1. Pelé

Pelé is one of the greatest footballers ever. Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) was born in Brasil. He made the number 10 jersey famous before it became a big deal.

Pelé started to play for Santos FC in Brazil at the age of 15 years old. One year later, at 16, he signed for the Brazilian national team. And guess what? By 17, he was already champion of the World Cup that year, 1958. 

He also won 3 world cups: one in 1958, 1962 and one in 1970. Nobody has won that up till now..

What made Pelé special wasn’t the goals (although he scored more than 700 goals in his career ). It was how he played. He was fast, talented, smart and he had the magical touch with the ball. 

Defenders respect him because he didn’t just dribble randomly, he dribbled with purpose and class.

Back then there was no Internet and no big camera crews following him around. Most people watched him on black and white televisions or heard him play on the radio, but his talent  shined across the world

Pelé isn’t remembered for doing whatever he did to a ball – he is remembered for how he made people feel, that’s about football why he is called ” O Rei ” ( “The King in Portuguese ” ).

2. Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona was a raw talent. He was born in Argentina in 1960 and grew up on the streets and played in the streets with his friends in barefoot. 

Maradona didn’t care how big his opponents were or how strong they were, he just wanted the ball at his feet.

He began his career for the clubs Argentinos Juniors, then he was transferred to Boca Juniors, but it was in Europe that really caught on, and he spent a few years with Barcelona, and then he became the real legend, with Napoli, in Italy. 

Before Maradona the club was just another club, and when he came in, things changed. And they won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Cup, which was a big deal back then.

Maradona was also carried by Argentina on his back. In 1986 the world cup he basically won the whole thing for his country and scored 2 iconic goals against England in that tournament The first one, which is the Hand of God goal  and the second one is the “ goal of the century ” he dribbled past 5 players from the halfway line. Love him or hate him the goal was simply genius.

He wasn’t perfect. He had problems off the field ( drugs and fights and all that ) but on the field he was electric. He played with heart. He made fans freak out and cry and fall in love with football.

Just after retiring people were still chanting his name (especially in Argentina and Naples for example).

3. Zinedine Zidane.

Zinedine Zidane, or simply Zizou, was one of the most elegant footballers you’d ever see playing a football. He grew up in France to parents who were Algerians. But he definitely had talent.

He started out in France with Cannes and then moved to Bordeaux. But what really set him up was when he signed for Juventus in Italy. At Juve he won the title of Serie A and became one of the world’s great midfielders. 

Later on, he went to Real Madrid, a world record move at the time, where he scored that incredible volley in the 2002 Champions League final, left foot in top corner, no fuss. Probably one of the cleanest goals ever scored in a final.

Zidane didn’t score loads of goals, but if he played he was the one who controlled the game, his first touch at the beginning of the game, was great.

Zidane was unquestionably the heartbeat of the team, for France. He sent France to the very first ever World Cup in 1998, and scored two headers in the final against Brazil. 

In Euro 2000 he did it again (top performance, and France won the title). Even in 2006, when everybody thought he was over him, he came back and led France to the World Cup final. 

Unfortunately, that tournament ended with a red card after he headbutted Materazzi, but people remember his magic more than the mistake.

After retiring he even returned as coach of Real Madrid and won three successive Champions League titles.

4. Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most intense footballers ever to pass the ball. At the time he was a child, he grew up in Madeira, Portugal in a poor family but had big dreams  and right from the start he was different: quick, strong, focused and confident.

He started his professional career at Sporting CP in Portugal. In 2003 Ronaldo had his great breakthrough when Manchester United signed him. 

When they first signed him he was like a trickster and a stepover man, but under Sir Alex Ferguson Ronaldo started to get stronger, smarter and better in front of goal.

As a result, Ronaldo won 3 Premier League titles with Man United and won a Champions League and scored 118 goals.

When he moved to Real Madrid, at the time the world record for the club  in 2009, his numbers just blew up. He score 450 goals in 438 games ( that is more than one goal per game ) He won 4 Champions League title, 2 La Liga titles. He’s still the all-time top scorer for Real Madrid.

After Madrid he went to Italy with Juventus where he scored 101 goals and got 2 Serie A titles, then returned back to Manchester United for a while and he scored 27 goals before making a big move.

In 2023 he shocked the world by joining Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. People thought he was preparing to retire at a safe distance, but instead, he ignited the league. And guess what? 

A lot of the best players on the planet followed his trail, like Benzema, Kante, Mahrez and more, making the Saudi Pro League famous worldwide. Since moving to Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo has made 99 appearances for Al-Nassr, managing 90 goals and 19 assists in those appearances.

As of now, Ronaldo has scored over 934 career goals, and is still not too far behind reaching 1000 goals at 40 years of age. He’s also the all-time top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 140+ goals, which no one has ever broken and the most goals in a single Champions League campaign (17 in 2013/14 ). That sounds pretty not easy.

Love him or hate him, his work ethic, his hunger and consistency is unparalleled. He ‘s a legend who never gives up.

5. Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is one of the most gifted footballers to ever play the game. Born in Rosario, Argentina, he was small and quiet, but with a football at his feet, he did things that didn’t look real. 

Even as a kid, his talent stood out. At age 13, he moved to Barcelona, and that’s where everything changed.

Messi was raised at La Masia, Barca’s youth academy. When he made his debut for the club aged 17, from that moment, he started breaking records, from the way he dribbled past the defenders, the way he calmly walked in front of goal,  everything was different.

For years Messi was Barcelona’s absolute king. He scored 672 goals in 778 matches, the most ever in the history of the club, helped them win 10 La Liga titles, 7 Copa del Reys, and 4 Champions League titles, and he had a real close relationship with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, and Suárez, who with him controlled Europe for years.

He left Barcelona in 2021 and signed with PSG. He won a few more titles and 32 goals in 75 appearances.

Then in 2023 they said it was a success for Messi: he signed with Inter Miami in the MLS. That was a transition, not just for soccer. But for him it was about having fun, inspiring young players, and as in Cristiano Ronaldo was doing in Saudi, bringing more players to considering that playing in the MLS was a real option.

And of course the biggest moment in his career was in 2022, when he won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina, that was the perfect ending.

But let’s not forget, Messi has the record for most goals for any calendar year, as he scored 91goals in 2012. That’s an amount that seems to still be a surprise to many people today. He also had the most assists in football history and the most Ballon d’Or awards (8). Those aren’t small records to break by any player.