Football unites people from different countries. We've never seen a game with such impact, and it's one of the best sports in the world. We've seen some legends of the game who completely changed the game. Every sport has its superstars, just like football.
Football is blessed with some of the best dribblers, best strikers, defenders, midfielders and some skilled players with amazing abilities.
So, it's very difficult to pick the top 10 footballers of all time. However, we've conducted an extensive survey, so without further ado, let's go ahead and take a look. Top 10 best football players of all time.
10. Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho is a former Brazilian professional footballer known for his magical skills and goals. During his career, he primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but also used his skills as a wingman.
Ronaldinho was widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and many considered him one of the best of all time.
Ronaldinho has won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards and the Ballon d'Or. He is extremely impressive with his technical skills, creativity, and dribbling.
His use of tricks, feints, blind passes, and overhead kicks has been observed by many of the great players of this generation. He was an integral part of Barcelona's 2005-06 UEFA Champions League title.
Ronaldinho is one of the few players who received a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu.
He was also a member of the UEFA Team of the Year and the FIFA World Eleven. In the 2005/06 season, he was named UEFA Men's Player of the Year. Ronaldinho ranks 10th on our list of the 10 greatest footballers of all time.
9. Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane is a former French professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Zidane is known for his skill, ball control, passing, and top-notch goals.
Zidane was one of the game's greatest creators, distinguished by elegance, vision, passing, and ball control. During his career, he won numerous individual awards, including the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000, and 2003 and the Ballon d'Or in 1998.
He also had a distinguished career in France, winning the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship. In Spain, Zidane won several trophies, including La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles.
His left-footed volley winner in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final is considered by many to be one of the greatest goals in the history of the competition.
His elegance on the ball is simply stunning. Zidane is one of only eight players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or. He has enjoyed enormous success for club and country.
The French national team is undoubtedly one of the best to ever grace the game. Zidane ranks 9th on our list of the 10 greatest footballers of all time.
8. Ronaldo Nazario
Ronaldo is a former Brazilian footballer who played as a striker. He is widely known as O Fenomeno ("The Phenomenon") and is generally considered one of the greatest players of all time.
The Brazilian striker was one of the best strikers of all time. His individual accolades include three FIFA World Player of the Year awards and two Ballon d'Or awards.
At the age of 20, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996, making him the youngest player ever to win the award. He scored 62 goals in 98 matches for Brazil, impressing equally for club and country.
At the age of 21, he won the Ballon d'Or in 1997 and remains the youngest recipient of the award. At 23, Ronaldo has scored over 200 goals for club and country. His numbers and accolades speak for themselves.
His combination of speed and strength made him the biggest threat to any defender in the world. Ronaldo was also part of two World Cup-winning teams. Ronaldo ranks eighth on our list of the 10 greatest footballers of all time.
7. Ferenc Puskas
The Hungarian footballer considered Ferenc Puskás one of the greatest players in history and the game's first superstar. As a striker, he scored 84 goals for Hungary in 85 international matches.
Ferenc Puskás was arguably one of the most significant marksmen in the history of this match. During his career, he scored an astonishing 808 goals in 794 official matches.
He became an Olympic champion in 1952 and led his country to the World Cup final in 1954. His career at Real Madrid was also impressive, winning three European Cups and five league titles.
He is the third-highest goalscorer of all time. In October 2009, FIFA announced the introduction of the FIFA Puskás Award, which is awarded to the player who scored the "most beautiful goal" of the previous year.
6. Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff was a Dutch professional footballer and coach. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times: in 1971, 1973, and 1974.
He was a technically talented footballer with excellent ball control and strength. Cruyff was also a prolific marksman. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
Cruyff led the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final and won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. In the 1974 final, he performed a move that was later named after him, the "Cruyff Turn.".
This move was repeated by many great players of this generation. He is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of football. Cruyff's style of play and football philosophy transformed managers and players around the world.
5. Alfredo Di Stefano
Alfredo Di Stefano was an Argentine-born professional footballer and coach, considered one of the greatest footballers of all time. A true Real Madrid legend and one of the greatest players ever.
The Argentine led Madrid to the top five European Cups. A deadly goalscorer and one of the best the world of football has ever seen.
A strong, fast, agile striker with great stamina and tactical skill, Stefano was the most complete player to ever grace the game.
For Real Madrid, he scored 216 goals in 282 matches. Di Stéfano won the Ballon d'Or as Europe's best footballer in 1957 and 1959.
Along with Christian Ronald, he is Real Madrid's third-highest league scorer of all time, and also the top scorer in El Clásica history.
His international record isn't as impressive because he didn't play in the World Cup, but he did win the Copa América with Argentina. He ranks fifth on our list of the top 10 footballers of all time.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Juventus of Serie A and is the captain of the Portugal national team.
Often considered the best player in the world and one of the best players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballons d'Or, just behind Lionel Messi, who has won six.
Ronaldo holds the record for most goals (134) and assists (42) in the Champions League and most goals in the European Championship (14). He is currently tied with Ali Daei for the most goals for his national team (109).
The Portugal international is one of the most physically talented and technically skilled players the world has ever seen. He has excellent speed, a good header, a deadly finisher, and a goalscoring machine.
Ronaldo became the fastest player ever to score 200 goals in La Liga. He is also the first player in history to score more than 50 goals in a six-year season.
He also became the star of the tournament when Portugal won Euro 2016. Even at 36, Ronaldo shows no signs of slowing down. He's ranked fourth on our list of the 10 greatest footballers of all time.
3. Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona is an Argentine professional footballer. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Maradona was one of two joint winners of the FIFA 20th Century Player Award.
He is one of the few talents the world has ever seen. His leadership, his charming personality, and his captivating goals are too ardent to be mastered.
He was slightly superior to others in dribbling skills. Maradona became the first player to break the world record twice. The first came in 1982, when he moved to Barcelona for £5 million, and the second in 1984, when he moved to Napoli for £6.9 million.
In 1986, he won the World Cup with Argentina. His biggest goal was scored against England, which remains one of the greatest goals in the history of the game. Diego Maradona ranks third on our list of the 10 greatest footballers of all time.
2. Pele
Pelé is a former Brazilian professional footballer who played as a striker. He is often considered one of the greatest players of all time, and FIFA calls him "the greatest.".
Pelé is a prolific scorer and is one of the finest strikers the world has ever seen. He scored 1,279 goals in 1,363 matches. His reading, strength, and dribbling skills are among the best of any great player.
Pelé was voted the world's best player by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of two recipients of the FIFA Player of the Century award.
He was an integral part of the teams that won the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He also won two Copa Libertadores and five league titles.
Pelé is Brazil's all-time leading scorer, with 77 goals in 92 matches. He is also Santos' all-time leading scorer, with 643 goals in 659 matches.
Many greats considered the Brazilian the best footballer of all time. No player has won more World Cups than him in the history of the game.
In Brazil, he is recognized as a national hero for his achievements in football. He is the youngest player ever to score at a World Cup (17 years 249 days).
1. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and is the captain of the Argentina national team.
He is generally considered the best player in the world and one of the best players of all time. Messi has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards.
He has won a number of individual awards. Messi's dribbling, passing, and finishing are among the best in the history of the game. He was an exceptional player for the club for many years, but the Copa América title cemented his position as the best player of all time.
Messi spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, winning a club-record 35 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions League titles.
He scored over 750 goals during his senior career for club and country, and also holds the highest number of goals a player has ever scored for a single club (Barcelona).
The Argentina international is the country's most outstanding player and all-time leading scorer. Between 2009 and 2014, France Football ranked him as the highest-paid footballer in the world for five out of six years.