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

1917

Colin Bland

77.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1956–1974
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

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

Athlete: Colin Bland

1918

Mike Ditka

77.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1961–1972
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Mike Ditka

1920

André Onana

77.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2015–active
Country: 🇨🇲 Cameroon

Peak: 80.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 75.0
Longevity: 75.0

Athlete: André Onana

1921

David Ginola

77.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1986–2002
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 75.0

Athlete: David Ginola

1922

Coby Carrozza

77.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Coby Carrozza

1923

Nathon Allen

77.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2015–active
Country: 🇯🇲 Jamaica

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Nathon Allen

1924

Jack Bond

77.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1955–1974
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Jack Bond

1925

Tiger Woods

77.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1996–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 100.0
Dominance: 99.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Tiger Woods

1926

Juninho Pernambucano

77.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1993–2013
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Juninho Pernambucano

1927

Jim Brown

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1957–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 93.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Jim Brown

1928

Boris Becker

77.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1984–1999
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 89.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Boris Becker

1929

Brett Favre

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1991–2010
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Brett Favre

1930

Jack Ham

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1971–1982
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jack Ham

1931

Antonio Gates

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 2003–2018
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Antonio Gates

1932

Carlos Moyá

77.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1995–2010
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Carlos Moyá

1933

Newsy Lalonde

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1905–1927
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Newsy Lalonde

1934

Milorad Čavić

77.4

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2003–2016
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Milorad Čavić

1936

Earnie Shavers

77.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1969–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 68.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Earnie Shavers

1937

Ronde Barber

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1997–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Ronde Barber

1938

Nickel Ashmeade

77.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2009–2019
Country: 🇯🇲 Jamaica

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Nickel Ashmeade

1939

Gaylord Perry

77.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1962–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Gaylord Perry

1940

Derrick Henry

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 2016–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Derrick Henry

1941

Freddie Freeman

77.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2010–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Freddie Freeman

1942

Shawn Kemp

77.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1989–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Shawn Kemp

1943

Arne Andersson

77.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1941–1947
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Arne Andersson

1944

Denis Pankratov

77.4

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1992–2000
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Denis Pankratov

1945

Jarome Iginla

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1996–2017
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Jarome Iginla

1947

Buck Buchanan

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1963–1975
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Buck Buchanan

1948

Yale Lary

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1952–1964
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Yale Lary

1949

Ron Mix

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1960–1971
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Ron Mix

1950

Bert Olmstead

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1948–1962
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bert Olmstead

1951

Rod Langway

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1978–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Rod Langway

1952

Jim Langer

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1970–1981
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jim Langer

1953

Dick LeBeau

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1959–1972
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Dick LeBeau

1954

Jacques Lemaire

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1967–1979
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Jacques Lemaire

1955

Dave Andreychuk

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1982–2006
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Dave Andreychuk

1956

Lou Gehrig

77.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1923–1939
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 91.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Lou Gehrig

1957

Carlos Alcaraz

77.3

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Carlos Alcaraz

1959

David Thompson

77.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1975–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 60.0

Athlete: David Thompson

1960

Blake Griffin

77.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2009–2023
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Blake Griffin

1961

Bob Feller

77.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1936–1956
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bob Feller

1962

Morten Andersen

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1982–2007
Country: 🇩🇰 Denmark

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Morten Andersen

1963

Larry Murphy

77.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1980–2001
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Larry Murphy

1964

Barry McGuigan

77.3

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1981–1989
Country: 🇮🇪 Ireland

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Barry McGuigan

1965

Isaac Bruce

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1994–2009
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Isaac Bruce

1966

Ray Guy

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1973–1986
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ray Guy

1968

Dave Winfield

77.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1973–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Dave Winfield

1969

Anthony Nesty

77.3

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1986–1993
Country: 🇸🇷 Suriname

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Anthony Nesty

1970

Wang Zhizhi

77.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1995–2017
Country: 🇨🇳 China

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Wang Zhizhi

1971

Thomas Muster

77.3

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1985–1999
Country: 🇦🇹 Austria

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Thomas Muster

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
1917	Colin Bland	Cricket	🇿🇦 South Africa	1956–1974	77.5
1918	Mike Ditka	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1961–1972	77.5
1920	André Onana	Football	🇨🇲 Cameroon	2015–active	77.5
1921	David Ginola	Football	🇫🇷 France	1986–2002	77.5
1922	Coby Carrozza	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2018–active	77.5
1923	Nathon Allen	Athletics	🇯🇲 Jamaica	2015–active	77.5
1924	Jack Bond	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1955–1974	77.5
1925	Tiger Woods	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1996–active	77.4
1926	Juninho Pernambucano	Football	🇧🇷 Brazil	1993–2013	77.4
1927	Jim Brown	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1957–1965	77.4
1928	Boris Becker	Tennis	🇩🇪 Germany	1984–1999	77.4
1929	Brett Favre	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1991–2010	77.4
1930	Jack Ham	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1982	77.4
1931	Antonio Gates	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2003–2018	77.4
1932	Carlos Moyá	Tennis	🇪🇸 Spain	1995–2010	77.4
1933	Newsy Lalonde	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1905–1927	77.4
1934	Milorad Čavić	Swimming	🇷🇸 Serbia	2003–2016	77.4
1936	Earnie Shavers	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1969–1995	77.4
1937	Ronde Barber	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1997–2012	77.4
1938	Nickel Ashmeade	Athletics	🇯🇲 Jamaica	2009–2019	77.4
1939	Gaylord Perry	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1983	77.4
1940	Derrick Henry	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2016–active	77.4
1941	Freddie Freeman	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2010–active	77.4
1942	Shawn Kemp	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1989–2003	77.4
1943	Arne Andersson	Athletics	🇸🇪 Sweden	1941–1947	77.4
1944	Denis Pankratov	Swimming	🇷🇺 Russia	1992–2000	77.4
1945	Jarome Iginla	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1996–2017	77.4
1947	Buck Buchanan	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1963–1975	77.4
1948	Yale Lary	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1952–1964	77.4
1949	Ron Mix	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1960–1971	77.4
1950	Bert Olmstead	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1948–1962	77.4
1951	Rod Langway	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1978–1993	77.4
1952	Jim Langer	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1981	77.4
1953	Dick LeBeau	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1959–1972	77.4
1954	Jacques Lemaire	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1967–1979	77.4
1955	Dave Andreychuk	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1982–2006	77.4
1956	Lou Gehrig	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1923–1939	77.3
1957	Carlos Alcaraz	Tennis	🇪🇸 Spain	2018–active	77.3
1959	David Thompson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1975–1984	77.3
1960	Blake Griffin	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2009–2023	77.3
1961	Bob Feller	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1936–1956	77.3
1962	Morten Andersen	American Football	🇩🇰 Denmark	1982–2007	77.3
1963	Larry Murphy	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1980–2001	77.3
1964	Barry McGuigan	Boxing	🇮🇪 Ireland	1981–1989	77.3
1965	Isaac Bruce	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1994–2009	77.3
1966	Ray Guy	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1973–1986	77.3
1968	Dave Winfield	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1973–1995	77.3
1969	Anthony Nesty	Swimming	🇸🇷 Suriname	1986–1993	77.3
1970	Wang Zhizhi	Basketball	🇨🇳 China	1995–2017	77.3
1971	Thomas Muster	Tennis	🇦🇹 Austria	1985–1999	77.3

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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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