GGOATRANK

GOAT Rank · 5087

Greatest athletes of all time

This ranking is led by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Phelps. GOAT Rank currently ranks 5087 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
Sport
Basketball
Career
2005–active
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: Chris Paul
Sport
Swimming
Career
1986–1996
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Janet Evans
Sport
Basketball
Career
1986–2005
Country
🇷🇸 Serbia
Peak
88.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Vlade Divac
Sport
Athletics
Career
1986–1998
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
96.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Randy Barnes
Sport
Basketball
Career
1956–1965
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
92.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Tom Heinsohn
Sport
Basketball
Career
1979–1989
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Anne Donovan
Sport
Football
Career
1984–2000
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
88.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Marieanne Spacey
Sport
Basketball
Career
2003–2019
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Dwyane Wade
Sport
Basketball
Career
1958–1972
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Elgin Baylor
Sport
Football
Career
2005–2019
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
87.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Karen Carney
Sport
American Football
Career
1985–2004
Country
🇺🇸 USA
Peak
94.0
Dominance
96.0
Statistics
99.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
96.0
Athlete: Jerry Rice
Sport
Football
Career
1987–2008
Country
🇩🇪 Germany
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Oliver Kahn
Sport
Cricket
Career
1990–2007
Country
🏴 West Indies
Peak
94.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
93.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Brian Lara
Sport
Swimming
Career
2004–2021
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Ryan Lochte
Sport
Basketball
Career
1996–2013
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
86.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Katie Smith
Sport
Boxing
Career
2002–2014
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Carl Froch
Sport
Football
Career
1981–1999
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
90.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: John Barnes
Sport
Cricket
Career
1977–1992
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
98.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Ian Botham
Sport
Basketball
Career
1967–1980
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Earl Monroe

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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