The 100 Most Famous Footballers of All Time

Ranked by Wikipedia link data — the closer to #1, the more famous.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were always going to fight over the top two spots, with Pelé, Diego Maradona and Neymar leading the chasing pack. The ranking follows Wikipedia link data, so it rewards decades of global stardom rather than last season's form. See the full hundred, then find out how many you can recall before the timer dies.

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  1. Lionel MessiLionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League…
  2. Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains the Saudi…
  3. PeléEdson Arantes do Nascimento, better known by his nickname Pelé, was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward.
  4. Diego MaradonaDiego Armando Maradona was an Argentine professional football player and manager.
  5. NeymarNeymar da Silva Santos Júnior, known mononymously as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking…
  6. Sean Connery
  7. David BeckhamSir David Robert Joseph Beckham is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and…
  8. Kylian MbappéKylian Mbappé Lottin is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the…
  9. Johan Cruyff
  10. Francesco Totti
  11. Zlatan IbrahimovićZlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
  12. Viktor Orbán
  13. Franz Beckenbauer
  14. RonaldinhoRonaldo de Assis Moreira, commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who…
  15. Luis Suárez
  16. Alex Ferguson
  17. Luka ModrićLuka Modrić is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A club AC Milan and captains the…
  18. Gianluigi Buffon
  19. José Mourinho
  20. Karim Benzema
  21. Robert Lewandowski
  22. Elie Wiesel
  23. Andrés Iniesta
  24. Mesut Özil
  25. Frank Lampard
  26. Michel Platini
  27. Thierry Henry
  28. Mohamed SalahMohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly is an Egyptian professional footballer who last played for Premier League club Liverpool as a…
  29. Wayne Rooney
  30. Miroslav Klose
  31. Iker Casillas
  32. Antoine Griezmann
  33. Manuel Neuer
  34. KakáRicardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, commonly known as Kaká or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who…
  35. Jason Statham
  36. Robin van Persie
  37. Xavi Hernández
  38. Erling HaalandErling Braut Haaland is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester City and…
  39. Steven Gerrard
  40. EusébioEusébio da Silva Ferreira, nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "o Rei", was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker.
  41. Pep Guardiola
  42. Harry KaneHarry Edward Kane is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and captains…
  43. George Weah
  44. Gareth Bale
  45. Thomas Müller
  46. Ferenc Puskás
  47. Paul Pogba
  48. Eden Hazard
  49. Arjen Robben
  50. Gerard Piqué
  51. Kevin De Bruyne
  52. Lamine Yamal
  53. Samuel Eto'o
  54. Lukas Podolski
  55. Sadio ManéSadio Mané is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr.
  56. Fernando Torres
  57. Gerd Müller
  58. Didier DrogbaDidier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
  59. Roberto BaggioRoberto Baggio is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder.
  60. Sergio Agüero
  61. Alfredo Di Stéfano
  62. James Rodríguez
  63. Sergio Ramos
  64. Mario Balotelli
  65. Olivier Giroud
  66. Franck Ribéry
  67. Romelu Lukaku
  68. Gary Lineker
  69. George Best
  70. Lev Yashin
  71. Carlo Ancelotti
  72. Marco van Basten
  73. Javier Milei
  74. Thibaut Courtois
  75. Julio Iglesias
  76. Diego Forlán
  77. Ryan Giggs
  78. Xabi Alonso
  79. Ousmane DembéléMasour Ousmane Dembélé is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward or right winger for Ligue 1 club Paris…
  80. Marcus Rashford
  81. Andriy Shevchenko
  82. Philipp Lahm
  83. Toni Kroos
  84. Cesc Fàbregas
  85. Ahmad ibn Billah
  86. Ángel Di María
  87. Andrea Pirlo
  88. Alessandro Del Piero
  89. David Villa
  90. Jürgen Klopp
  91. Edinson Cavani
  92. Daniel Alves
  93. Hugo Lloris
  94. Roberto Carlos
  95. Fabio Cannavaro
  96. Joao Grimaldo

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