Football (soccer) is without doubt the world's most popular and loved sport and from every town and city in Europe to the length and bread of Africa, South America and Asia the debate over are the best players ever to play the game has raged on for generations.
A team of sporting statistic boffins have now trawled through endless footage and match reports from every top tournament in the game's history including World Cups, European Cup/Champions Leagues, Euros, Copa Americas, Copa Libertadores and all of the world's top leagues to finally end the debate over the players who achieved the most in the game.
A highly technical point scoring system was used with goals, assists, performances, influence, clean sheets, medals all used with players also being ranked according to the teams they played for and tournaments they played in.
Players scoring goals in the World Cup were ranked highest with higher ranking points for playing for lower ranked teams in the best tournaments.
After years of research they finally decided upon the top 550 outfield players 50 goalkeepers.
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi came out on top with Cristiano Ronaldo in second and Pele in third.
The full list is below, what do you think of the rankings?
- Lionel Messi 97 Argentina
- Cristiano Ronaldo 96 Portugal
- Pele 95 Brazil
- Diego Maradona 95 Argentina
- Zinedine Zidane 95 France
- Ronaldo 95 Brazil
- Alfredo Di Stefano 94 Argentina
- Ferenc Puskas 94 Hungary
- Johan Cruyff 94 Holland
- Ronaldinho 94 Brazil
- Garrincha 94 Brazil
- Franz Beckenbauer 93 Germany
- Andres Iniesta 93 Spain
- Eusebio 93 Portugal
- Romario 93 Brazil
- George Best 93 Northern Ireland
- Paolo Maldini 93 Italy
- Michel Platini 93 France
- Luka Modric 93 Croatia
- Gabriel Batistuta 92 Argentina
- Mohammed Salah 92 Egypt
- Allessandro Del piero 92 Italy
- George Hagi 92 Romania
- Socrates 92 Brazil
- Cafu 92 Brazil
- Thierry Henry 92 France
- Roberto Baggio 92 Italy
- Rivaldo 92 Brazil
- Kyllian Mbappe 92 France
- Jimmy Johnstone 92 Scotland
- Bobby Charlton 92 England
- Kenny Dalglish 92 Scotland
- Carles Puyol 92 Spain
- Xavi 92 Spain
- Raymond Kopa 92 France
- Neymar 92 Brazil
- Gareth Bale 92 Wales
- Roberto Carlos 92 Brazil
- Franco Baresi 92 Italy
- Luis Figo 92 Portugal
- Zico 92 Brazil
- Gerd Muller 92 Germany
- Robert Lewandowski 92 Poland
- Karim Benzema 91 France
- Ruud Gullit 91 Holland
- Bobby Moore 91 England
- Henrik Larsson 91 Sweden
- George Weah 91 Liberia
- Wayne Rooney 91 England
- Luis Suárez 91 Uruguay
- Denis Law 91 Scotland
- Hristo Stoichkov 91 Bulgaria
- Sergio Aguero 91 Argentina zz
- Marco Van Basten 91 Holland
- Giuseppe Meazza 91 Italy
- Andrei Shevchenko 91 Ukraine
- Erling Haaland 91 Norway
- Lilian Thuram 91 France
- Gianni Rivera 91 Italy
- Jurgen Klinsmann 91 Germany
- Stanley Matthews 91 England
- Dennis Bergkamp 91 Holland
- Uwe Seeler 91 Germany
- Francesco Totti 91 Italy
- Steven Gerrard 91 England
- Robert Prosinecki 91 Croatia
- Jairzinho 91 Brazil
- Fern Peyroteo 91 Portugal
- Raul 91 Spain
- Mário Kempes 91 Argentina
- Fritz Walter 91 Germany
- Sandro Mazzola 90 Italy
- Fabio Cannavaro 90 Italy
- Andreas Moller 90 Germany
- Paco Gento 90 Spain
- Matthias Sammer 90 Germany
- Johan Neeskens 90 Holland
- .Alan Shearer 90 England
- Didier Drogba 90 Ivory Coast
- Lothar Matthaus 90 Germany
- Tostao 90 Brazil
- Philipp Lahm 90 Germany
- Just Fontaine 90 France
- John Charles 90 Wales
- Carlos Alberto 90 Brazil
- Eric Cantona 90 France
- Paul Scholes 90 England
- Antoine Griezmann 90 France zz
- Ryan Giggs 90 Wales
- Didi 90 Brazil
- Michael Laudrup 90 Denmark
- Thomas Muller 90 Germany zz
- Eden Hazard 90 Belgium
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic 90 Sweden zz
- .Frank Lampard 90 England
- Falcao 90 Brazil
- Kaka 90 Brazil
- Josef Bican 90 Austria
- Jimmy McGrory 90 Scotland
- Gunnar Nordahl 90 Sweden
- Virgil Van Dijk 90 Holland zz
- Javier Zanetti 90 Argentina
- Rivelino 90 Brazil
- Rui Costa 90 Portugal
- Zvonimir Boban 90 Croatia
- Danny McGrain 90 Scotland
- Gerson 90 Brazil
- Marc Overmars 90 Holland
- Michael Ballack 90 Germany
- Paul Breitner 90 Germany
- Pavel Nedved 90 Czech Rep
- Sergio Ramos 90 Spain zz
- Andrea Pirlo 90 Italy
- Ruud Krol 90 Holland
- José Águas 90 Portugal
- Arie Haan 90 Holland
- Dejan Savicevic 89 Yugoslavia
- Obdulio Varela 89 Uruguay
- Yaya Toure 89 Ivory Coast
- V. Kompany 89 Belgium zz
- Samuel Eto’o 89 Cameroon
- Ruud V.Nistelrooy 89 Holland
- Careca 89 Brazil
- Harry Kane 89 England
- Djalma Santos 89 Brazil
- Teófilo Cubillas 89 Peru
- Hugo Sanchez 89 Mexico
- John Barnes 89 England
- Arjen Robben 89 Holland zz
- Roy Keane 89 Ireland
- Ivan Zamorano 89 Chile
- Graeme Souness 89 Scotland
- Kev De Bruyne 89 Belgium zz
- Luis Suárez M 89 Spain
- Nils Liedholm 89 Sweden
- Sandor Kocsis 89 Hungary
- Mario Coluna 89 Portugal
- David Villa 89 Spain
- Sadio Mane 89 Senegal
- Paul Pogba 88 France zz
- Alessandro Nesta 88 Italy
- Son Heung-Min S.Korea 88
- Fernando Hierro 88 Spain
- Gary Lineker 88 England
- Ian Rush 88 Wales
- Michael Owen 88 England
- Marcel Desailly 88 France
- Marco Tardelli 88 Italy
- David Silva 88 Spain zz
- Ronald Koeman 88 Holland
- Giacinto Facchetti 88 Italy
- Xabi Alonso 88 Spain
- Dani Alves 88 Brazil zz
- Johnny Rep 88 Holland
- Armando Picchi 88 Italy
- Davor Suker 88 Croatia
- Mesut Ozil 88 Germany zz
- Wesley Sneijder 88 Holland
- John Terry 88 England
- Clarence Seedorf 88 Holland
- Marcelo 88 Brazil zz
- Paul Gascoigne 88 England
- David Trezeguet 88 France
- Alexis Sanchez 88 Chile zz
- Sol Campbell 88 England
- Frank Rijkaard 88 Holland
- Faustino Asprilla 88 Colombia
- Nilton Santos 88 Brazil
- Josef Masopust 88 Czech Rep
- Jardel 88 Brazil
- Billy Wright 88 England
- Miroslav Klose 88 Germany
- Tommy Gemmell 88 Scotland
- Rudi Voller 88 Germany
- Jaap Stam 88 Holland
- Gunter Netzer 88 Germany
- Arthur Friedenreich 88 Brazil
- Franz Binder 88 Austria
- Giorgio Chiellini Italy 88
- Paul Van Himst 88 Belgium
- Fernando Torres 88 Spain
- Gianfranco Zola 88 Italy
- Valentin Ivanov 88 Russia
- Everaldo 87 Brazil
- Kevin Keegan 87 England
- Amancio 87 Spain
- Robin Van Persie 87 Holland
- Filippo Inzaghi 87 Italy
- David Beckham 87 England
- Bobby Firmino 87 Brazil zz
- Dimitar Berbatov 87 Bulgaria
- Karl Schnellinger 87 Germany
- Christian Vieri 87 Italy
- Ivan Perisic 87 Croatia zz
- Dragan Dzajic 87 Serbia
- Toni Kroos 87 Germany zz
- Rainer Bonhof 87 Germany
- Sergio Busquets Spain zz 87
- Patrick Vieira France 87
- Billy Bremner Scotland 87
- Marcos Asensio Spain 87
- Hector Scarone Uruguay 87
- Jose Altafini Brazil 87
- Hakan Sukur Turkey 87
- R. Varane France 87 zz
- Marquitos Spain 87
- Leroy Sane Germany 87 zz
- Philippe Coutinho Brazil 87 zz
- Florian Albert Hungary 87
- Bebeto Brazil 87
- Matthias De Ligt Holland 87 zz
- Teodoro Fernandez Peru 87
- Nicolas Anelka France 87
- Vava Brazil 87
- Dom Cacém Portugal 87
- Nemanja Vidic Serbia 87
- Emilio Butragueno Spain 87
- Hans Krankl Austria 87
- Tarcisio Burgnich Italy 87
- Ludovic Giuly France 87
- Liam Brady Rep Ireland 87
- Grzegorz Lato Poland 87
- Juan Schiaffino Uruguay 87
- Luigi Riva Italy 87
- Jupp Heynckes Germany 87
- Agostini Di Bartholomei Italy 87
- Laszlo Kubala Hungary 87
- Carlos Tevez Argentina 87
- Robbie Keane Rep Ireland 87
- Andy Cole England 87
- Brian Laudrup Denmark 87
- Marek Hamsik Slovakia zz 87
- Jean Tigana France 87
- Enzo Francescoli Uruguay 87
- Frenkie DeJong Holland 87 zz
- Hector Chumpitaz Peru 87
- Ottmar Walter Germany 87
- Santana Portugal 87
- Leonardo Bonucci Italy 87
- Leopoldo Luque Argentina 87
- Bobby Lennox Scotland 87
- Rio Ferdinand England 87
- Willy Van Kerkhof Holland 87
- Radamel Falcao Colombia 87
- Raheem Sterling 87
- Gonzalo Higuaín Argentina 87
- Paolo Rossi Italy 87
- K-H Rummenigge Germany 87
- Claudio Caniggia Argentina 87
- Herve Revelli France 87
- Salif Keita Mali 87
- Hughie Gallacher Scotland 87
- Rene Van Kerkhof Holland 87
- Jose Torres Portugal 87
- Gyula Zsengellér Hungary 87
- Jose Nasazzi Uruguay 87
- Giovanni V. Bronckhorst Holland 87
- Claudio Gentile Italy 86
- Ossy Airdeles Argentina 86
- Juninho P Brazil 86
- Antonin Panenka Czech 86
- B.Schweinsteiger Germany 86
- Rob Rensenbrink Holland 86
- Dunga Brazil 86
- Ferenc Deak Hungary 86
- Alessandro Costacurta Italy 86
- Horst Hrubesch Germany 86
- Robert Pires France 86
- Riyad Mahrez Algeria zz 86
- C. Valderrama Colombia 86
- Álvaro Recoba Uruguay 86
- Hernan Crespo Argentina 86
- C. Eriksen Denmark 86 zz
- Deco Portugal 86
- Jair Brazil 86
- Cesc Fabregas Spain 86 zz
- Steffen Effenberg Germany 86
- Patrick Kluivert Holland 86
- Uli Hoeness Germany 86
- Edinson Cavani Uruguay 86
- Jimmy Greaves England 86
- Franck Ribery France 86
- R aphael Verane France 86
- Juan Veron Argentina 86
- Gerard Pique Spain 86 zz
- Billy McNeill Scotland 86
- Albert Shesternyov Russia 86
- Preben Elkjaer Denmark 86
- Zito Brazil 86
- Helmut Rahn Germany 86
- Vasilis Hatzipanagis Greece 86
- Roberto Donadoni Italy 86
- Glenn Hoddle England 86
- Pirri Spain 86
- Zoltan Czibor Hungary 86
- Giovane Elber Brazil 86
- Bruno Conte Italy 86
- Hugo Sotil Peru 86
- Claude Makelele France 86
- Gunnar Gren Sweden 86
- Gianluca Vialli Italy 86
- Velibor Vasovic Serbia 86
- Oscar Ruggeri Argentina 86
- Stephane Chapuisat Switz 86
- Pierre Littbarski Germany 86
- Paulo Dybala Argentina 86 zz
- Bobby Murdoch Scotland 86
- Gianluigi Lentini Italy 86
- Alan Ball England 86
- Jose Augusto Portugal 86
- Lubo Moravcik Slovakia 86
- Jari Litmanen Finland 86
- Youri Djorkaeff France 86
- Igor Belanov Ukraine 86
- Alain Giresse France 86
- Fernando Couto Portugal 86
- Daniel Bertoni Argentina 86
- Berti Vogts Germany 86
- Gianluca Zambrotta Italy 86
- Diego Godin Uruguay 86 zz
- P. Aubameyang Gabon 86 zz
- Paolo Di Canio Italy 86
- David Ginola France 86
- Juan Riquelme Argentina 86
- Peter Beardsley England 86
- Marius Lacatus România 86
- Ole Solskjaer Norway 86
- Lucio Brazil 86
- Andrea Brehme Germany 86
- Ernst Wilmowski Poland 86
- Ciriaco Sforza Switzerland 86
- Cuauhtémoc Blanco México 86
- Mimis Domazos Greece 86
- Ivan Rakitic Croatia 86 zz
- Angel Di Maria Argentina 86 zz
- Jozsef Bozsik Poland 86
- Didier Deschamps France 86
- Casemiro Brazil 86
- Mats Hummels Germany 86
- Phillip Cocu Holland 86
- Ali Daei Iran 86
- Vladimir Jugovic Croatia 86
- Bruno Fernandes 86
- Jayden Sancho England 86
- Andrei Arshavin Russia 86
- Gilberto Silva Brazil 86
- Mark Hughes Wales 86
- Roberto Mancini Italy 86
- Fabrizio Ravanelli Italy 86
- Giuseppe Signori Italy 86
- Joaquin Peiro Spain 86
- Juan Mata Spain 86 zz
- Jean Pierre-Papin France 86
- Harald Nielsen Denmark 86
- Edgar Davids Holland 86
- Daniele De Rossi Italy 86
- Larbi Benbarek Morocco 86
- Edmundo Brazil 86
- Pierino Prato Italy 86
- Fernando Morientes Spain 86
- Wilfried Van Moer Belgium 86
- Lakhdar Belloumi Algérie 86
- Roberto Boninsegna Italy 86
- Paul McStay Scotland 86
- Damien Duff Rep Ireland 86
- Zbigniew Boniek Poland 86
- Bernd Schuster Germany 86
- Angelo Domenghini Italy 86
- Angelos Basinas Greece 86
- Renus Israel Holland 86
- Robert Ayala Argentina 86
- Cesare Maldini Italy 86
- Wim Jansen Holland 86
- Igor Netto Russia 86
- Robbie Fowler England 86
- Davie Cooper Scotland 86
- Dwight Yorke Trinidad 86
- Ous Dembele France 86 zz
- Teddy Sheringham England 86
- Nuno Gomes Portugal 86
- Ian Wright England 86
- Sylvain Wiltord France 85
- Diego Simeone Argentina 85
- Mario Gotze Germany 85
- Jose Andrade Uruguay 85
- Allan Simonsen Denmark 85
- Eduard Streltsov Russia 85
- Gordon Strachan Scotland 85
- Pablo Aimar Argentina 85
- Josef Takacs Hungary 85
- Oliver Bierhoff Germany 85
- Roger Milla Cameroon 85
- Jose Velasquez Peru 85
- António Simões Portugal 85
- Matt Le Tissier England 85
- Jorge Valdano Argentina 85
- Charlie Tully N. Ireland 85
- Bryan Robson England 85
- Sinisa Mihajlovic Serbia 85
- Daniel Passarella Argentina 85
- Steve McManaman England 85
- Juninho Brazil 85
- Adriano Brazil 85
- Darko Pancev Croatia 85
- Marco Verrati Italy 85
- Fernando Gomes Portugal 85
- Giovanni Trapattoni Italy 85
- Jay Jay Okocha Nigeria 85
- Paul McGrath Rep Ireland 85
- Victor Piturca România 85
- Ronald De Boer Holland 85
- Enzo Scifo Belgium 85
- Toni Polster Austria 85
- Adolf Scherer Czech Rep 85
- Maxwell Brazil 85
- Frank Stapleton Ireland 85
- Diego Forlan Uruguay 85
- Mario Mandzukic Croatia 85
- Tomas Brolin Sweden 85
- João Pinto Portugal (rb) 85
- .Alan Hansen Scotland 85
- J. Mascherano Argentina 85 zz
- Rino Gattuso Italy 85
- N'golo Kante France 85 zz
- Roberto Rosato Italy 85
- Fern Chelano Portugal 85
- Predrag Mijatovic Serbia 85
- Nikos Anastopoulos Greece 85
- Aldair Brazil 85
- Roberto Dinamite Brazil 85
- Moussa Dembele Belgium 85
- Aristide Guarneri Italy 85
- Abedi Pele Ghana 85
- Helmut Haller Germany 85
- Paulo Futre Portugal 85
- Jans Ceulemans Belgium 85
- Willie Miller Scotland 85
- Fredrik Ljungberg Sweden 85
- Pauleta Portugal 85
- Kazimierz Deyna Poland 85
- Tim Cahill Australia 85
- Romelu Lukaku Belgium 85 zz
- Kali Koulibaly Senegal 85 zz
- Bertie Auld Scotland 85
- Emmanuel Petit France 85
- Mark Viduka Australia 85
- Michael Essien Ghana 85
- Shunsuke Nakamura Jap 85
- Demetrio Albertini Italy 85
- Geoff Hurst England 85
- Frank De Boer Holland 85
- Phil Neale England 85
- Chris Sutton England 85
- Laurent Blanc France 85
- Craig Bellamy Wales 85
- Chris Waddle England 85
- Shinji Kagawa Japan 85 zz
- Nandor Hidegkuti Hungary 85
- Jef Jurion Belgium 85
- Tulio Brazil 85
- Pepe Portugal 85 zz
- Andy Robertson Scotland 85zz
- Javier Hernandez Mexico 85 zz
- George Popescu România 85
- John Robertson Scotland 85
- Francesco Graziani Italy 85
- Klaus Fischer Germany 85
- Phil Thompson England 85
- Gylfi Sigurdsson Iceland 85 zz
- Jim Baxter Scotland 85
- Matthias Sindelar Austria 85
- Jonas Thern Sweden 85
- Dino Baggio Italy 85
- Gaizka Mendieta Spain 85
- Nani Portugal 85
- Felix Magath Germany 85
- Artem Dzubya Russia 85 zz
- Samuel Umtiti France 85 zz
- Thomas Hasler Germany 85
- David Alaba Switzerland 85 zz
- Terry McDermott England 85
- Pedro Spain 85
- Enrico Chiesa Italy 85
- Rafael Van Vaart Holland 85
- Marcus Rashford England 85
- Ray Wilkins England 85
- Denis Irwin Rep Ireland 85
- Zlatko Zahovic Slovenia 85
- Mikel Arteta Spain 85
- Gary Neville England 85
- Stiliyan Petrov Bulgaria 85
- Jose Gimenez Uruguay 85
- Ashley Cole England 85
- John Carew Norway 85
- Jamie Vardy England 85 zz
- Victor Wanyama Kenya 85 zz
- Roberto Sensini Argentina 85
- Rafael Marquez Mexico 85
- Tony Adams England 85
- Eric Gerets Belgium 85
- Dele Alli England 85 zz
- Salvatore Schillaci Italy 85
- Benjamin Mendy France 85 zz
- Jamie Carragher England 85
- Theo Zagorakis Greece 85
- Trevor Francis England 85
- Ally McCoist Scotland 85
- Les Ferdinand England 85
- Hossam Hassan Egypt 85
- Franck Sauzee France 85
- Hidetoshi Nakata Japan 85
- Patrice Evra France 85
- Alcides Ghiggia Uruguay 85
- Bixente Lizarazu France 85
- Kieran Tierney Scotland 85
- Diego Lugano Uruguay 85
- Christian Ziege Germany 85
- Trent Arnold England 85 zz
- John Arne Riise Norway 85
- Ben Chilwell England 85
- Gordon Cowans England 85
- Savo Milosevic Serbia 85
- Pierre Van Hooijdonk 85
- Sulley Muntari Ghana 85
- Dan Petrescu România 85
- Jan Heintze Denmark 85
- Johan Mjallby Sweden 85
- Ronny Johnson Norway 85
- Artur Numan Holland 85
- Emmanuel Sanon Haiti 85
Goalkeepers: The top 40 goalkeepers were also ranked
- Gianluigi Buffon Italy 95
- Dino Zoff Italy 95
- Lev Yashin Russia 95
- Oliver Kahn Germany 95
- Peter Schmeichel Denmark 94
- Gordon Banks England 93
- Manuel Neuer Germany 93
- Iker Casillas Spain 92
- Edwin Van Der Sar Holland 92
- Sepp Maier Germany 92
- Gilmar Brazil 92
- Frantisek Planicka Hungary 92
- David De Gea Spain 91
- Petr Cech Czech Rep 91
- Hugo Lloris France 90
- Ederson Brazil 90
- Gianluigi Donnarumma Italy 90
- Jose Luis Chilavert Paraguay 89
- Claudio Taffarel Brazil 89
- Fabien Barthez France 89
- Allison Becker Brazil 89
- Harald Schumacher Germany 88
- Rogerio Ceni Brazil 88
- Bruce Grobbelaar Zimbabwe 88
- Jorge Campos Mexico 88
- Ivo Viktor Czech 88
- Rene Higuita Colombia 88
- Rinat Dasayev Russia 88
- Andoni Zubizarreta Spain 87
- Gyula Grosics Hungary 87
- Ray Clemence England 87
- Giuliano Sarti Italy 87
- Shay Given Ireland 86
- Bert Trautmann Germany 85
- Brad Friedel USA 86
- David Seaman England 85
- Michel Preud'homme Belgium 85
- Victor Valdes Spain 85
- Ronnie Simpson Scotland 85
- Neville Southall Wales 85
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