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

2791

Bobby Locke

73.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 1936–1975
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

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

Athlete: Bobby Locke

2792

Red Grange

73.7

Sport: American Football
Career: 1925–1934
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Red Grange

2793

Ace Parker

73.7

Sport: American Football
Career: 1937–1946
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Ace Parker

2794

Hap Day

73.7

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1924–1938
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Hap Day

2796

Dick Butkus

73.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1965–1973
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Dick Butkus

2797

Peter Šťastný

73.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1975–1995
Country: 🇸🇰 Slovakia

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Peter Šťastný

2798

Victor Wembanyama

73.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2019–active
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 52.0

Athlete: Victor Wembanyama

2799

Steve Shutt

73.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1972–1985
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Steve Shutt

2800

Grigor Dimitrov

73.6

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇧🇬 Bulgaria

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

Athlete: Grigor Dimitrov

2802

Bill Foster

73.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1923–1938
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Bill Foster

2803

Sebastian Janikowski

73.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 2000–2018
Country: 🇵🇱 Poland

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

Athlete: Sebastian Janikowski

2804

Bruiser Kinard

73.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1938–1947
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Bruiser Kinard

2806

Michael Stich

73.6

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1988–1997
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Michael Stich

2807

Bill Durnan

73.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1943–1950
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 58.0

Athlete: Bill Durnan

2808

Paul Kariya

73.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1994–2010
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Paul Kariya

2809

Raymond Floyd

73.6

Sport: Golf
Career: 1963–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Raymond Floyd

2810

Jack Butler

73.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1951–1959
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Jack Butler

2811

Jim Burke

73.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1948–1959
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

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

Athlete: Jim Burke

2812

Yannick Stopyra

73.6

Sport: Football
Career: 1978–1994
Country: 🇫🇷 France

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

Athlete: Yannick Stopyra

2813

Ivans Bugajenkovs

73.6

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 1960–1970
Country: 🇱🇻 Latvia

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

Athlete: Ivans Bugajenkovs

2814

Pavel Datsyuk

73.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1996–2021
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

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

Athlete: Pavel Datsyuk

2815

Steven Stamkos

73.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Steven Stamkos

2816

Steve Van Buren

73.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1944–1951
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Steve Van Buren

2817

Thomas Johansson

73.5

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1994–2009
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Thomas Johansson

2818

Randy Gradishar

73.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1974–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Randy Gradishar

2819

Roscoe Tanner

73.5

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1972–1985
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Roscoe Tanner

2821

Joe Gordon

73.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1938–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Joe Gordon

2822

Ryan Garcia

73.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2016–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 68.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Ryan Garcia

2824

Simone Cerasuolo

73.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2019–active
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Simone Cerasuolo

2825

Paul Endacott

73.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1921–1928
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 72.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Paul Endacott

2826

Bobby Leonard

73.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1951–1963
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 74.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Bobby Leonard

2827

Sonny Boswell

73.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1938–1948
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Sonny Boswell

2828

Carlton Fisk

73.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1969–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Carlton Fisk

2829

Elvis Afrifa

73.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2017–active
Country: 🇳🇱 Netherlands

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

Athlete: Elvis Afrifa

2830

Adam Basil

73.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1995–2004
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

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

Athlete: Adam Basil

2832

Jan-Ove Waldner

73.4

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 1980–2016
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 97.0
Dominance: 93.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 98.0

Athlete: Jan-Ove Waldner

2833

Patrik Eliáš

73.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1994–2016
Country: 🇨🇿 Czech Republic

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

Athlete: Patrik Eliáš

2834

Leon Day

73.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1934–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Leon Day

2835

Magnus Larsson

73.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1988–2001
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Magnus Larsson

2836

Mike Brown

73.4

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2003–2012
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 68.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Mike Brown

2837

Joe Mullen

73.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1979–1997
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Joe Mullen

2838

Neil Colville

73.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1935–1949
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Neil Colville

2839

Paolo Nicolai

73.4

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

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

Athlete: Paolo Nicolai

2840

Jackie Robinson

73.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1945–1956
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jackie Robinson

2842

Eli Manning

73.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 2004–2019
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Eli Manning

2844

Jake Beckley

73.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1888–1907
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Jake Beckley

2845

Stretch Murphy

73.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1927–1935
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 74.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Stretch Murphy

2847

Alessio Boggiatto

73.3

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1999–2012
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 68.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Alessio Boggiatto

2848

Trevor Hoffman

73.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1993–2010
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Trevor Hoffman

2849

Tuffy Leemans

73.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1936–1943
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Tuffy Leemans

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
2791	Bobby Locke	Golf	🇿🇦 South Africa	1936–1975	73.7
2792	Red Grange	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1925–1934	73.7
2793	Ace Parker	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1937–1946	73.7
2794	Hap Day	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1924–1938	73.7
2796	Dick Butkus	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1965–1973	73.6
2797	Peter Šťastný	Ice Hockey	🇸🇰 Slovakia	1975–1995	73.6
2798	Victor Wembanyama	Basketball	🇫🇷 France	2019–active	73.6
2799	Steve Shutt	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1972–1985	73.6
2800	Grigor Dimitrov	Tennis	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	2008–active	73.6
2802	Bill Foster	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1923–1938	73.6
2803	Sebastian Janikowski	American Football	🇵🇱 Poland	2000–2018	73.6
2804	Bruiser Kinard	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1938–1947	73.6
2806	Michael Stich	Tennis	🇩🇪 Germany	1988–1997	73.6
2807	Bill Durnan	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1943–1950	73.6
2808	Paul Kariya	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1994–2010	73.6
2809	Raymond Floyd	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1963–2000	73.6
2810	Jack Butler	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1951–1959	73.6
2811	Jim Burke	Cricket	🇦🇺 Australia	1948–1959	73.6
2812	Yannick Stopyra	Football	🇫🇷 France	1978–1994	73.6
2813	Ivans Bugajenkovs	Volleyball	🇱🇻 Latvia	1960–1970	73.6
2814	Pavel Datsyuk	Ice Hockey	🇷🇺 Russia	1996–2021	73.5
2815	Steven Stamkos	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	2008–active	73.5
2816	Steve Van Buren	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1944–1951	73.5
2817	Thomas Johansson	Tennis	🇸🇪 Sweden	1994–2009	73.5
2818	Randy Gradishar	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1983	73.5
2819	Roscoe Tanner	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1972–1985	73.5
2821	Joe Gordon	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1938–1950	73.5
2822	Ryan Garcia	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	2016–active	73.5
2824	Simone Cerasuolo	Swimming	🇮🇹 Italy	2019–active	73.5
2825	Paul Endacott	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1921–1928	73.5
2826	Bobby Leonard	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1951–1963	73.5
2827	Sonny Boswell	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1938–1948	73.5
2828	Carlton Fisk	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1969–1993	73.5
2829	Elvis Afrifa	Athletics	🇳🇱 Netherlands	2017–active	73.5
2830	Adam Basil	Athletics	🇦🇺 Australia	1995–2004	73.5
2832	Jan-Ove Waldner	Table Tennis	🇸🇪 Sweden	1980–2016	73.4
2833	Patrik Eliáš	Ice Hockey	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	1994–2016	73.4
2834	Leon Day	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1934–1950	73.4
2835	Magnus Larsson	Tennis	🇸🇪 Sweden	1988–2001	73.4
2836	Mike Brown	Swimming	🇨🇦 Canada	2003–2012	73.4
2837	Joe Mullen	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1979–1997	73.4
2838	Neil Colville	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1935–1949	73.4
2839	Paolo Nicolai	Volleyball	🇮🇹 Italy	2008–active	73.4
2840	Jackie Robinson	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1945–1956	73.3
2842	Eli Manning	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2004–2019	73.3
2844	Jake Beckley	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1888–1907	73.3
2845	Stretch Murphy	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1927–1935	73.3
2847	Alessio Boggiatto	Swimming	🇮🇹 Italy	1999–2012	73.3
2848	Trevor Hoffman	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1993–2010	73.3
2849	Tuffy Leemans	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1936–1943	73.3

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.

Related rankings

Greatest athletes of all time Greatest female of all time Greatest active Athletes Greatest retired Athletes Greatest Boxers of all time Greatest Swimmers of all time Greatest Football Players of all time Greatest Tennis Players of all time Greatest Golfers of all time Greatest Formula 1 Drivers of all time Greatest Esports Players of all time Greatest Basketball Players of all time