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
Ice Hockey
Career
1915–1929
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Duke Keats
Sport
Cricket
Career
1908–1914
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peak
88.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
66.0
Athlete: Major Booth
Sport
Athletics
Career
1965–1973
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
96.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
52.0
Athlete: Bob Beamon
Sport
Baseball
Career
1978–1996
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: Ozzie Smith
Sport
American Football
Career
1986–1996
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Jim Kelly
Sport
American Football
Career
1971–1983
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Dan Dierdorf
Sport
Baseball
Career
1903–1925
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Chief Bender
Sport
American Football
Career
1977–1988
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Joe Klecko
Sport
Swimming
Career
1993–2001
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
70.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Chad Carvin
Sport
Swimming
Career
2019–active
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
66.0
Athlete: Phoebe Bacon
Sport
Baseball
Career
1942–1959
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Larry Doby
Sport
Baseball
Career
2015–active
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Trea Turner
Sport
Tennis
Career
1938–1957
Country
🇦🇺 Australia
Peak
88.0
Dominance
74.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Dinny Pails
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1901–1911
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Riley Hern
Sport
Tennis
Career
1937–1943
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
64.0
Athlete: Joe Hunt
Sport
American Football
Career
1998–2012
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
83.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Randy Moss
Sport
Baseball
Career
1955–1966
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
96.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
70.0
Athlete: Sandy Koufax
Sport
American Football
Career
1983–1993
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Roger Craig
Sport
Baseball
Career
1914–1933
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: Red Faber
Sport
Swimming
Career
2013–active
Country
🇳🇱 Netherlands
Peak
86.0
Dominance
68.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Kim Busch
Sport
American Football
Career
2001–2011
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Chad Johnson
Sport
American Football
Career
2008–2019
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Aqib Talib
Sport
Tennis
Career
1921–1932
Country
🇦🇺 Australia
Peak
88.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: John Hawkes
Sport
Golf
Career
1968–2015
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
96.0
Athlete: Hale Irwin
Sport
Volleyball
Career
2013–active
Country
🇨🇳 China
Peak
94.0
Dominance
93.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Zhu Ting
Sport
American Football
Career
2002–2013
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Ed Reed

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