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

101

Xavi Hernández

88.7

Sport: Football
Career: 1998–2019
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 91.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Xavi Hernández

102

Tim Duncan

88.7

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1997–2016
Country: 🇻🇮 United States

Peak: 89.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 91.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Tim Duncan

103

Wendie Renard

88.7

Sport: Football
Career: 2006–active
Country: 🇫🇷 France

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

Athlete: Wendie Renard

104

John Havlicek

88.7

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1962–1978
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: John Havlicek

105

Kelly Smith

88.7

Sport: Football
Career: 1994–2017
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Kelly Smith

106

Sepp Maier

88.6

Sport: Football
Career: 1962–1980
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 96.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Sepp Maier

107

Sergei Belov

88.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1964–1980
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

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

Athlete: Sergei Belov

108

Briana Scurry

88.6

Sport: Football
Career: 1994–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Briana Scurry

109

Michael Johnson

88.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2001
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Michael Johnson

110

Carolina Morace

88.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1978–1998
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Carolina Morace

111

N'Golo Kanté

88.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2012–active
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: N'Golo Kanté

112

Martina Navratilova

88.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1973–1994
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 95.0
Statistics: 93.0
Honours: 96.0
Longevity: 97.0

Athlete: Martina Navratilova

113

Lothar Matthäus

88.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1979–2000
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Lothar Matthäus

114

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

88.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1980–2001
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Jackie Joyner-Kersee

115

Peter Shilton

88.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1966–1997
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Peter Shilton

116

David Villa

88.4

Sport: Football
Career: 2000–2020
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: David Villa

117

Marcel Desailly

88.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1986–2006
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Marcel Desailly

118

Nikos Galis

88.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1979–1994
Country: 🇬🇷 Greece

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Nikos Galis

119

Dražen Dalipagić

88.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1971–1991
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

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

Athlete: Dražen Dalipagić

120

Leonardo Bonucci

88.4

Sport: Football
Career: 2005–2024
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Leonardo Bonucci

121

Diego Forlán

88.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1997–2019
Country: 🇺🇾 Uruguay

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Diego Forlán

122

Tobin Heath

88.4

Sport: Football
Career: 2008–2022
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Tobin Heath

123

Steffi Graf

88.3

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1982–1999
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 98.0
Dominance: 97.0
Statistics: 95.0
Honours: 96.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Steffi Graf

124

Roy Jones Jr.

88.3

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1989–2018
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Roy Jones Jr.

125

Eusébio

88.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1960–1979
Country: 🇵🇹 Portugal

Peak: 91.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 93.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Eusébio

126

Stephen Curry

88.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 91.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Stephen Curry

127

Dani Alves

88.2

Sport: Football
Career: 2001–2023
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Dani Alves

128

Petr Čech

88.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1999–2019
Country: 🇨🇿 Czech Republic

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

Athlete: Petr Čech

129

Formiga

88.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1993–2022
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 99.0

Athlete: Formiga

130

Pia Sundhage

88.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1975–1996
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Pia Sundhage

131

Bernd Schuster

88.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1979–1997
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 85.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 85.0

Athlete: Bernd Schuster

132

David Josué Jiménez Silva

88.2

Sport: Football
Career: 2005–2023
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 85.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: David Josué Jiménez Silva

133

Ivan Rakitić

88.2

Sport: Football
Career: 2006–active
Country: 🇭🇷 Croatia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 85.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ivan Rakitić

134

Michel Platini

88.1

Sport: Football
Career: 1972–1987
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 89.0
Honours: 89.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Michel Platini

135

Oleg Blokhin

88.1

Sport: Football
Career: 1969–1990
Country: 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Oleg Blokhin

136

Serena Williams

88.0

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1995–2022
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 96.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 95.0
Longevity: 93.0

Athlete: Serena Williams

137

Donald Bradman

88.0

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1928–1948
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 100.0
Dominance: 100.0
Statistics: 100.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Donald Bradman

138

Oscar Robertson

88.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1960–1974
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Oscar Robertson

139

Dida

88.0

Sport: Football
Career: 1992–2015
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

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

Athlete: Dida

140

Ariane Hingst

88.0

Sport: Football
Career: 1994–2011
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ariane Hingst

141

Shaquille O'Neal

87.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1992–2011
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 89.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Shaquille O'Neal

142

Luís Figo

87.9

Sport: Football
Career: 1989–2009
Country: 🇵🇹 Portugal

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Luís Figo

143

José Martínez Sánchez

87.9

Sport: Football
Career: 1964–1982
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 85.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: José Martínez Sánchez

144

Rinat Dasayev

87.9

Sport: Football
Career: 1976–1990
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 85.0

Athlete: Rinat Dasayev

145

Yuriy Sedykh

87.8

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1974–1992
Country: 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Yuriy Sedykh

146

Abby Wambach

87.7

Sport: Football
Career: 2001–2015
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 89.0
Dominance: 87.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Abby Wambach

147

Joe Louis

87.7

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1934–1951
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Joe Louis

148

Maria Mutola

87.7

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1988–2008
Country: 🇲🇿 Mozambique

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

Athlete: Maria Mutola

149

Lucy Bronze

87.7

Sport: Football
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Lucy Bronze

150

Thomas Hearns

87.7

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1977–2006
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Thomas Hearns

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
101	Xavi Hernández	Football	🇪🇸 Spain	1998–2019	88.7
102	Tim Duncan	Basketball	🇻🇮 United States	1997–2016	88.7
103	Wendie Renard	Football	🇫🇷 France	2006–active	88.7
104	John Havlicek	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1978	88.7
105	Kelly Smith	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1994–2017	88.7
106	Sepp Maier	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1962–1980	88.6
107	Sergei Belov	Basketball	🇷🇺 Russia	1964–1980	88.6
108	Briana Scurry	Football	🇺🇸 United States	1994–2008	88.6
109	Michael Johnson	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1988–2001	88.5
110	Carolina Morace	Football	🇮🇹 Italy	1978–1998	88.5
111	N'Golo Kanté	Football	🇫🇷 France	2012–active	88.5
112	Martina Navratilova	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1973–1994	88.4
113	Lothar Matthäus	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1979–2000	88.4
114	Jackie Joyner-Kersee	Athletics	🇺🇸 United States	1980–2001	88.4
115	Peter Shilton	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1966–1997	88.4
116	David Villa	Football	🇪🇸 Spain	2000–2020	88.4
117	Marcel Desailly	Football	🇫🇷 France	1986–2006	88.4
118	Nikos Galis	Basketball	🇬🇷 Greece	1979–1994	88.4
119	Dražen Dalipagić	Basketball	🇷🇸 Serbia	1971–1991	88.4
120	Leonardo Bonucci	Football	🇮🇹 Italy	2005–2024	88.4
121	Diego Forlán	Football	🇺🇾 Uruguay	1997–2019	88.4
122	Tobin Heath	Football	🇺🇸 United States	2008–2022	88.4
123	Steffi Graf	Tennis	🇩🇪 Germany	1982–1999	88.3
124	Roy Jones Jr.	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1989–2018	88.3
125	Eusébio	Football	🇵🇹 Portugal	1960–1979	88.2
126	Stephen Curry	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2009–active	88.2
127	Dani Alves	Football	🇧🇷 Brazil	2001–2023	88.2
128	Petr Čech	Football	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	1999–2019	88.2
129	Formiga	Football	🇧🇷 Brazil	1993–2022	88.2
130	Pia Sundhage	Football	🇸🇪 Sweden	1975–1996	88.2
131	Bernd Schuster	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1979–1997	88.2
132	David Josué Jiménez Silva	Football	🇪🇸 Spain	2005–2023	88.2
133	Ivan Rakitić	Football	🇭🇷 Croatia	2006–active	88.2
134	Michel Platini	Football	🇫🇷 France	1972–1987	88.1
135	Oleg Blokhin	Football	🇺🇦 Ukraine	1969–1990	88.1
136	Serena Williams	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1995–2022	88.0
137	Donald Bradman	Cricket	🇦🇺 Australia	1928–1948	88.0
138	Oscar Robertson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1960–1974	88.0
139	Dida	Football	🇧🇷 Brazil	1992–2015	88.0
140	Ariane Hingst	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1994–2011	88.0
141	Shaquille O'Neal	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1992–2011	87.9
142	Luís Figo	Football	🇵🇹 Portugal	1989–2009	87.9
143	José Martínez Sánchez	Football	🇪🇸 Spain	1964–1982	87.9
144	Rinat Dasayev	Football	🇷🇺 Russia	1976–1990	87.9
145	Yuriy Sedykh	Athletics	🇺🇦 Ukraine	1974–1992	87.8
146	Abby Wambach	Football	🇺🇸 United States	2001–2015	87.7
147	Joe Louis	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1934–1951	87.7
148	Maria Mutola	Athletics	🇲🇿 Mozambique	1988–2008	87.7
149	Lucy Bronze	Football	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	2009–active	87.7
150	Thomas Hearns	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1977–2006	87.7

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 female of all time Greatest male 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