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

1972

Ted Lindsay

77.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1944–1965
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Ted Lindsay

1974

Learie Constantine

77.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1923–1939
Country: 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Learie Constantine

1975

Lenny Moore

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1956–1967
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Lenny Moore

1976

Ted Schroeder

77.3

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1939–1954
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Ted Schroeder

1978

Bob Griese

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1967–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Bob Griese

1979

Mike Haynes

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1976–1989
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Mike Haynes

1980

Arnie Herber

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1930–1945
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Arnie Herber

1981

Percy Chapman

77.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1920–1939
Country: 🇬🇧 England

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Percy Chapman

1982

Jeremy Coney

77.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1971–1987
Country: 🇳🇿 New Zealand

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jeremy Coney

1984

Marco Tardelli

77.3

Sport: Football
Career: 1972–1988
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 78.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 70.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Marco Tardelli

1985

Benjamin Pavard

77.3

Sport: Football
Career: 2015–active
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 80.0
Dominance: 75.0
Statistics: 74.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Benjamin Pavard

1986

Maurice Richard

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1942–1960
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Maurice Richard

1987

Jannik Sinner

77.2

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Jannik Sinner

1988

Honus Wagner

77.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1897–1917
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Honus Wagner

1989

Darrelle Revis

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 2007–2017
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Darrelle Revis

1991

Bobby Bell

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1963–1974
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Bobby Bell

1992

R. Norris Williams

77.2

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1912–1926
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: R. Norris Williams

1993

Turkey Stearnes

77.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1923–1942
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Turkey Stearnes

1994

Jack Youngblood

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1971–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jack Youngblood

1995

Jim Thome

77.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1991–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Jim Thome

1996

O.J. Simpson

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1969–1979
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 98.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: O.J. Simpson

1997

Wasim Raja

77.2

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1971–1985
Country: 🇵🇰 Pakistan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Wasim Raja

1998

Aaqib Javed

77.2

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1988–1998
Country: 🇵🇰 Pakistan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Aaqib Javed

1999

Yevgeny Kafelnikov

77.2

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1992–2003
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Yevgeny Kafelnikov

2000

Merlin Olsen

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1962–1976
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Merlin Olsen

2001

Phil Housley

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1982–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Phil Housley

2002

Richárd Bohus

77.2

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2010–2021
Country: 🇭🇺 Hungary

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Richárd Bohus

2003

Mickey MacKay

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1914–1930
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Mickey MacKay

2004

Ebbie Goodfellow

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1929–1943
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Ebbie Goodfellow

2005

Rômulo Arantes

77.2

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1972–1980
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Rômulo Arantes

2006

Oliver Bierhoff

77.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1987–2003
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

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

Athlete: Oliver Bierhoff

2007

Nigel Briers

77.2

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1971–1995
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Nigel Briers

2008

Alan Butcher

77.2

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1972–1990
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

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

Athlete: Alan Butcher

2009

Patrick Roy

77.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1984–2003
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Patrick Roy

2010

Walter Payton

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1975–1987
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 87.0
Statistics: 91.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Walter Payton

2011

Roger Clemens

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1984–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Roger Clemens

2012

Don Hutson

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1935–1945
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Don Hutson

2014

Tyson Fury

77.1

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Tyson Fury

2015

Damian Lillard

77.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2012–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Damian Lillard

2019

Rod Carew

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1967–1985
Country: 🇵🇦 Panama

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

Athlete: Rod Carew

2020

Tom Glavine

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1987–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Tom Glavine

2021

Brad Park

77.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1968–1985
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Brad Park

2022

Toe Blake

77.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1934–1948
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Toe Blake

2023

Amir Khan

77.1

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2005–2022
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Amir Khan

2024

Dwight Freeney

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2002–2017
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Dwight Freeney

2025

Jared Allen

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2004–2015
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Jared Allen

2026

Jack Alexy

77.1

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2022–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 60.0

Athlete: Jack Alexy

2027

Buck Leonard

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1933–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Buck Leonard

2028

Willie McCovey

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1959–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Willie McCovey

2029

Julio Jones

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2011–2022
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Julio Jones

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
1972	Ted Lindsay	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1944–1965	77.3
1974	Learie Constantine	Cricket	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	1923–1939	77.3
1975	Lenny Moore	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1967	77.3
1976	Ted Schroeder	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1939–1954	77.3
1978	Bob Griese	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1967–1980	77.3
1979	Mike Haynes	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1989	77.3
1980	Arnie Herber	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1930–1945	77.3
1981	Percy Chapman	Cricket	🇬🇧 England	1920–1939	77.3
1982	Jeremy Coney	Cricket	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1971–1987	77.3
1984	Marco Tardelli	Football	🇮🇹 Italy	1972–1988	77.3
1985	Benjamin Pavard	Football	🇫🇷 France	2015–active	77.3
1986	Maurice Richard	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1942–1960	77.2
1987	Jannik Sinner	Tennis	🇮🇹 Italy	2018–active	77.2
1988	Honus Wagner	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1897–1917	77.2
1989	Darrelle Revis	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2007–2017	77.2
1991	Bobby Bell	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1963–1974	77.2
1992	R. Norris Williams	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1912–1926	77.2
1993	Turkey Stearnes	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1923–1942	77.2
1994	Jack Youngblood	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1984	77.2
1995	Jim Thome	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1991–2012	77.2
1996	O.J. Simpson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1969–1979	77.2
1997	Wasim Raja	Cricket	🇵🇰 Pakistan	1971–1985	77.2
1998	Aaqib Javed	Cricket	🇵🇰 Pakistan	1988–1998	77.2
1999	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	Tennis	🇷🇺 Russia	1992–2003	77.2
2000	Merlin Olsen	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1976	77.2
2001	Phil Housley	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1982–2003	77.2
2002	Richárd Bohus	Swimming	🇭🇺 Hungary	2010–2021	77.2
2003	Mickey MacKay	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1914–1930	77.2
2004	Ebbie Goodfellow	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1929–1943	77.2
2005	Rômulo Arantes	Swimming	🇧🇷 Brazil	1972–1980	77.2
2006	Oliver Bierhoff	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1987–2003	77.2
2007	Nigel Briers	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1971–1995	77.2
2008	Alan Butcher	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1972–1990	77.2
2009	Patrick Roy	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1984–2003	77.1
2010	Walter Payton	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1975–1987	77.1
2011	Roger Clemens	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1984–2007	77.1
2012	Don Hutson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1935–1945	77.1
2014	Tyson Fury	Boxing	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2008–active	77.1
2015	Damian Lillard	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2012–active	77.1
2019	Rod Carew	Baseball	🇵🇦 Panama	1967–1985	77.1
2020	Tom Glavine	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1987–2008	77.1
2021	Brad Park	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1968–1985	77.1
2022	Toe Blake	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1934–1948	77.1
2023	Amir Khan	Boxing	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2005–2022	77.1
2024	Dwight Freeney	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2002–2017	77.1
2025	Jared Allen	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2004–2015	77.1
2026	Jack Alexy	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2022–active	77.1
2027	Buck Leonard	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1933–1950	77.1
2028	Willie McCovey	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1959–1980	77.1
2029	Julio Jones	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2011–2022	77.1

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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