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
Cricket
Career
1894–1920
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: David Denton
Sport
Cricket
Career
1972–1994
Country
🇿🇦 South Africa
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
96.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Jimmy Cook
Sport
Football
Career
1995–2016
Country
🇮🇹 Italy
Peak
86.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Luca Toni
Sport
Basketball
Career
1985–2006
Country
🇭🇷 Croatia
Peak
86.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Toni Kukoč
Sport
Football
Career
1993–2008
Country
🇵🇹 Portugal
Peak
86.0
Dominance
76.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Pauleta
Sport
Boxing
Career
1998–2006
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Ann Wolfe
Sport
Tennis
Career
1894–1906
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
94.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Reginald Doherty
Sport
Boxing
Career
1940–1955
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Jimmy Bivins
Sport
Cricket
Career
1975–1993
Country
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Peak
94.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Abdul Qadir
Sport
Football
Career
2006–2024
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
84.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
78.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Steph Houghton
Sport
Basketball
Career
1910–1932
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: John Beckman
Sport
Football
Career
2002–2020
Country
🇧🇷 Brazil
Peak
85.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
78.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Robinho
Sport
Basketball
Career
1958–1969
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Wayne Embry
Sport
Football
Career
1988–2006
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 United Kingdom
Peak
86.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Alan Shearer
Sport
Athletics
Career
2013–active
Country
🇳🇱 Netherlands
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Sifan Hassan
Sport
Basketball
Career
1999–2019
Country
🇫🇷 France
Peak
86.0
Dominance
76.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Tony Parker
Sport
Cricket
Career
1992–2013
Country
🇮🇳 India
Peak
96.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: VVS Laxman

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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