel Daniels	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1967–1977	82.4
914	Mark Johnson	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1990–2006	82.4
916	Bruno Conti	Football	🇮🇹 Italy	1974–1991	82.4
917	Georginio Wijnaldum	Football	🇳🇱 Netherlands	2007–active	82.4
918	Ivan Lendl	Tennis	🇨🇿 Czechia	1978–1994	82.3
919	Jimmy Connors	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1972–1996	82.3
920	Sebastian Coe	Athletics	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1975–1990	82.3
923	Lasse Virén	Athletics	🇫🇮 Finland	1969–1980	82.3
928	Michael Holding	Cricket	🇯🇲 Jamaica	1972–1989	82.3
930	Ilie Năstase	Tennis	🇷🇴 Romania	1966–1985	82.3
931	Jermell Charlo	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	2007–active	82.3
932	Yuvraj Singh	Cricket	🇮🇳 India	2000–2019	82.3
935	Bryan Robson	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1975–1997	82.3
938	Don Schollander	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1968	82.3
940	Joe Dumars	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1985–1999	82.3
941	Michael Owen	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1996–2013	82.3
942	Alessandro Andrei	Athletics	🇮🇹 Italy	1979–1993	82.3
943	László Fazekas	Football	🇭🇺 Hungary	1965–1985	82.3

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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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