The 50 Greatest Footballers Of All Time Have Been Named And Ranked

Legendary Argentine Diego Maradona has beaten Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi to be named the best footballer of all time.

The 59-year-old World Cup winner is frequently mentioned in the longstanding debate over 'football's GOAT' alongside fellow legend Pele, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

And on this occasion, Maradona walked away with the ultimate bragging rights after beating Messi to the top spot.

Fans over at Ranker had their say on the best of the best football has ever seen, with Barca captain Messi finishing second.

Legendary Brazilian Ronaldo, who Messi called the best striker of all time, took home the third spot in the rankings.

PA

Juventus superstar Ronaldo fell short of making the top three and finished fourth, while Brazil icon Ronaldinho rounded off the top five.

Italian legend Andrea Pirlo shockingly finished in the top spot of Ranker's previous rankings for the best footballer of all time.

But the former Juventus and AC Milan star has tumbled down to 10th in the latest update to the rankings.

Posted below are the top 50 footballers of all time, according to fans.

PA

50. Rivaldo

49. Peter Schmeichel

48. Arjen Robben

47. Wayne Rooney

46. Eusebio

45. Dennis Bergkamp

44. Alfredo Di Stefano

43. Robert Lewandowski

42. Toni Kroos

41. Kaka

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40. Philipp Lahm

39. Luis Suarez

38. Luis Figo

37. Iker Casillas

36. Gareth Bale

35. Samuel Eto'o

34. Ferenc Puskas

33. Romario

32. Roberto Baggio

31. Manuel Neuer

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30. Cafu

29. Lev Yashin

28. Gerd Muller

27. Sergio Ramos

26. Didier Drogba

25. Francesco Totti

24. Ryan Giggs

23. Steven Gerrard

22. Carles Puyol

21. David Beckham

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20. Neymar

19. Raul

18. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

17. Roberto Carlos

16. Franz Beckenbauer

15. Xavi

14. Thierry Henry

13. George Best

12. Luka Modric

11. Gianluigi Buffon

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10. Andrea Pirlo

9. Andres Iniesta

8. Pele

7. Johan Cruyff

6. Zinedine Zidane

5. Ronaldinho

4. Cristiano Ronaldo

3. Ronaldo

2. Lionel Messi

1. Diego Maradona

PA

You can view the full list, which features over 250 footballers, over at Ranker.

Topics: Football News, Ronaldinho, Football, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Andres Iniesta, Andrea Pirlo, Zinedine Zidane, Pele, Johan Cruyff, Cristiano Ronaldo

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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