Legends
The players who defined the game, written up in full — with the career record behind the reputation.
Forward · Brazil
footballRonaldo
1993–2011
352
club goals
518
games
62
for Brazil
He broke the world transfer record twice before he was twenty-one, then broke his knee three times. The second Ronaldo won a World Cup. The first one is why people still argue.
Forward · Argentina
footballDiego Maradona
1976–1997
259
club goals
491
games
34
for Argentina
There is no quiet version of this career.
Forward · Brazil
footballPelé
1956–1977
709
club goals
766
games
77
for Brazil
Three World Cups, and a goal total nobody can agree on — the official count says 775, Guinness says 1,279, and both are right about different things.
Forward · Netherlands
footballJohan Cruyff
1964–1984
294
club goals
518
games
33
for the Netherlands
Three European Cups, three Ballons d'Or, and a World Cup final he lost — then he spent the rest of his life teaching everyone else how to play.
Forward · Argentina
footballAlfredo Di Stéfano
1945–1966
480
club goals
669
games
5
European Cups
He played for three countries, never appeared at a World Cup, and scored in five consecutive European Cup finals from 1956 to 1960 — which nobody has done before or since.
Defender · Germany
footballFranz Beckenbauer
1964–1983
98
club goals
754
games
103
caps
Before him the last defender cleared the ball. He walked forward with it instead, and every team you watch now has someone doing the job he invented.
Forward · Hungary
footballFerenc Puskás
1943–1966
670
club goals
659
games
84
for Hungary
He scored more goals than he played matches, for his club and very nearly for his country — 84 in 85 games for Hungary.
Winger · Brazil
footballGarrincha
1953–1972
102
club goals
345
games
12
for Brazil
A doctor certified him crippled as a child. He played fifty times for Brazil and lost once.
Forward · Portugal
footballEusébio
1957–1980
473
goals for Benfica
440
games
41
for Portugal
Portugal were 0–3 down inside twenty-five minutes of a World Cup quarter-final. He scored four and Portugal won 5–3.
Winger · Northern Ireland
footballGeorge Best
1963–1983
251
club goals
705
games
9
for Northern Ireland
European Cup and Ballon d'Or at twenty-two, finished at Manchester United by twenty-seven, and the best player who never went to a World Cup.
Midfielder · England
footballBobby Charlton
1956–1980
263
club goals
812
games
49
for England
He was pulled out of the Munich wreckage at twenty, went back to work twenty-three days later, and scored twenty-nine goals the following season.
Midfielder · France
footballZinedine Zidane
1989–2006
95
club goals
506
games
31
for France
He won a World Cup with two headers and lost one with a headbutt, and was voted the best player of the tournament either way.
Shooting guard · United States
basketballMichael Jordan
1984–2003
32,292
career points
30.1
points a game
6
NBA titles
He has the highest scoring average in NBA history and the highest in playoff history, and he went to six Finals, won six, and was named the best player in all six.
Center · United States
basketballKareem Abdul-Jabbar
1969–1989
38,387
career points
24.6
points a game
6
MVP awards
He scored more points than anyone in the history of basketball and held the record for thirty-nine years, won six MVPs, and did almost all of it with one unguardable shot.
Point guard · United States
basketballMagic Johnson
1979–1991, 1996
10,141
career assists
11.2
assists a game
5
NBA titles
He was six foot nine and he played point guard, holds the highest assists average in NBA history, and won a championship and the Finals MVP at twenty in a game he played at centre.
Center · United States
basketballWilt Chamberlain
1959–1973
31,419
career points
100
points in one game
23,924
career rebounds
On 2 March 1962 he scored 100 points in a basketball game. He led the league in rebounding eleven times, led it in assists once as a centre, and in fourteen seasons he never fouled out.
Forward · United States
basketballLarry Bird
1979–1992
21,791
career points
24.3
points a game
3
NBA titles
He was slow and he could not jump, and he was the best shooter in any building he walked into. Three championships, three MVP awards in a row, and thirteen seasons for one club.
Shooting guard · United States
basketballKobe Bryant
1996–2016
33,643
career points
81
points in one game
5
NBA titles
Twenty seasons and one franchise, 81 points against Toronto at twenty-seven, and 60 in his last game at thirty-seven on a body that was finished.