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

1251

Hank Aaron

80.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1954–1976
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 93.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Hank Aaron

1252

Roy Emerson

80.6

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1953–1983
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

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

Athlete: Roy Emerson

1253

Oscar De La Hoya

80.6

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1992–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Oscar De La Hoya

1254

Yannick Agnel

80.6

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2008–2016
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Yannick Agnel

1255

Sergei Makarov

80.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1976–1997
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

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

Athlete: Sergei Makarov

1256

Tony Gonzalez

80.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1997–2013
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Tony Gonzalez

1257

Marek Hamšík

80.6

Sport: Football
Career: 2004–2023
Country: 🇸🇰 Slovakia

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Marek Hamšík

1258

Mallory Swanson

80.6

Sport: Football
Career: 2015–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Mallory Swanson

1259

Tom Dolan

80.6

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1993–2002
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Tom Dolan

1260

Rebecca Soni

80.6

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2008–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 64.0

Athlete: Rebecca Soni

1261

Lee Evans

80.6

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1966–1972
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Lee Evans

1262

Bernard King

80.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1977–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Bernard King

1263

Larry Myricks

80.6

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1976–1992
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Larry Myricks

1264

Bobby Chacon

80.6

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1972–1988
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Bobby Chacon

1265

Darrell Green

80.6

Sport: American Football
Career: 1983–2002
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 98.0

Athlete: Darrell Green

1266

Terry Alderman

80.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1974–1993
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Terry Alderman

1267

Dennis Amiss

80.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1960–1987
Country: 🇬🇧 England

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Dennis Amiss

1268

Martin Bicknell

80.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1986–2006
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Martin Bicknell

1269

Saad Al-Asmari

80.6

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1993–2006
Country: 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Saad Al-Asmari

1270

Lola Gallardo

80.6

Sport: Football
Career: 2011–active
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 85.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Lola Gallardo

1271

Steve Smith

80.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

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

Athlete: Steve Smith

1272

Jhulan Goswami

80.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2002–2022
Country: 🇮🇳 India

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Jhulan Goswami

1273

Ariarne Titmus

80.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2016–active
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Ariarne Titmus

1274

Michael Ballack

80.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1995–2012
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Michael Ballack

1275

Alberto Juantorena

80.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1971–1984
Country: 🇨🇺 Cuba

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Alberto Juantorena

1276

Tony Zale

80.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1934–1948
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Tony Zale

1277

Murielle Ahouré

80.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Murielle Ahouré

1278

Kim Batten

80.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1991–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Kim Batten

1279

Barbra Banda

80.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2016–active
Country: 🇿🇲 Zambia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Barbra Banda

1280

Paul George

80.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2010–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Paul George

1281

Wang Shun

80.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2011–active
Country: 🇨🇳 China

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Wang Shun

1282

Kate Douglass

80.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2019–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Kate Douglass

1283

Chase Kalisz

80.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Chase Kalisz

1284

Ken Buchanan

80.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1965–1982
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

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

Athlete: Ken Buchanan

1285

Michael Carbajal

80.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1989–1999
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Michael Carbajal

1286

Donald Curry

80.5

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

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Donald Curry

1287

Ken Barrington

80.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1955–1968
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Ken Barrington

1288

Red Kelly

80.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1947–1967
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 96.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Red Kelly

1289

Arthur Gore

80.5

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1888–1927
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Arthur Gore

1290

Mel Blount

80.5

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

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Mel Blount

1291

Jack Blackham

80.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1874–1894
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

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

Athlete: Jack Blackham

1292

Pamela Conti

80.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1995–2013
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Pamela Conti

1293

Ally McCoist

80.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1979–2001
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Peak: 78.0
Dominance: 75.0
Statistics: 85.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 85.0

Athlete: Ally McCoist

1294

Dries Mertens

80.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2006–2025
Country: 🇧🇪 Belgium

Peak: 85.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 75.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Dries Mertens

1295

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha

80.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2006–active
Country: 🇵🇹 Portugal

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 77.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 85.0

Athlete: Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha

1296

Erik Morales

80.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1993–2012
Country: 🇲🇽 Mexico

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

Athlete: Erik Morales

1297

Ben Wallace

80.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1996–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Ben Wallace

1298

Kirani James

80.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇬🇩 Grenada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Kirani James

1299

Kelsey-Lee Barber

80.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2011–active
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Kelsey-Lee Barber

1300

Deontay Wilder

80.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Deontay Wilder

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
1251	Hank Aaron	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1954–1976	80.6
1252	Roy Emerson	Tennis	🇦🇺 Australia	1953–1983	80.6
1253	Oscar De La Hoya	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1992–2008	80.6
1254	Yannick Agnel	Swimming	🇫🇷 France	2008–2016	80.6
1255	Sergei Makarov	Ice Hockey	🇷🇺 Russia	1976–1997	80.6
1256	Tony Gonzalez	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1997–2013	80.6
1257	Marek Hamšík	Football	🇸🇰 Slovakia	2004–2023	80.6
1258	Mallory Swanson	Football	🇺🇸 United States	2015–active	80.6
1259	Tom Dolan	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	1993–2002	80.6
1260	Rebecca Soni	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2008–2012	80.6
1261	Lee Evans	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1966–1972	80.6
1262	Bernard King	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1993	80.6
1263	Larry Myricks	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1992	80.6
1264	Bobby Chacon	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1972–1988	80.6
1265	Darrell Green	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1983–2002	80.6
1266	Terry Alderman	Cricket	🇦🇺 Australia	1974–1993	80.6
1267	Dennis Amiss	Cricket	🇬🇧 England	1960–1987	80.6
1268	Martin Bicknell	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1986–2006	80.6
1269	Saad Al-Asmari	Athletics	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	1993–2006	80.6
1270	Lola Gallardo	Football	🇪🇸 Spain	2011–active	80.6
1271	Steve Smith	Cricket	🇦🇺 Australia	2008–active	80.5
1272	Jhulan Goswami	Cricket	🇮🇳 India	2002–2022	80.5
1273	Ariarne Titmus	Swimming	🇦🇺 Australia	2016–active	80.5
1274	Michael Ballack	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1995–2012	80.5
1275	Alberto Juantorena	Athletics	🇨🇺 Cuba	1971–1984	80.5
1276	Tony Zale	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1934–1948	80.5
1277	Murielle Ahouré	Athletics	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	2008–active	80.5
1278	Kim Batten	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1991–2000	80.5
1279	Barbra Banda	Football	🇿🇲 Zambia	2016–active	80.5
1280	Paul George	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2010–active	80.5
1281	Wang Shun	Swimming	🇨🇳 China	2011–active	80.5
1282	Kate Douglass	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2019–active	80.5
1283	Chase Kalisz	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2013–active	80.5
1284	Ken Buchanan	Boxing	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	1965–1982	80.5
1285	Michael Carbajal	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1989–1999	80.5
1286	Donald Curry	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1980–1997	80.5
1287	Ken Barrington	Cricket	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1955–1968	80.5
1288	Red Kelly	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1947–1967	80.5
1289	Arthur Gore	Tennis	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1888–1927	80.5
1290	Mel Blount	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1983	80.5
1291	Jack Blackham	Cricket	🇦🇺 Australia	1874–1894	80.5
1292	Pamela Conti	Football	🇮🇹 Italy	1995–2013	80.5
1293	Ally McCoist	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	1979–2001	80.5
1294	Dries Mertens	Football	🇧🇪 Belgium	2006–2025	80.5
1295	Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha	Football	🇵🇹 Portugal	2006–active	80.5
1296	Erik Morales	Boxing	🇲🇽 Mexico	1993–2012	80.4
1297	Ben Wallace	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1996–2012	80.4
1298	Kirani James	Athletics	🇬🇩 Grenada	2009–active	80.4
1299	Kelsey-Lee Barber	Athletics	🇦🇺 Australia	2011–active	80.4
1300	Deontay Wilder	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	2008–active	80.4

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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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