Football Legends
The world's most popular sport and its greatest players.
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All Football Athletes
Browse 100 of the greatest football players and personalities of all time.
Brazilian
Pelé
Forward
Three-time World Cup winner widely considered the greatest footballer of all time. Scored 757 career…
Argentine
Diego Maradona
Attacking Midfielder
Argentina's World Cup winner whose 1986 tournament performance and Napoli years cemented legendary s…
Argentine
Lionel Messi
Forward
Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion, widely regarded as one of the two greates…
Portuguese
Cristiano Ronaldo
Forward
Five-time Ballon d'Or winner and all-time leading scorer in the Champions League and international f…
French
Zinedine Zidane
Attacking Midfielder
France's 1998 World Cup-winning captain whose technical mastery and composure made him one of the ga…
Brazilian
Ronaldo Nazário
Centre Forward
The Phenomenon — two-time World Cup winner whose combination of pace and technique made him the most…
English
David Beckham
Right Midfielder
England captain and Premier League icon whose set-piece delivery was unmatched, becoming a global cu…
French
Thierry Henry
Forward
Arsenal's all-time top scorer and a key member of the legendary Invincibles, combining explosive pac…
English
Alan Shearer
Centre Forward
Premier League all-time top scorer with 260 goals, a Newcastle United icon and England striker of ra…
English
Steven Gerrard
Central Midfielder
Liverpool's greatest modern captain, whose drive, passing range and goals defined the club's most ce…
English
Frank Lampard
Central Midfielder
Chelsea's all-time leading scorer from midfield, three-time Premier League champion and UEFA Champio…
English
Paul Scholes
Central Midfielder
Manchester United midfielder regarded by Xavi and Zidane as one of the finest passers in the history…
Welsh
Ryan Giggs
Left Winger/Midfielder
The most decorated player in English football history with 13 Premier League titles, known for longe…
French
Eric Cantona
Forward
The charismatic French king of Manchester United who transformed the club at the dawn of the Premier…
Ivorian
Didier Drogba
Centre Forward
Chelsea's greatest striker and Ivory Coast legend, scorer of two Champions League final goals includ…
English
John Terry
Centre Back
Chelsea captain and one of the Premier League's most commanding centre-backs across two decades at S…
English
Rio Ferdinand
Centre Back
Manchester United's commanding centre-back who formed one of England's finest ever defensive partner…
Serbian
Nemanja Vidić
Centre Back
Manchester United's ferocious Serbian centre-back, voted Premier League Player of the Season twice a…
Irish
Roy Keane
Central Midfielder
Manchester United's ferocious captain who drove the club's 1990s dominance through sheer force of wi…
Dutch
Dennis Bergkamp
Forward / Attacking Midfielder
Arsenal's non-flying Dutchman whose first touch, vision and technique placed him among football's mo…
French
Patrick Vieira
Central Midfielder
Arsenal's dominant French captain who embodied the Invincibles midfield with a combination of power,…
French
Robert Pirès
Left Midfielder / Forward
Arsenal's elegant French winger, voted FWA Footballer of the Year in 2002 and a key member of the In…
English
Wayne Rooney
Forward
Manchester United's all-time leading scorer and England's record goalscorer, a player of raw power a…
English
Michael Owen
Forward
Golden Boot winner at the 1998 World Cup aged 18, Ballon d'Or winner in 2001 and one of England's fi…
English
Robbie Fowler
Centre Forward
Liverpool's beloved "God" — one of the most clinical natural finishers English football has ever pro…
Spanish
Fernando Torres
Centre Forward
Liverpool's devastating striker at his peak and Spain's World Cup and Euro-winning centre-forward.…
Uruguayan
Luis Suárez
Centre Forward
One of the Premier League's most prolific scorers, La Liga title winner and Uruguay's all-time leadi…
Argentine
Sergio Agüero
Centre Forward
Manchester City's all-time top scorer and scorer of the most dramatic goal in Premier League history…
Egyptian
Mohamed Salah
Forward
Liverpool's record-breaking Egyptian King, three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner and Egypt's …
Belgian
Kevin De Bruyne
Central/Attacking Midfielder
Manchester City's creative heartbeat, twice named Premier League Player of the Season and widely reg…
Senegalese
Sadio Mané
Forward
Liverpool forward who lit up the Premier League and won the Champions League, league title and AFCON…
Dutch
Virgil van Dijk
Centre Back
Liverpool's transformative Dutch centre-back who finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2019, cem…
Belgian
Vincent Kompany
Centre Back
Manchester City's beloved captain who led them to their first Premier League title in 44 years and w…
English
Raheem Sterling
Forward/Winger
One of England's most effective attackers of the modern era, Premier League champion five times with…
Belgian
Eden Hazard
Attacking Midfielder/Forward
Chelsea's most gifted player of the modern era and Belgium's greatest footballer — dribbler of excep…
Spanish
Xavi Hernández
Central Midfielder
The heartbeat of Spanish football's golden generation — World Cup and two-time Euro winner whose pas…
Spanish
Andrés Iniesta
Central Midfielder
The scorer of the 2010 World Cup winning goal and Barcelona's most celebrated playmaker — technicall…
Spanish
Sergio Busquets
Defensive Midfielder
The most underrated great of the golden generation — the defensive midfielder who made Xavi and Inie…
Spanish
Carles Puyol
Centre Back
Barcelona's lion-hearted captain who led the club to its greatest era with physical courage and exce…
Spanish
Gerard Piqué
Centre Back
Spain's World Cup winner and Barcelona defender who combined defensive excellence with a flair for t…
Spanish
Raúl González
Forward
Real Madrid's all-time leading scorer before Ronaldo and the most important Spanish striker of his g…
Brazilian
Roberto Carlos
Left Back
Real Madrid's attacking Brazilian left-back whose thunderous free-kicks and overlapping runs made hi…
Brazilian
Cafu
Right Back
Brazil's record-capped player and two-time World Cup winner — the most accomplished right-back in fo…
Brazilian
Ronaldinho
Attacking Midfielder/Forward
Barcelona's Brazilian magician who won the Ballon d'Or in 2004 and 2005 with a style of play that wa…
Spanish
David Villa
Centre Forward
Spain's all-time top scorer, World Cup winner and the finest Spanish striker of his generation.…
Spanish
Fernando Torres
Forward
El Niño — Liverpool's electric striker at peak, Spain's World Cup hero, and Atletico Madrid legend.…
Uruguayan
Luis Suárez
Forward
One of the most clinical strikers in football history — Liverpool hero, Barcelona's devastating part…
Italian
Paolo Maldini
Left Back/Centre Back
AC Milan's greatest ever player and arguably the finest defender in football history — elegant, inte…
Italian
Franco Baresi
Centre Back/Sweeper
AC Milan's imperious sweeper and Italy captain — arguably the greatest defensive organiser the game …
Italian
Andrea Pirlo
Deep-Lying Playmaker
Football's most elegant deep-lying playmaker — Italy's World Cup winner whose precision passing and …
Italian
Francesco Totti
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
Roma's one-club legend — Italy's World Cup winner and arguably Serie A's most gifted player of his g…
Italian
Alessandro Del Piero
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
Juventus' beloved attacking midfielder, Italy's World Cup winner and the club's all-time leading sco…
Italian
Roberto Baggio
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
The Divine Ponytail — Italy's 1994 World Cup Golden Boot winner whose missed penalty in the final de…
Italian
Fabio Cannavaro
Centre Back
Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning captain and Ballon d'Or winner — one of the finest defenders of his g…
German
Gerd Müller
Centre Forward
Der Bomber — Germany's World Cup winner and Bayern Munich legend whose 365 Bundesliga goals were a r…
German
Franz Beckenbauer
Sweeper/Defender
Der Kaiser — German footballer and manager who won the World Cup both as player (1974) and manager (…
Polish
Robert Lewandowski
Centre Forward
One of football's most prolific strikers of the modern era — winner of two Bundesliga top scorer rec…
German
Miroslav Klose
Centre Forward
The FIFA World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 16 goals — Germany's World Cup winner in 2014 and …
German
Thomas Müller
Forward
Bayern Munich's legendary "Raumdeuter" (space interpreter) — World Cup winner and one of football's …
French
Franck Ribéry
Left Winger
Bayern Munich's dazzling French winger and UEFA Best Player in Europe 2013 — direct, rapid and a cre…
Dutch
Arjen Robben
Right Winger
Bayern Munich's Dutch winger whose trademark left-foot cut-in became one of football's most unstoppa…
French
Michel Platini
Attacking Midfielder
Three-time European Footballer of the Year and France's greatest player of his generation — a playma…
French
Jean-Pierre Papin
Centre Forward
Marseille's prolific forward and Ballon d'Or winner in 1991 whose volleys and acrobatic strikes beca…
French
Kylian Mbappé
Forward
France's World Cup winner and the most expensive player in football history — a striker of extraordi…
French
Karim Benzema
Centre Forward
Real Madrid's Ballon d'Or winner in 2022 and the club's all-time Champions League scorer — a complet…
Dutch
Johan Cruyff
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
The architect of Total Football — three-time Ballon d'Or winner whose influence on the modern game i…
Dutch
Marco van Basten
Centre Forward
AC Milan's three-time Ballon d'Or winner whose 1988 European Championship final volley is widely con…
Dutch
Ruud Gullit
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
AC Milan's dreadlocked Dutch forward — Ballon d'Or winner in 1987 and part of one of the most celebr…
Argentine/Spanish
Alfredo di Stéfano
Centre Forward
Real Madrid's greatest ever player whose five consecutive European Cups set the standard for club do…
Brazilian
Garrincha
Right Winger
Brazil's right winger who never lost a match in which he and Pelé played together — a dribbler of su…
Hungarian/Spanish
Ferenc Puskás
Forward
Real Madrid's Golden Age striker and captain of the Mighty Magyars — one of the greatest scorers in …
Brazilian
Romário
Centre Forward
Brazil's 1994 World Cup winner and scorer of over 1,000 career goals — a natural finisher of almost …
Brazilian
Rivaldo
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
Brazil's World Cup winner and Ballon d'Or holder whose bicycle kick goals and creative brilliance li…
Brazilian
Kaká
Attacking Midfielder
AC Milan's Brazilian maestro — Ballon d'Or winner in 2007 and the most celebrated midfielder of the …
Argentine
Gonzalo Higuaín
Centre Forward
One of Serie A's most prolific strikers — holder of the single-season Serie A scoring record with 36…
Cameroonian
Samuel Eto'o
Forward
Africa's greatest footballer of his era — four-time African Player of the Year and Champions League …
Ivorian
Didier Drogba
Centre Forward
Chelsea's iconic Ivorian striker — the scorer of the 2012 Champions League final goal and one of Afr…
Algerian
Riyad Mahrez
Right Winger
Leicester City's PFA Player of the Year during their miraculous 5000-1 title win and Manchester City…
Scottish
Kenny Dalglish
Forward
One of football's greatest ever forwards and managers — King Kenny who won six league titles with Li…
Scottish
Denis Law
Forward
The King — Manchester United's Scottish legend and European Footballer of the Year 1964, scorer of 2…
Northern Irish
George Best
Forward
Manchester United's mercurial genius — European Footballer of the Year 1968 and arguably the most na…
Brazilian
Neymar Jr.
Forward
Brazil's record goalscorer and one of football's most technically gifted players — La Liga, Champion…
Polish
Robert Lewandowski
Centre Forward
Football's most prolific striker of the modern era, record Bundesliga scorer and Poland's all-time l…
Norwegian
Erling Haaland
Centre Forward
Manchester City's Norwegian goal machine who broke the Premier League's single-season scoring record…
Brazilian
Vinícius Jr.
Left Winger
Real Madrid's Brazilian winger — Champions League winner, Copa América winner and one of the most el…
English
Harry Kane
Centre Forward
England's all-time leading goalscorer and one of the Premier League's most prolific strikers — a com…
Croatian
Luka Modrić
Central Midfielder
Real Madrid's Croatian maestro — Ballon d'Or winner in 2018 who ended Messi and Ronaldo's decade-lon…
French
Karim Benzema
Centre Forward
Ballon d'Or winner 2022 and Real Madrid's all-time Champions League top scorer — one of the finest c…
Soviet
Lev Yashin
Goalkeeper
The Black Spider — the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or, and the greatest goalkeeper in footba…
Italian
Gianluigi Buffon
Goalkeeper
Italy's World Cup-winning goalkeeper and Juventus's towering presence in goal across three decades —…
Spanish
Iker Casillas
Goalkeeper
Spain's World Cup-winning captain and the most capped Spanish player ever — a penalty-saving colossu…
Danish
Peter Schmeichel
Goalkeeper
Manchester United's giant Dane — the finest goalkeeper in English football history and architect of …
German
Manuel Neuer
Goalkeeper
Bayern Munich's sweeper-keeper who redefined the position with his ability to play as an additional …
Scottish
Sir Alex Ferguson
Manager
The most successful manager in British football history — 38 trophies with Manchester United includi…
Portuguese
José Mourinho
Manager
The Special One — winner of league titles in four countries and two Champions Leagues, the most deco…
Spanish
Pep Guardiola
Manager
Widely considered the finest manager of his generation — architect of tiki-taka at Barcelona and rec…
French
Arsène Wenger
Manager
The Professor — revolutionary Arsenal manager who transformed English football with his approach to …
Irish
Robbie Keane
Forward
Republic of Ireland's all-time leading scorer and one of the most consistent strikers to have played…
English
Steve McManaman
Attacking Midfielder/Winger
Liverpool's flying winger who became the first British player to win the Champions League with a non…
French
Zinedine Zidane
Attacking Midfielder
France's World Cup hero in 1998 — headed two goals in the final and created a dynasty at Real Madrid…