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
American Football
Career
1993–2007
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: John Lynch
Sport
American Football
Career
1972–1985
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Cliff Branch
Sport
American Football
Career
1963–1977
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Winston Hill
Sport
Baseball
Career
1894–1915
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: Fred Clarke
Sport
Baseball
Career
2005–active
Country
🇯🇵 Japan
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Yu Darvish
Sport
American Football
Career
1999–2009
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Torry Holt
Sport
Baseball
Career
2009–2021
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Buster Posey
Sport
Baseball
Career
1974–1989
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Jim Rice
Sport
Baseball
Career
2018–active
Country
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
Peak
96.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
96.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Juan Soto
Sport
American Football
Career
1922–1934
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Link Lyman
Sport
Cricket
Career
2013–2022
Country
🇿🇦 South Africa
Peak
90.0
Dominance
74.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Lizelle Lee
Sport
American Football
Career
1995–2001
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
98.0
Dominance
90.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
60.0
Athlete: Terrell Davis
Sport
American Football
Career
1964–1973
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Leroy Kelly
Sport
American Football
Career
1920–1928
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Pete Henry
Sport
American Football
Career
1941–1952
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Tony Canadeo
Sport
Football
Career
2021–2025
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
Peak
85.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
70.0
Longevity
60.0
Athlete: Cole Palmer
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1919–1931
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
93.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Babe Dye
Sport
American Football
Career
2012–2019
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
68.0
Athlete: Luke Kuechly
Sport
Cricket
Career
1991–2009
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 United Kingdom
Peak
88.0
Dominance
74.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
70.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Andy Caddick
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1938–1954
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Sid Abel
Sport
American Football
Career
1992–2005
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Jimmy Smith
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1936–1952
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Turk Broda
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1917–1929
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Cy Denneny

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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