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

2141

John Riggins

76.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1971–1985
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: John Riggins

2142

Bob Hayes

76.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1965–1975
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Bob Hayes

2143

Dante Lavelli

76.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1946–1956
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Dante Lavelli

2144

Clarke Hinkle

76.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1932–1941
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Clarke Hinkle

2145

Henry Jordan

76.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1957–1969
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Henry Jordan

2146

Lionel Conacher

76.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1925–1937
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Lionel Conacher

2147

Charlie Gardiner

76.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1927–1934
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Charlie Gardiner

2148

Frank Fredrickson

76.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1920–1931
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Frank Fredrickson

2149

Émile Bouchard

76.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1941–1956
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Émile Bouchard

2150

Gordon Lowe

76.6

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1907–1929
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Gordon Lowe

2151

Kingsley Coman

76.6

Sport: Football
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇫🇷 France

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

Athlete: Kingsley Coman

2152

Sébastien Haller

76.6

Sport: Football
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 75.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Sébastien Haller

2153

Charlie Conacher

76.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1929–1941
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Charlie Conacher

2154

Emmitt Smith

76.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1990–2004
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Emmitt Smith

2155

Frank Robinson

76.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1956–1976
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Frank Robinson

2156

Nikita Kucherov

76.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2011–active
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Nikita Kucherov

2158

Anthony Joshua

76.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

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

Athlete: Anthony Joshua

2159

Bill Dickey

76.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1928–1946
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Bill Dickey

2161

Todd Bennett

76.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1980–1990
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Todd Bennett

2162

Frank Gore

76.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 2005–2020
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Frank Gore

2163

Hidetoshi Nakata

76.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1995–2006
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 74.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Hidetoshi Nakata

2164

Marques Johnson

76.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1977–1989
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Marques Johnson

2165

Mikhail Akimenko

76.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2015–2021
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Mikhail Akimenko

2167

Elroy Hirsch

76.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1946–1957
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Elroy Hirsch

2169

Syl Apps

76.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1936–1948
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Syl Apps

2170

Bill Cowley

76.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1934–1947
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Bill Cowley

2171

Lanny McDonald

76.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1973–1989
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Lanny McDonald

2172

Paul Coffey

76.4

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

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

Athlete: Paul Coffey

2173

Teemu Selänne

76.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1988–2014
Country: 🇫🇮 Finland

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

Athlete: Teemu Selänne

2175

Justin Verlander

76.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2005–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Justin Verlander

2177

Charlie Gehringer

76.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1924–1942
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Charlie Gehringer

2178

Ken Houston

76.4

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

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

Athlete: Ken Houston

2179

Ty Law

76.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1995–2009
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Ty Law

2180

Antonio Brown

76.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 2010–2021
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Antonio Brown

2183

Barry Larkin

76.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1986–2004
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Barry Larkin

2184

Horace Rice

76.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1895–1930
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Horace Rice

2185

Tomáš Rosický

76.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1998–2017
Country: 🇨🇿 Czech Republic

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

Athlete: Tomáš Rosický

2186

Ippei Watanabe

76.4

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2014–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Ippei Watanabe

2187

Anthony Wilding

76.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1906–1914
Country: 🇳🇿 New Zealand

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Anthony Wilding

2188

Norman Brookes

76.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1905–1924
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Norman Brookes

2189

Tony Trabert

76.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1950–1963
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Tony Trabert

2190

Goran Ivanišević

76.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1988–2004
Country: 🇭🇷 Croatia

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

Athlete: Goran Ivanišević

2191

Dan Fouts

76.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1973–1987
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Dan Fouts

2193

Sylwester Bednarek

76.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2007–2019
Country: 🇵🇱 Poland

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Sylwester Bednarek

2194

Fred Biletnikoff

76.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1965–1978
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Fred Biletnikoff

2195

Geoff Arnold

76.4

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1963–1982
Country: 🇬🇧 England

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Geoff Arnold

2196

Roy Conacher

76.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1938–1952
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Roy Conacher

2197

Doug Bentley

76.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1939–1954
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Doug Bentley

2198

Bob Falkenburg

76.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1944–1955
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Bob Falkenburg

2199

Deion Sanders

76.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1989–2005
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Deion Sanders

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
2141	John Riggins	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1985	76.6
2142	Bob Hayes	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1965–1975	76.6
2143	Dante Lavelli	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1946–1956	76.6
2144	Clarke Hinkle	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1932–1941	76.6
2145	Henry Jordan	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1957–1969	76.6
2146	Lionel Conacher	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1925–1937	76.6
2147	Charlie Gardiner	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1927–1934	76.6
2148	Frank Fredrickson	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1920–1931	76.6
2149	Émile Bouchard	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1941–1956	76.6
2150	Gordon Lowe	Tennis	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1907–1929	76.6
2151	Kingsley Coman	Football	🇫🇷 France	2013–active	76.6
2152	Sébastien Haller	Football	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	2013–active	76.6
2153	Charlie Conacher	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1929–1941	76.6
2154	Emmitt Smith	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1990–2004	76.5
2155	Frank Robinson	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1976	76.5
2156	Nikita Kucherov	Ice Hockey	🇷🇺 Russia	2011–active	76.5
2158	Anthony Joshua	Boxing	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2013–active	76.5
2159	Bill Dickey	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1928–1946	76.5
2161	Todd Bennett	Athletics	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1980–1990	76.5
2162	Frank Gore	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2005–2020	76.5
2163	Hidetoshi Nakata	Football	🇯🇵 Japan	1995–2006	76.5
2164	Marques Johnson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1989	76.5
2165	Mikhail Akimenko	Athletics	🇷🇺 Russia	2015–2021	76.5
2167	Elroy Hirsch	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1946–1957	76.5
2169	Syl Apps	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1936–1948	76.5
2170	Bill Cowley	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1934–1947	76.5
2171	Lanny McDonald	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1973–1989	76.5
2172	Paul Coffey	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1980–2001	76.4
2173	Teemu Selänne	Ice Hockey	🇫🇮 Finland	1988–2014	76.4
2175	Justin Verlander	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2005–active	76.4
2177	Charlie Gehringer	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1924–1942	76.4
2178	Ken Houston	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1967–1980	76.4
2179	Ty Law	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1995–2009	76.4
2180	Antonio Brown	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2010–2021	76.4
2183	Barry Larkin	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1986–2004	76.4
2184	Horace Rice	Tennis	🇦🇺 Australia	1895–1930	76.4
2185	Tomáš Rosický	Football	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	1998–2017	76.4
2186	Ippei Watanabe	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	2014–active	76.4
2187	Anthony Wilding	Tennis	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1906–1914	76.4
2188	Norman Brookes	Tennis	🇦🇺 Australia	1905–1924	76.4
2189	Tony Trabert	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1950–1963	76.4
2190	Goran Ivanišević	Tennis	🇭🇷 Croatia	1988–2004	76.4
2191	Dan Fouts	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1973–1987	76.4
2193	Sylwester Bednarek	Athletics	🇵🇱 Poland	2007–2019	76.4
2194	Fred Biletnikoff	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1965–1978	76.4
2195	Geoff Arnold	Cricket	🇬🇧 England	1963–1982	76.4
2196	Roy Conacher	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1938–1952	76.4
2197	Doug Bentley	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1939–1954	76.4
2198	Bob Falkenburg	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1944–1955	76.4
2199	Deion Sanders	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1989–2005	76.3

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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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