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

1901

Night Train Lane

77.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1952–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Night Train Lane

1902

Kathleen Baker

77.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2013–2021
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Kathleen Baker

1903

Kell Brook

77.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2004–2022
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Kell Brook

1904

Jane Couch

77.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1994–2007
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jane Couch

1905

Jim Palmer

77.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1965–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jim Palmer

1906

Nadia Battocletti

77.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2017–active
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Nadia Battocletti

1907

Daniel Wiffen

77.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2019–active
Country: 🇮🇪 Ireland

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 64.0

Athlete: Daniel Wiffen

1908

James Guy

77.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2014–active
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: James Guy

1909

Alexander Dale Oen

77.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2003–2012
Country: 🇳🇴 Norway

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Alexander Dale Oen

1910

Eddie Collins

77.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1906–1930
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Eddie Collins

1911

Jonathan Ogden

77.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1996–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jonathan Ogden

1912

Eric Dickerson

77.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1983–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Eric Dickerson

1913

Bobby Layne

77.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1948–1962
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Bobby Layne

1914

Carl Eller

77.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1964–1979
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Carl Eller

1915

John Randle

77.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1990–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: John Randle

1916

Sam Curran

77.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2015–active
Country: 🇬🇧 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Sam Curran

1917

Colin Bland

77.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1956–1974
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Colin Bland

1918

Mike Ditka

77.5

Sport: American Football
Career: 1961–1972
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Mike Ditka

1919

Allison Beckford

77.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1997–2008
Country: 🇯🇲 Jamaica

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Allison Beckford

1920

André Onana

77.5

Sport: Football
Career: 2015–active
Country: 🇨🇲 Cameroon

Peak: 80.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 75.0
Longevity: 75.0

Athlete: André Onana

1921

David Ginola

77.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1986–2002
Country: 🇫🇷 France

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 75.0

Athlete: David Ginola

1922

Coby Carrozza

77.5

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Coby Carrozza

1923

Nathon Allen

77.5

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2015–active
Country: 🇯🇲 Jamaica

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Nathon Allen

1924

Jack Bond

77.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1955–1974
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

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

Athlete: Jack Bond

1925

Tiger Woods

77.4

Sport: Golf
Career: 1996–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 100.0
Dominance: 99.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Tiger Woods

1926

Juninho Pernambucano

77.4

Sport: Football
Career: 1993–2013
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Juninho Pernambucano

1927

Jim Brown

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1957–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 93.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Jim Brown

1928

Boris Becker

77.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1984–1999
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

Peak: 89.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Boris Becker

1929

Brett Favre

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1991–2010
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Brett Favre

1930

Jack Ham

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1971–1982
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jack Ham

1931

Antonio Gates

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 2003–2018
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Antonio Gates

1932

Carlos Moyá

77.4

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1995–2010
Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

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

Athlete: Carlos Moyá

1933

Newsy Lalonde

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1905–1927
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Newsy Lalonde

1934

Milorad Čavić

77.4

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2003–2016
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Milorad Čavić

1935

Geraldine Heaney

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1988–2002
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Geraldine Heaney

1936

Earnie Shavers

77.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1969–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 68.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Earnie Shavers

1937

Ronde Barber

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1997–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Ronde Barber

1938

Nickel Ashmeade

77.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2009–2019
Country: 🇯🇲 Jamaica

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Nickel Ashmeade

1939

Gaylord Perry

77.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1962–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Gaylord Perry

1940

Derrick Henry

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 2016–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Derrick Henry

1941

Freddie Freeman

77.4

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

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

Athlete: Freddie Freeman

1942

Shawn Kemp

77.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1989–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Shawn Kemp

1943

Arne Andersson

77.4

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1941–1947
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Arne Andersson

1944

Denis Pankratov

77.4

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1992–2000
Country: 🇷🇺 Russia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Denis Pankratov

1945

Jarome Iginla

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1996–2017
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Jarome Iginla

1946

Alejandra Jiménez

77.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2014–2020
Country: 🇲🇽 Mexico

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Alejandra Jiménez

1947

Buck Buchanan

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1963–1975
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Buck Buchanan

1948

Yale Lary

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1952–1964
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Yale Lary

1949

Ron Mix

77.4

Sport: American Football
Career: 1960–1971
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Ron Mix

1950

Bert Olmstead

77.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1948–1962
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bert Olmstead

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
1901	Night Train Lane	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1952–1965	77.5
1902	Kathleen Baker	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2013–2021	77.5
1903	Kell Brook	Boxing	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2004–2022	77.5
1904	Jane Couch	Boxing	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1994–2007	77.5
1905	Jim Palmer	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1965–1984	77.5
1906	Nadia Battocletti	Athletics	🇮🇹 Italy	2017–active	77.5
1907	Daniel Wiffen	Swimming	🇮🇪 Ireland	2019–active	77.5
1908	James Guy	Swimming	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2014–active	77.5
1909	Alexander Dale Oen	Swimming	🇳🇴 Norway	2003–2012	77.5
1910	Eddie Collins	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1906–1930	77.5
1911	Jonathan Ogden	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1996–2007	77.5
1912	Eric Dickerson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1983–1993	77.5
1913	Bobby Layne	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1948–1962	77.5
1914	Carl Eller	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1964–1979	77.5
1915	John Randle	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1990–2003	77.5
1916	Sam Curran	Cricket	🇬🇧 England	2015–active	77.5
1917	Colin Bland	Cricket	🇿🇦 South Africa	1956–1974	77.5
1918	Mike Ditka	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1961–1972	77.5
1919	Allison Beckford	Athletics	🇯🇲 Jamaica	1997–2008	77.5
1920	André Onana	Football	🇨🇲 Cameroon	2015–active	77.5
1921	David Ginola	Football	🇫🇷 France	1986–2002	77.5
1922	Coby Carrozza	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2018–active	77.5
1923	Nathon Allen	Athletics	🇯🇲 Jamaica	2015–active	77.5
1924	Jack Bond	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1955–1974	77.5
1925	Tiger Woods	Golf	🇺🇸 United States	1996–active	77.4
1926	Juninho Pernambucano	Football	🇧🇷 Brazil	1993–2013	77.4
1927	Jim Brown	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1957–1965	77.4
1928	Boris Becker	Tennis	🇩🇪 Germany	1984–1999	77.4
1929	Brett Favre	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1991–2010	77.4
1930	Jack Ham	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1982	77.4
1931	Antonio Gates	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2003–2018	77.4
1932	Carlos Moyá	Tennis	🇪🇸 Spain	1995–2010	77.4
1933	Newsy Lalonde	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1905–1927	77.4
1934	Milorad Čavić	Swimming	🇷🇸 Serbia	2003–2016	77.4
1935	Geraldine Heaney	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1988–2002	77.4
1936	Earnie Shavers	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1969–1995	77.4
1937	Ronde Barber	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1997–2012	77.4
1938	Nickel Ashmeade	Athletics	🇯🇲 Jamaica	2009–2019	77.4
1939	Gaylord Perry	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1983	77.4
1940	Derrick Henry	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2016–active	77.4
1941	Freddie Freeman	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2010–active	77.4
1942	Shawn Kemp	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1989–2003	77.4
1943	Arne Andersson	Athletics	🇸🇪 Sweden	1941–1947	77.4
1944	Denis Pankratov	Swimming	🇷🇺 Russia	1992–2000	77.4
1945	Jarome Iginla	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1996–2017	77.4
1946	Alejandra Jiménez	Boxing	🇲🇽 Mexico	2014–2020	77.4
1947	Buck Buchanan	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1963–1975	77.4
1948	Yale Lary	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1952–1964	77.4
1949	Ron Mix	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1960–1971	77.4
1950	Bert Olmstead	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1948–1962	77.4

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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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