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

2201

Craig Biggio

76.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1988–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Craig Biggio

2202

Troy Polamalu

76.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 2003–2014
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Troy Polamalu

2203

Sergi Bruguera

76.3

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1988–2002
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Sergi Bruguera

2204

Bob Gainey

76.3

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

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bob Gainey

2205

Ken Riley

76.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1969–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Ken Riley

2206

Paul Molitor

76.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1978–1998
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Paul Molitor

2207

Lee Smith

76.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1980–1997
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Lee Smith

2208

Kenley Jansen

76.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2010–active
Country: 🇨🇼 Curaçao

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Kenley Jansen

2209

Larry Walker

76.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1989–2005
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Larry Walker

2210

Arky Vaughan

76.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1932–1948
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Arky Vaughan

2211

Aleksandr Mostovoi

76.3

Sport: Football
Career: 1986–2005
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 80.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Aleksandr Mostovoi

2214

Warren Moon

76.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1978–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Warren Moon

2215

Ted Dexter

76.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1958–1968
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Ted Dexter

2216

Terry Bradshaw

76.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1970–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Terry Bradshaw

2217

Lance Alworth

76.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1962–1972
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Lance Alworth

2218

Rod Gilbert

76.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1960–1978
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Rod Gilbert

2219

Jack Christiansen

76.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1951–1958
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jack Christiansen

2220

Elvin Bethea

76.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1968–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Elvin Bethea

2221

Ricardo Busquets

76.3

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1994–2004
Country: 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Ricardo Busquets

2222

Christian Wörns

76.3

Sport: Football
Career: 1990–2008
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 78.0
Dominance: 75.0
Statistics: 70.0
Honours: 75.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Christian Wörns

2223

José María Giménez

76.3

Sport: Football
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇺🇾 Uruguay

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 75.0
Statistics: 70.0
Honours: 75.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: José María Giménez

2225

Jacques Laperrière

76.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1962–1974
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jacques Laperrière

2226

Ray Lewis

76.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1996–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 89.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 87.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ray Lewis

2227

Guy Lafleur

76.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1971–1991
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Guy Lafleur

2228

Pedro Martínez

76.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1992–2009
Country: 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Pedro Martínez

2229

Chris Webber

76.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1993–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Chris Webber

2230

Andre Johnson

76.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 2003–2016
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Andre Johnson

2231

Felix Auböck

76.2

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇦🇹 Austria

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Felix Auböck

2234

Alan Trammell

76.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1977–1996
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Alan Trammell

2235

Pat O'Hara Wood

76.2

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1912–1926
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

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

Athlete: Pat O'Hara Wood

2236

Michael Atherton

76.2

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1989–2001
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Michael Atherton

2237

Larry Csonka

76.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1968–1979
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Larry Csonka

2238

Pete Pihos

76.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1947–1955
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Pete Pihos

2239

Patrick van Balkom

76.2

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1993–2004
Country: 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Patrick van Balkom

2240

Christopher Nkunku

76.2

Sport: Football
Career: 2016–2025
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 85.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 75.0
Longevity: 65.0

Athlete: Christopher Nkunku

2241

Victor Osimhen

76.2

Sport: Football
Career: 2017–active
Country: 🇳🇬 Nigeria

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 79.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Victor Osimhen

2243

Connor McDavid

76.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2015–active
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 93.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Connor McDavid

2244

Mickey Mantle

76.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1951–1968
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Mickey Mantle

2245

Mike Schmidt

76.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1972–1989
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Mike Schmidt

2246

Barry Sanders

76.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1989–1998
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Barry Sanders

2247

Steve Young

76.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1984–1999
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Steve Young

2248

Bryan Trottier

76.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1975–1994
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Bryan Trottier

2249

Andrés Gómez

76.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1979–1995
Country: 🇪🇨 Ecuador

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Andrés Gómez

2250

Rube Foster

76.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1902–1926
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Rube Foster

2251

Chuck Howley

76.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1958–1973
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Chuck Howley

2253

Billy Hamilton

76.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1888–1901
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Billy Hamilton

2254

Willard Brown

76.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1935–1958
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Willard Brown

2255

Johnny Blood

76.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1925–1939
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Johnny Blood

2256

Olapade Adeniken

76.1

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1990–2000
Country: 🇳🇬 Nigeria

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Olapade Adeniken

2257

Ed Delahanty

76.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1888–1903
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Ed Delahanty

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
2201	Craig Biggio	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1988–2007	76.3
2202	Troy Polamalu	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2003–2014	76.3
2203	Sergi Bruguera	Tennis	🇪🇸 Spain	1988–2002	76.3
2204	Bob Gainey	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1973–1989	76.3
2205	Ken Riley	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1969–1983	76.3
2206	Paul Molitor	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1978–1998	76.3
2207	Lee Smith	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1980–1997	76.3
2208	Kenley Jansen	Baseball	🇨🇼 Curaçao	2010–active	76.3
2209	Larry Walker	Baseball	🇨🇦 Canada	1989–2005	76.3
2210	Arky Vaughan	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1932–1948	76.3
2211	Aleksandr Mostovoi	Football	🇷🇺 Russia	1986–2005	76.3
2214	Warren Moon	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1978–2000	76.3
2215	Ted Dexter	Cricket	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1958–1968	76.3
2216	Terry Bradshaw	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1983	76.3
2217	Lance Alworth	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1972	76.3
2218	Rod Gilbert	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1960–1978	76.3
2219	Jack Christiansen	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1951–1958	76.3
2220	Elvin Bethea	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1968–1983	76.3
2221	Ricardo Busquets	Swimming	🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	1994–2004	76.3
2222	Christian Wörns	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1990–2008	76.3
2223	José María Giménez	Football	🇺🇾 Uruguay	2013–active	76.3
2225	Jacques Laperrière	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1962–1974	76.3
2226	Ray Lewis	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1996–2012	76.2
2227	Guy Lafleur	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1971–1991	76.2
2228	Pedro Martínez	Baseball	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	1992–2009	76.2
2229	Chris Webber	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1993–2008	76.2
2230	Andre Johnson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2003–2016	76.2
2231	Felix Auböck	Swimming	🇦🇹 Austria	2013–active	76.2
2234	Alan Trammell	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1996	76.2
2235	Pat O'Hara Wood	Tennis	🇦🇺 Australia	1912–1926	76.2
2236	Michael Atherton	Cricket	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1989–2001	76.2
2237	Larry Csonka	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1968–1979	76.2
2238	Pete Pihos	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1947–1955	76.2
2239	Patrick van Balkom	Athletics	🇳🇱 Netherlands	1993–2004	76.2
2240	Christopher Nkunku	Football	🇫🇷 France	2016–2025	76.2
2241	Victor Osimhen	Football	🇳🇬 Nigeria	2017–active	76.2
2243	Connor McDavid	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	2015–active	76.1
2244	Mickey Mantle	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1951–1968	76.1
2245	Mike Schmidt	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1972–1989	76.1
2246	Barry Sanders	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1989–1998	76.1
2247	Steve Young	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1984–1999	76.1
2248	Bryan Trottier	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1975–1994	76.1
2249	Andrés Gómez	Tennis	🇪🇨 Ecuador	1979–1995	76.1
2250	Rube Foster	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1902–1926	76.1
2251	Chuck Howley	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1958–1973	76.1
2253	Billy Hamilton	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1888–1901	76.1
2254	Willard Brown	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1935–1958	76.1
2255	Johnny Blood	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1925–1939	76.1
2256	Olapade Adeniken	Athletics	🇳🇬 Nigeria	1990–2000	76.1
2257	Ed Delahanty	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1888–1903	76.1

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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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