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
Football
Career
1950–1968
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales
Peak
84.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
75.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Ivor Allchurch
Sport
Athletics
Career
2008–2016
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Ashton Eaton
Sport
Basketball
Career
1968–1981
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Wes Unseld
Sport
Football
Career
1974–1991
Country
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Peak
88.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Safet Sušić
Sport
Basketball
Career
1938–1955
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Pop Gates
Sport
Basketball
Career
1937–1953
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Al Cervi
Sport
Basketball
Career
1967–1977
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Mel Daniels
Sport
Football
Career
1974–1991
Country
🇮🇹 Italy
Peak
88.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
75.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
85.0
Athlete: Bruno Conti
Sport
Tennis
Career
1978–1994
Country
🇨🇿 Czechia
Peak
90.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
91.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Ivan Lendl
Sport
Boxing
Career
2001–2019
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Nicola Adams
Sport
Football
Career
1975–1997
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
86.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
78.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Bryan Robson
Sport
Football
Career
2010–active
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Fran Kirby
Sport
Basketball
Career
1985–1999
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Joe Dumars
Sport
Football
Career
1996–2013
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
94.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Michael Owen
Sport
Cricket
Career
1984–2003
Country
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Peak
90.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Wasim Akram
Sport
Tennis
Career
1942–1955
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
94.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Doris Hart

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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