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

2001

Phil Housley

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1982–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Phil Housley

2002

Richárd Bohus

77.2

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2010–2021
Country: 🇭🇺 Hungary

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Richárd Bohus

2003

Mickey MacKay

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1914–1930
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Mickey MacKay

2004

Ebbie Goodfellow

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1929–1943
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Ebbie Goodfellow

2005

Rômulo Arantes

77.2

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1972–1980
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Rômulo Arantes

2006

Oliver Bierhoff

77.2

Sport: Football
Career: 1987–2003
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany

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

Athlete: Oliver Bierhoff

2007

Nigel Briers

77.2

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1971–1995
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Nigel Briers

2008

Alan Butcher

77.2

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1972–1990
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Alan Butcher

2009

Patrick Roy

77.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1984–2003
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Patrick Roy

2010

Walter Payton

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1975–1987
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 87.0
Statistics: 91.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Walter Payton

2011

Roger Clemens

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1984–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Roger Clemens

2012

Don Hutson

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1935–1945
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Don Hutson

2013

Kaylee McKeown

77.1

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2017–active
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 56.0

Athlete: Kaylee McKeown

2014

Tyson Fury

77.1

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Tyson Fury

2015

Damian Lillard

77.1

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

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Damian Lillard

2016

Dawn Staley

77.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1996–2006
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Dawn Staley

2017

Virginia Wade

77.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1962–1986
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Virginia Wade

2018

Riikka Sallinen

77.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1988–2019
Country: 🇫🇮 Finland

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

Athlete: Riikka Sallinen

2019

Rod Carew

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1967–1985
Country: 🇵🇦 Panama

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

Athlete: Rod Carew

2020

Tom Glavine

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1987–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Tom Glavine

2021

Brad Park

77.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1968–1985
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Brad Park

2022

Toe Blake

77.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1934–1948
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Toe Blake

2023

Amir Khan

77.1

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2005–2022
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Amir Khan

2024

Dwight Freeney

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2002–2017
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Dwight Freeney

2025

Jared Allen

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2004–2015
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Jared Allen

2026

Jack Alexy

77.1

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2022–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 60.0

Athlete: Jack Alexy

2027

Buck Leonard

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1933–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Buck Leonard

2028

Willie McCovey

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1959–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Willie McCovey

2029

Julio Jones

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2011–2022
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Julio Jones

2030

Paul Warfield

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1964–1977
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Paul Warfield

2031

Hunter Armstrong

77.1

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

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Hunter Armstrong

2032

Trinity Rodman

77.1

Sport: Football
Career: 2021–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 64.0

Athlete: Trinity Rodman

2033

Adrian Moorhouse

77.1

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1982–1992
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

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

Athlete: Adrian Moorhouse

2034

Jack Kramer

77.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1940–1954
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Jack Kramer

2035

Tony Gwynn

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1982–2001
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Tony Gwynn

2036

Al MacInnis

77.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1981–2004
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Al MacInnis

2037

Tom Mack

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1966–1978
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Tom Mack

2038

Rickey Jackson

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1981–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Rickey Jackson

2039

Ollie Matson

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1952–1966
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

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

Athlete: Ollie Matson

2040

Algernon Kingscote

77.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1909–1928
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

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

Athlete: Algernon Kingscote

2041

Art Larsen

77.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1947–1956
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Art Larsen

2042

Javier Acevedo

77.1

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2014–active
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

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

Athlete: Javier Acevedo

2043

Stan Mikita

77.0

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1958–1980
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 89.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Stan Mikita

2044

Rogers Hornsby

77.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1915–1937
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Rogers Hornsby

2045

Nolan Ryan

77.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1966–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Nolan Ryan

2046

Bruce Smith

77.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 1985–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Bruce Smith

2047

Jakob Ingebrigtsen

77.0

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2017–active
Country: 🇳🇴 Norway

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 60.0

Athlete: Jakob Ingebrigtsen

2048

Jake LaMotta

77.0

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1941–1954
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jake LaMotta

2049

Mohammed Aman

77.0

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2010–2019
Country: 🇪🇹 Ethiopia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Mohammed Aman

2050

Devin Hester

77.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 2006–2016
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Devin Hester

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
2001	Phil Housley	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1982–2003	77.2
2002	Richárd Bohus	Swimming	🇭🇺 Hungary	2010–2021	77.2
2003	Mickey MacKay	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1914–1930	77.2
2004	Ebbie Goodfellow	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1929–1943	77.2
2005	Rômulo Arantes	Swimming	🇧🇷 Brazil	1972–1980	77.2
2006	Oliver Bierhoff	Football	🇩🇪 Germany	1987–2003	77.2
2007	Nigel Briers	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1971–1995	77.2
2008	Alan Butcher	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1972–1990	77.2
2009	Patrick Roy	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1984–2003	77.1
2010	Walter Payton	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1975–1987	77.1
2011	Roger Clemens	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1984–2007	77.1
2012	Don Hutson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1935–1945	77.1
2013	Kaylee McKeown	Swimming	🇦🇺 Australia	2017–active	77.1
2014	Tyson Fury	Boxing	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2008–active	77.1
2015	Damian Lillard	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2012–active	77.1
2016	Dawn Staley	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1996–2006	77.1
2017	Virginia Wade	Tennis	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1962–1986	77.1
2018	Riikka Sallinen	Ice Hockey	🇫🇮 Finland	1988–2019	77.1
2019	Rod Carew	Baseball	🇵🇦 Panama	1967–1985	77.1
2020	Tom Glavine	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1987–2008	77.1
2021	Brad Park	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1968–1985	77.1
2022	Toe Blake	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1934–1948	77.1
2023	Amir Khan	Boxing	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2005–2022	77.1
2024	Dwight Freeney	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2002–2017	77.1
2025	Jared Allen	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2004–2015	77.1
2026	Jack Alexy	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2022–active	77.1
2027	Buck Leonard	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1933–1950	77.1
2028	Willie McCovey	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1959–1980	77.1
2029	Julio Jones	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2011–2022	77.1
2030	Paul Warfield	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1964–1977	77.1
2031	Hunter Armstrong	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2019–active	77.1
2032	Trinity Rodman	Football	🇺🇸 United States	2021–active	77.1
2033	Adrian Moorhouse	Swimming	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1982–1992	77.1
2034	Jack Kramer	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1940–1954	77.1
2035	Tony Gwynn	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1982–2001	77.1
2036	Al MacInnis	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1981–2004	77.1
2037	Tom Mack	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1966–1978	77.1
2038	Rickey Jackson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1981–1995	77.1
2039	Ollie Matson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1952–1966	77.1
2040	Algernon Kingscote	Tennis	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1909–1928	77.1
2041	Art Larsen	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1947–1956	77.1
2042	Javier Acevedo	Swimming	🇨🇦 Canada	2014–active	77.1
2043	Stan Mikita	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1958–1980	77.0
2044	Rogers Hornsby	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1915–1937	77.0
2045	Nolan Ryan	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1966–1993	77.0
2046	Bruce Smith	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1985–2003	77.0
2047	Jakob Ingebrigtsen	Athletics	🇳🇴 Norway	2017–active	77.0
2048	Jake LaMotta	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1941–1954	77.0
2049	Mohammed Aman	Athletics	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	2010–2019	77.0
2050	Devin Hester	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2006–2016	77.0

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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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