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.