The most asked question of who is the best football player in the world is based on a number of variables, including accomplishments, personal talent, consistency, and impact on the game, For almost twenty years, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated this discussion But as of 2024–2025 fresh celebrities have surfaced to question their heritage and I’ve included a thorough analysis of the top players right now that I think are the best below.
Table of Contents best football player of all the time
best football player of all the time
Who is the Best Football Player in the World
Lionel Messi: The Greatest of All Time (GOAT)
Lionel Messi, who is considered by numerous people to be among the best football players of all time, has an unmatched career full of individual and team honors and His accomplishments are that I have researched down in detail below:
best football player of all the time
Individual Achievements
- Ballon d’Or Awards: Messi has won a record 8 Ballon d’Or awards (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023), the most by any player in history.
- The Best FIFA Men’s Player Awards: He has won this award 3 times (2019, 2022 twice due to calendar adjustments).
- European Golden Shoes: Messi is the first and only player to win the European Golden Shoe 6 times (2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19).
- FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Awards: He is the only player to win this award twice (2014, 2022) for being the best player in those tournaments.
- La Liga Records:
- Most goals scored in La Liga history: 474 goals
- Most assists in La Liga history: 192 assists
- Most hat-tricks in La Liga: 36 hat-tricks
- Winner of the Pichichi Trophy (La Liga’s top scorer): 8 times
- Named La Liga MVP (Best Player): 9 times
- Guinness World Record for Goals in a Calendar Year: Scored an incredible record of 91 goals in 2012, which remains unbeaten.
- Other notable individual honors include:
- FIFA FIFPro World XI appearances: A record-breaking 17 times
- IFFHS World’s Best Playmaker Award: won it multiple times and for his work from 2006 to 2022 and he was named the “World’s Best Playmaker of All Time.”
- Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award: Won it twice (2020, shared with Lewis Hamilton; and again in 2023).
Team Achievements
With FC Barcelona:
- Messi played for FC Barcelona for the majority of his career (2004 to 2021) and where he achieved:
- UEFA Champions League Titles: Won it 4 times (2005/06, 2008/09, 2010/11, and 2014/15).
- La Liga Titles: Secured a remarkable total of 10 league titles.
- Copa del Rey Titles: Won it on 7 occasions.
- FIFA Club World Cup Titles: Triumphed in this competition three times (2009, 2011, and 2015).
- UEFA Super Cup Titles: Claimed victory three times (2009, 2011, and 2015).
- Titles in Supercopa de España: This trophy has been lifted 8th times.
With Paris Saint-Germain (PSG):
- Ligue 1 Championships: Won it twice (2021/22, and 2022/23) during his two seasons at PSG.
- One title the Trophée des Champions was won in the 2022–2023 season opener.
With Inter Miami CF:
- Leagues Cup Title: In August 2023 helped Inter Miami win the Leagues Cup their first major trophy ever.
With Argentina National Team:
- FIFA World Cup Champion (2022 Qatar World Cup): Led Argentina to the win after a thrilling final that ended on penalties against France.
- Copa América Champion (2021): Winning this coveted South American rivalry put an end to Argentina’s long drought.
- Olympic Gold Medalist: A member of Argentina’s gold winning U-23 team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
- FIFA U20 World Cup Champion (2005): Won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player and helped lead Argentina to victory establishing himself as a rising star.
- Finalissima Winner (2022) : Helping Argentina in winning this intercontinental trophy by defeating Italy.
Records Held by Lionel Messi
Messi holds numerous records across various competitions:
- All-time top scorer for FC Barcelona with an astounding total of 672 goals across all competitions.
- All-time top scorer for Argentina with 106 international goals as of February 10th, 2025.
- Guinness World Record holder for most official goals scored in a calendar year (91 goals in 2012).
- Top scorer in El Clásico matches against Real Madrid with 26 goals.
- Most trophies won by any footballer ever – holding 45 collective trophies across club and international levels.
Cristiano Ronaldo: A Phenomenal Legacy
Cristiano Ronaldo is considered by many as one of the greatest football players of all time and He established numerous records and received numerous honors during his outstanding career, Here is an in-depth description of his achievements in each of the following areas:
best football player of all the time
Individual Awards
- Selected a record 15 times (2004, 2007 to 2020).
- Ronaldo has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or 5 times making him one of the most decorated players in history (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).
- He was named the Best FIFA Men’s Player twice in 2016 and 2017.
- Ronaldo was named the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year.
- He holds the record with four UEFA Club Footballer/Best Player/Men’s Player Awards (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017).
Club Records
- UEFA Champions League Goals Record: Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer with 140 goals.
- Most Goals in a UEFA Champions League Season: He scored an unmatched 17 goals during the 2013/14 season.
- Most UEFA Champions League Final Wins: Ronaldo has won five finals.
- Only Player to Score in Three UEFA Champions League Finals.
- Most UEFA Club Competition Goals: Scored a total of 145 goals across all UEFA club competitions.
International Records
- Most International Goals in World Football: Ronaldo has scored a record-breaking 135 international goals for Portugal.
- Most International Appearances in World Football: He holds the record with 217 appearances for Portugal.
- Most EURO Final Tournament Appearances and Goals:
- Played in six tournaments (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020).
- Scored a record-high total of 14 goals in EURO final tournaments.
- First Player to Score at Five FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022).
- Only Player to Score Three Goals at Multiple EUROs (achieved in three tournaments – EUROs of 2012, 2016, and 2020).
Goalscoring Milestones
- Senior Career Goals for Club and Country: Ronaldo has scored an incredible total of 924 senior career goals as of February 2025.
- Top Scorer Accolades Across Competitions:
- Achieved 47 top goalscorer awards throughout his career.
- Notable seasons include being the top scorer in seven different UEFA Champions League campaigns.
Team Achievements
- Ronaldo has won a total of 33 senior trophies during his career with clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al-Nassr FC (as of recent years), and the Portuguese national team.
- Major titles include:
- Five UEFA Champions League titles.
- Three Premier League titles with Manchester United.
- Two La Liga titles with Real Madrid.
- Two Serie A titles with Juventus.
- The UEFA European Championship (EURO) title with Portugal in 2016.
- The inaugural UEFA Nations League title with Portugal in 2019.
Other Records
- Only player to score in all six group-stage matches during a single UEFA Champions League campaign.
- Only player to score in 11 consecutive UEFA Champions League games.
Kylian Mbappé: Emerging Stars
Mbappé has received understanding as one of Messi’s replacements due to his outstanding speed, technical skill and goal scoring ability and He is only 25 years old as of 2024 and he has already achieved the following:
best football player of all the time
Club Achievements
AS Monaco (2015–2017)
- Ligue 1 Title (2016–17): Mbappé played a pivotal role in helping AS Monaco secure the Ligue 1 title during the 2016–17 season and He scored 15 league goals that season and was instrumental in Monaco’s impressive run to the UEFA Champions League semifinals.
- Youngest First-Team Player: At just 16 years old, he became the youngest player to debut for AS Monaco’s first team on December 2, 2015.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) (2017–2024)
- Six Ligue 1 Titles: Mbappé won Ligue 1 titles with PSG in the following seasons: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2022–23.
- Four Coupes de France Titles: He helped PSG win four French Cups during his tenure.
- Domestic Quadruple (2019–20): PSG achieved a historic domestic quadruple by winning Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, and Trophée des Champions in the same season.
- UEFA Champions League Finalist (2020): Mbappé led PSG to their first-ever UEFA Champions League final in the 2019–20 season but lost to Bayern Munich.
- All-Time Top Scorer for PSG: By the time he left PSG in mid-2024, Mbappé had become the club’s all-time leading scorer with over 200 goals across all competitions.
Real Madrid (2024-Present)
- UEFA Super Cup Winner (2024): In his debut season with Real Madrid after joining on a free transfer from PSG, Mbappé scored in the UEFA Super Cup final to help secure victory.
- FIFA Intercontinental Cup Winner (2024): He also scored in this competition’s final during his first half-season at Real Madrid.
Erling Haaland: Emerging Stars
Haaland is known as one of football’s best strikers, In 2023 he assisted Manchester City win the UEFA Champions League the FA Cup and the Premier League and Among his main attributes are his physical dominance, clinical finishing ability and remarkable consistency and In his debut season at City (2022–2023), Haaland scored goals and Haaland has won numerous accolades and broken numerous records throughout his career and He is well-known for his exceptional strength, speed, positioning and finishing ability, Below is a detailed breakdown of his accomplishments:
best football player of all the time
Club Achievements
Manchester City (2022–Present):
- UEFA Champions League Winner (2022/23): Played a pivotal role in Manchester City’s historic treble-winning season.
- Premier League Champion (2022/23 & 2023/24): Contributed significantly to Manchester City’s back-to-back league titles.
- English FA Cup Winner (2023): Helped secure the domestic double during the treble-winning campaign.
- UEFA Super Cup Winner (2023/24): Added another European trophy to his collection with Manchester City.
- English Super Cup Winner (2024/25): Continued his success with another domestic title.
- Set a record by scoring 52 goals across all competitions in the 2022/23 season, the most ever by a Premier League player in a single season.
- Borussia Dortmund (2019–2022):
- DFB-Pokal Winner (2020/21): Helped Dortmund secure Germany’s domestic cup title.
- Named Bundesliga Player of the Season in 2021.
- Red Bull Salzburg (2019–January 2020):
- Austrian Bundesliga Champion (2018/19 & 2019/20): Won two consecutive league titles during his time at Salzburg.
- Austrian Cup Winner (2018/19 & 2019/20): Secured two domestic cup victories.
- Youth Career:
- Before joining Red Bull Salzburg he played for Molde FK and Bryne FK and He learned under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde and became well known for his ability to score goals.
Individual Awards and Records
- Premier League Records:
- Most goals scored in a single Premier League season (36 goals in 2022/23).
- First player to win both the Premier League Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards in the same year (2022/23 season).
- Quickest player to score two, three, four, and five hat-tricks in Premier League history.
- First player to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home games.
- European Golden Boot:
- Won this prestigious award for being Europe’s top scorer during the 2022/23 season with an incredible tally of goals.
- UEFA Men’s Player of the Year:
- Awarded this honor in 2023 for his outstanding performances across all competitions.
- IFFHS World’s Best Player:
- Recognized as one of the world’s best players by IFFHS in 2023.
- Golden Boy Award:
- Won this award in 2020 as one of football’s brightest young talents.
- FIFA FIFPro World11:
- Included in FIFA FIFPro World11 for four consecutive years: 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
- Top Goal Scorer Titles:
- UEFA Champions League Top Scorer (12 goals in 22/23 season).
- UEFA Nations League B Top Scorer (7 goals in the ongoing competition for Norway’s national team as of February 10, 2025).
- Multiple league top scorer awards:
- Premier League Top Scorer (36 goals – 22/23; 27 goals – 23/24 seasons).
- Austrian Bundesliga Top Scorer during his time at Red Bull Salzburg.
- U-20 World Cup Golden Boot (9 goals scored against Honduras alone – a record-breaking performance at that level).
- Other Notable Individual Honors:
- Gerd Müller Trophy: Recognized as Europe’s best striker based on goal-scoring feats.
- Footballer of the Year Awards:
- England Footballer of the Year (2023) and Norway Footballer of the Year multiple times from (2019–present) reflecting both club and international success.
- TM-Player of the Season Awards:
- Won this accolade twice: once while playing for Borussia Dortmund (2019) and again at Manchester City (22/23 season).
International Achievements
- Representing Norway:
- Became Norway’s all-time leading goal scorer despite being only active since September 2019 at senior level.
- Scored an impressive total of 38 international goals from 39 caps as of February 10, 2025.
- Starred at youth levels:
- Broke records at U-20 World Cup by scoring 9 goals against Honduras—a feat that earned him global attention.
Other Contenders best football player of all the time
Several other players deserve mention when discussing current greatness:
- Jude Bellingham: The young English midfielder has been sensational since joining Real Madrid in 2023. His performances have drawn comparisons to legends like Zinedine Zidane.
- Mohamed Salah: The Egyptian winger continues to deliver consistent performances for Liverpool while breaking records across competitions.
- Bukayo Saka: At just 23 years old, Saka has become Arsenal’s talismanic figure thanks to his creativity and work rate.
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) Kevin De Bruyne is considered by many as one of the best players in football history and Despite his recent injury issues, De Bruyne’s vision, passing range and inventiveness are unparalleled on the field , He was a major contributor to Manchester City’s treble-winning season.