Thursday, January 29, 2026

Football Legends: Highlighting Their Lives and Achievements

British players

Bobby CharltonBOBBY CHARLTON
Born 1937, England
The Legendary Sir Bobby Charlton


George BestGEORGE BEST
1946-2005, Northern Ireland
George Best – El Beatle


David BeckhamDAVID BECKHAM
1975-, England
David Beckham – Becks


Steven GerrardSTEVEN GERRARD
1980-, England
Steven Gerrard – Stevie G

French players

Michel PlatiniMICHEL PLATINI
Born 1955, France
Michel Platini – Le Roi


Eric CantonaERIC CANTONA
Born 1966, France
Eric Cantona – King Eric


Thierry HenryTHIERRY HENRY
Born 1977, France
Thierry Henry – Bio and Career


Zinedine ZidaneZINEDINE ZIDANE
Born 1972, France
Zinedine Zidane – Bio and Career

German players

Franz BeckenbauerFRANZ BECKENBAUER
Born 1945, Germany
Franz Beckenbauer – The Sweeper


Gerd MüllerGERD MÜLLER
Born 1945, Germany
Gerd Müller – Der Bomber

Dutch players

Johan CruijffJOHAN CRUYFF
1947-2016, Netherlands
Johan Cruyff – Bio and Football Career


Marco van BastenMARCO VAN BASTEN
Born 1964, Netherlands
Marco van Basten – Dutch Football Star


Ruud Gullit en faceRUUD GULLIT
Born 1962, Netherlands
Ruud Gullit – The Black Tulip


Dennis BergkampDENNIS BERGKAMP
Born 1969, Netherlands
Dennis Bergkamp – an Football Artist


Arjen RobbenARJEN ROBBEN
Born 1984, Netherlands
Arjen Robben – The Flying Dutchman

Portuguese players

EusébioEUSÉBIO
1942-2014, Portugal
Eusébio – The Black Panther


Luís FigoLUÍS FIGO
Born 1972, Portugal
Luís Figo – The Lion King

Italian players


Gianfranco ZolaGIANFRANCO ZOLA
Born 1966, Italy
Gianfranco Zola – The Magic box

Roberto BaggioROBERTO BAGGIO
Born 1967, Italy
Roberto Baggio – The Divine Ponytail

Brazilian players

Pelé cropped picturePELÉ
Born 1940, Brazil
Pelé – The King of the Beautiful Game


GarrinchaGARRINCHA
1933-1983, Brazil
Garrincha – The Brazilian Dribbler


RivellinoRIVELLINO
Born 1946, Brazil
Rivellino – King of the Park


Zico cropped pictureZICO
Born 1953, Brazil
Zico – Brazilian Football Legend


RomarioROMÁRIO
Born 1966, Brazil
Romario – the Brazil Footballer


RonaldoRONALDO
Born 1976, Brazil
Ronaldo – Le Fenomenon


RonaldinhoRONALDINHO
Born 1980, Brazil
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira – Ronaldinho the entartanier

Argentinian players

Alfredo Di StéfanoALFREDO DI STÉFANO
1926-2014, Argentina
Alfredo Di Stéfano – The Blond Arrow


Mario Kempes croppedMARIO KEMPES
Born 1954, Argentina
Mario Kempes – El Pibe de Oro


Diego Maradona croppedDIEGO MARADONA
Born 1960, Argentina
Diego Maradona – El Pibe de Oro


Riquelme croppedJUAN ROMÁN RIQUELME
Born 1953, Brazil
Juan Román Riquelme – El Torero

Rest of the world

Lev YashinMATTHIAS SINDELAR
1903-1939, Austria
Mattias Sindelar – The Tragic Hero


Lev YashinLEV YASHIN
1929-1990, Russia
Lev Yashin – The Black Spider


Dino ZoffDINO ZOFF
1929-1990, Russia
Dino Zoff – The Golden Glove


Zbigniew BoniekZBIGNIEW BONIEK
Born 1956, Poland
Zbigniew Boniek – Zibì


Hugo SanchezHUGO SÁNCHEZ
Born 1958, Mexico
Hugo Sánchez – Hugol


Enzo FrancescoliENZO FRANCESCOLI
Born 1961, Uruguay
Enzo Francescoli – El Principe


Michael LaudrupMICHAEL LAUDRUP
Born 1964, Denmark
Michael Laudrup – Brilliant Danish Player


Dragan StojkovicDRAGAN STOJKOVIC
Born 1965, Serbia
Dragan Stojkovic – Pixie


Gheorghe HagiGHEORGHE HAGI
Born 1965, Romania
Gheorghe Hagi – Comandante


Hristo StoichkovHRISTO STOICHOV
Born 1966, Bulgaria
Hristo Stoichkov – The Dagger


Hakan ŞükürHAKAN ŞÜKÜR
Born 1971, Turkey
Hakan Şükür – The Bull of the Bosphorus


XaviXAVI
Born 1980, Spain
Xavier Hernandez – The Passing Genius


George WeahGEORGE WEAH
Born 1966, Liberia
George Weah – King George


George WeahZlatan Ibrahimović
Born 1981, Sweden
Zlatan Ibrahimović – the charismatic football sensation

The criteria

Besides from being regarded as one of the best players in his era, the rule is that the player is no longer active in his career.
More players will be added on following updates.

Records

Most goals in a season

Lionel Messi made a record by scoring 91 goals in 2012, which makes him top scorer in a season in a top league in international football.

Most goals in a FIFA World Cup

The French football player Just Fontaine has the record with 13 goals in one World Cup. This happened in 1958 over six games.

Most FIFA World Cup victories

There are 14 players, all Brazilians or Italians, whose more than once have been members of a team that have won the World Cup. Pelé is holding the record by being a part of the world champions team on three occasions. These twelve players have won the World Cup twice: Giovanni Ferrari, Giuseppe Meazza, Eralod Monzeglio, Gilmar, Djalma Santos, Nilton Santos, Vava, Didi, Zagallo, Garrincha, Zito, Ronaldo and Cafu.

Most goals in a UEFA European Championship

Michel Platini has the record with 9 goals in one European Championship. This happened in 1984 over five games.

Most expensive player

Gareth Bale became the most expensive player in terms of transfer fees then he was bought by Real Madrid from Tottenham for €118 million in 2013.

Most earning player

The figures of salaries are shifting and can vary according to source and if sponsorship money is included or not, but according to most sources Cristiano Ronaldo could be accounted as the player that earn the most money from his occupation.

Most Player of the Year awards

Over the years there have been two different awards: FIFA World Player of the Year award and Ballon d'Or. For some years the awards were merged which affects the total count. If only Ballons d'Or is counted Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten have won the most, three each. If only FIFA World Player is counted Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo has won the most, two each.

Football players ordered after year of birth

The table include the year of birth (and occasionally year of death) of famous ex-players.

NameBirthDeath
Ricardo Zamora19011978
Giuseppe Meazza19101979
Stanley Matthews19152000
Gunnar Nordahl19211995
Alfredo Di Stéfano19262014
Ferenc Puskas19272006
Lev Yashin19291990
Josef Masopust19312015
Garrincha19331983
Francisco Gento1933 
Gordon Banks1937 
Bobby Charlton1937 
Pelé1940 
Bobby Moore19411993
Franz Beckenbauer1945 
Gerd Müller1945 
Eusébio19452014
George Best19462005
Johan Cruyff19472016
Kenny Dalglish1951 
Kevin Keegan1951 
Zico1953 
Mario Kempes1954 
Michel Platini1955 
Zbigniew Boniek1956 
Gordon Strachan1957 
Hugo Sánchez1958 
Franco Baresi1960 
Gary Lineker1960 
Diego Maradona1960 
Lothar Matthäus1961 
Ruud Gullit1962 
Emilio Butragueño1963 
Marco van Basten1964 
Jürgen Klinsmann1964 
Michael Laudrup1964 
Eric Cantona1966 
Romário1966 
Hristo Stoichkov1966 
George Weah1966 
Gianfranco Zola1966 
Roberto Baggio1967 
Fernando Hierro1968 
Paolo Maldini1968 
Gabriel Batistuta1969 
Dennis Bergkamp1969 
Tomas Brolin1969 
Alan Shearer1970 
Roy Keane1971 
Luís Figo1972 
Rivaldo1972 
Zinedine Zidane1972 
Ryan Giggs1973 
Alessandro Del Piero1974 
David Beckham1975 
Francesco Totti1976 
Thierry Henry1977 
Miroslav Klose1978 
Ronaldinho1980 
Steven Gerrard1980 
Kaká1982 
Arjen Robben1984 

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