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
1926–1933
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Ace Bailey
Sport
Volleyball
Career
1998–2021
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
94.0
Athlete: John Hyden
Sport
Baseball
Career
1997–2016
Country
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: David Ortiz
Sport
American Football
Career
1989–1999
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Steve Atwater
Sport
Tennis
Career
1890–1900
Country
🇮🇪 Ireland
Peak
92.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
64.0
Athlete: Joshua Pim
Sport
American Football
Career
1974–1982
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
70.0
Athlete: Lynn Swann
Sport
Basketball
Career
1936–1946
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
86.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
74.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
68.0
Athlete: Laddie Gale
Sport
American Football
Career
1920–1927
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Ed Healey
Sport
Swimming
Career
2008–2014
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
82.0
Dominance
70.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
76.0
Longevity
72.0
Athlete: Karlee Bispo
Sport
Basketball
Career
2019–active
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
74.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
70.0
Longevity
58.0
Athlete: Ja Morant
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1995–2015
Country
🇸🇪 Sweden
Peak
88.0
Dominance
76.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Erika Holst
Sport
Golf
Career
1851–1896
Country
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 United Kingdom
Peak
94.0
Dominance
90.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Old Tom Morris
Sport
American Football
Career
1973–1983
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Drew Pearson
Sport
Cricket
Career
1975–1996
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peak
84.0
Dominance
66.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
66.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: John Childs
Sport
American Football
Career
1931–1938
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
68.0
Athlete: Dutch Clark
Sport
American Football
Career
1920–1927
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Joe Guyon
Sport
Football
Career
1994–2007
Country
🇩🇪 Germany
Peak
78.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
70.0
Honours
75.0
Longevity
70.0
Athlete: Lars Ricken
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1922–1933
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Billy Burch
Sport
Volleyball
Career
1980–1997
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Mike Dodd
Sport
Golf
Career
1934–1979
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
96.0
Athlete: Sam Snead
Sport
Swimming
Career
2017–active
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
78.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
54.0
Athlete: Regan Smith
Sport
American Football
Career
1956–1971
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
78.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Bart Starr

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