Today, The Independent has published its comprehensive list of the ‘Greatest 50 players in World Cup history’, just two weeks before the commencement of the 2026 World Cup in North America.
It is estimated that over 3,000 players have competed in the past 22 editions of the men’s FIFA World Cup, making the task of selecting the top 50 particularly challenging.
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How significant is the achievement of winning a World Cup? Throughout history, 471 players have been part of a World Cup-winning team. Notably, Pele stands out as the only player to have won three tournaments, while 20 others have won it twice.
Is it the memorable World Cup moments that matter most? Exceptional performances that exceed expectations and leave a lasting impact on the global stage? Such moments are often subjective and interpreted differently by various fans.
Here’s how we created our top 50 list, with a detailed breakdown of votes provided below:
What criteria were used?
Our criteria stated: “The greatest players in World Cup history who have excelled in tournaments and played a pivotal, possibly historic, role in various events.”
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We emphasized that this list is not merely a ranking of “the best players to have appeared in a World Cup.” Each judge had the freedom to weigh individual talent, historical accomplishments, or team achievements according to their preferences.
How was the list created?
We invited 14 of our journalists to submit their top 30 greatest players from World Cup history.
From their submissions, 80 players were nominated over the tournament’s 96-year span. Afterward, we applied a points system to finalize the selection.
What was the points system?
The point allocation was as follows: 50 points for players ranked 1st, decreasing to 21 points for 10th, and down to 1 point for 30th.
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All points were then summed to create our top 50 ranking.
|
Position |
Points |
|---|---|
|
1st |
50 |
|
2nd |
45 |
|
3rd |
40 |
|
4th |
36 |
|
5th |
32 |
|
6th |
29 |
|
7th |
26 |
|
8th |
24 |
|
9th |
22 |
|
10th |
21 |
|
— |
— |
|
30th |
1 |
What does the voting breakdown look like?
1. Pele (Brazil) – 690 points, named in all 14 top-30 lists (12 judges ranked Pele as their No. 1)
2. Diego Maradona (Argentina) – 593 points, named in all 14 (two judges ranked Maradona as their No. 1)
3. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 543 points, named in all 14
4. Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) – 457 points, named in all 14
5. Ronaldo (Brazil) – 440 points, named in all 14
6. Zinedine Zidane (France) – 375 points, named in all 14
7. Garrincha (Brazil) – 368 points, named in all 14
8. Kylian Mbappe (France) – 331 points, named in 13/14
9. Gerd Muller (West Germany) – 256 points, named in all 14
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10. Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 226 points, named in 12/14
11. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) – 220 points, named in 11/14
12. Lothar Matthaus (West Germany/Germany) – 201 points, named in 13/14
13. Bobby Moore (England) – 195 points, named in 13/14
14. Paolo Rossi (Italy) – 185 points, named in 11/14
15. Cafu (Brazil) – 182 points, named in 12/14
16. Jairzinho (Brazil) – 181 points, named in 11/14
17. Fabio Cannavaro – 151 points, named in 13/14
18. Eusebio (Portugal) – 122 points, named in 12/14
19. Andres Iniesta (Spain) – 115 points, named in 9/14
20. Carlos Alberto (Brazil) – 114 points, named in 9/14
21. Romario (Brazil) – 111 points, named in 8/14
22. Bobby Charlton (England) – 106 points, named in 8/14
23. Just Fontaine (France) – 103 points, named in 10/14
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24. Roberto Baggio (Italy) – 92 points, named in 10/14
25. Giuseppe Meazza (Italy) – 86 points, named in 6/14
26. Xavi (Spain) – 83 points, named in 7/14
27. Mario Kempes (Argentina) – 80 points, named in 6/14
28. Michel Platini (France) – 76 points, named in 5/14
29. Paolo Maldini (Italy) – 73 points, named in 6/14
30. Luka Modric (Croatia) – 61 points, named in 6/14
31. Thomas Muller (Germany) – 45 points, named in 6/14
32. Lev Yashin (USSR) – 42 points, named in 6/14
33. Rivaldo (Brazil) – 39 points, named in 4/14
34. Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) – 38 points, named in 5/14
35. Ferenc Puskas (Hungary/Spain) – 33 points, named in 5/14
36. Philipp Lahm (Germany) – 22 points, named in 4/14
37. Gordon Banks (England) – 21 points, named in 2/14
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38. Jurgen Klinsmann (West Germany/Germany) – 20 points, named in 5/14
39. Roger Milla (Cameroon) – 20 points, named in 3/14
40. Roberto Carlos (Brazil) – 19 points, named in 2/14
41. Didi (Brazil) – 19 points, named in 2/14
42. Ronaldinho (Brazil) – 19 points, named in 2/14
43. Martin Peters (England) – 19 points, named in 1/14
44. Antoine Griezmann (France) – 18 points, named in 2/14
45. Rudi Voller (Germany) – 18 points, named in 1/14
46. Daniel Passarella – 16 points, named in 2/14
47. Didier Deschamps (France) – 15 points, named in 1/14
48. Leonidas (Brazil) – 15 points, named in 1/14
49. Vava (Brazil) – 14 points, named in 1/14
50. Fritz Walter (West Germany) – 14 points, named in 1/14
Tiebreaker for same points: Total selections made; World Cups won.
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51-70: Angel Di Maria, Toto Schillaci, Mario Zagallo, Jose Nasazzi, Giovanni Ferrari, Zizinho, Iker Casillas, Dennis Bergkamp, Djalma Santos, Johan Neeskens, Gary Lineker, Dino Zoff, Oliver Kahn, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zico, Luis Monti, Fabien Barthez, Geoff Hurst, Dunga, Manuel Neuer
Which country had the most players represented?
- Brazil – 13 players in top 50
Which World Cup produced the most and least players on the list?
- 2006, Germany – 12 players in top 50
- 2002, South Korea-Japan – 8 players