The best football players in the world are of great interest to people of different age groups. Football is the most popular sport on the planet today. Every year it becomes more and more popular and undergoes certain changes.
Tens of thousands of fans regularly gather in stadiums to support their favorite team. The matches are accompanied by "chants" and songs, the sounds of drums and firecrackers, thanks to which the players feel more confident and purposeful.
Top 10 best football players in the world
This article will offer a list of the TOP 10 best football players in the world. Each of them contributed to the development of football. You will be able to familiarize yourself with short biographies of the players, as well as learn interesting facts from their lives.
So, here is the TOP-10 of the best football players in the world.
10. Lev Yashin
Lev Yashin is extremely popular not only in Russia, but all over the world. He is the only football goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or. In addition, he is considered the best goalkeeper of the 20th century by FIFA, as well as many reputable sports publications.
Yashin defended the gate so skillfully that he was nicknamed "The Black Panther". Lev Ivanovich became the best goalkeeper of the USSR 11 times and won the USSR championship 5 times as part of Dynamo Moscow.
In the Soviet national team, Yashin was the Olympic champion in 1956 and the owner of the European Cup in 1960. On average, he conceded only 1 goal in two matches, which is an excellent result.
9. David Beckham
David Beckham left a notable mark on the history of world football. At one time he was considered the best footballer in the world. He saw the pitch perfectly, had dribbling skills and was a master of free kicks.
During his career, Beckham became the Champion of England 6 times with Manchester United and won the Champions League with the same team. In addition, he won the Spanish championship playing for Real, and also won the French championship, defending the colors of PSG.
It is worth noting that David Beckham has starred in various commercials and video clips many times. Millions of people wanted to look like him, discussing his hairstyles and clothing styles.
8. Alfredo Di Stefano
Alfredo Di Stefano is the third FIFA footballer of the 20th century. An interesting fact is that during his career he played for 3 different national teams: Argentina, Colombia and Spain.
Alfredo achieved his greatest successes together with Real Madrid, with which he won 8 championships and 5 European Champions Cups. Playing for Real, he was able to score 412 goals, and in total in his career - 706. For his achievements in football, the player twice became the owner of the Golden Ball.
7. Johan Cruyff
Cruyff initially played for Dutch Ajax, playing 319 matches for them, in which he scored 251 goals. Then he played for Barcelona and Levante, after which he returned to his native Ajax.
Johan has won the Netherlands championship 8 times and won the European Cup 3 times. The footballer played 48 matches for the national team, scoring 33 goals. In total, he managed to score 425 goals and was awarded the Ballon d'Or three times.
6. Michel Platini
According to France Football, Platini is the best French footballer of the 20th century. An interesting fact is that he received the Golden Ball 3 times in a row (1983-1985).
Michel played for Nancy, Saint-Etienne and Juventus, in which he was able to fully reveal his talent as a football player. In total, Platini scored 327 goals in 602 matches during his career.
5. Franz Beckenbauer
Beckenbauer is a genius German defender who has played as many as 850 matches in his career, scoring over a hundred goals! He deservedly ranks among the best footballers in the world. It is generally accepted that it was he who invented the position of the free defender.
With Bayern Munich, Beckenbauer has won the German championship four times and won the European Cup three times.
He played for Bayern for 14 years and only at the end of his career defended the colors of such teams as New York Cosmos and Hamburg. Franz Beckenbauer is the owner of 2 Ballon d'Or.
4. Zinedine Zidane
Zidane is considered one of the best players in the history of football for many reasons. On account of his 3 titles of the best football player in the world according to "FIFA" and "Golden Ball" in 1998, together with the French national team, he became world and European champion, demonstrating a phenomenal game.
Zinedine was the "brain" of the team, so all the formation of the attack went through him. At the beginning of his career, he played for French Cannes and Bordeaux, and later moved to Juventus, where he reached his best form.
In 2001, Zidane acquired Real Madrid for a fantastic € 75 million, where he continued to show a high level of football.
3. Diego Maradona
Perhaps it is difficult to find a person who has not heard of Maradona. His so-called "hand of God" will be remembered by all football fans. Thanks to this, the Argentine national team managed to reach the final of the 1986 World Cup and win it.
Already at the age of 16, Maradona made his debut in the Argentinos Juniors, and a few months later for the national team. Later he moved to Barcelona for an unimaginable $ 8 million at the time.
Diego also played for Italian Napoli, in which he scored 122 goals in 7 years. He possessed high speed and dribbling, thanks to which he was able to "open up" the opponent's defense on his own.
2. Pele
Pele is called the "King of Football" and there are many reasons for that. During his career, he scored an incredible 1,228 goals and became the world champion in football three times, which has not been possible for any other football player in history. He is the best player of the 20th century according to FIFA.
In fact, he spent his entire career in Brazilian Santos, whose colors he defended in the period 1956-1974. While playing for this club, he scored 1,087 goals.
At the end of his sports career, he moved to New York Cosmos, continuing to show a high level of play.
1. Messi and Ronaldo
Decide for yourself who holds the 1st place in the TOP-10 rating of the best football players in the world. Both Messi and Ronaldo deserve to be called the best player in the history of football.
They show fantastic play by scoring many goals and doing a tremendous amount of work on the pitch. For a couple, the players received 9 Golden Balls and set many personal and club records in football.
During his career, Ronaldo has scored over 700 goals, won the Ballon d'Or 4 times, received the Golden Boot 4 times and won the Champions League 4 times with Real Madrid and Manchester United. In addition, he became the 2016 European champion.
Messi has no less impressive statistics: more than 600 goals, 5 Golden Balls and 6 Golden Boots. As part of Barcelona, he became the champion of Spain 10 times and won the Champions League 4 times. Argentina with Messi took silver in the America's Cup three times and became vice-champion of the world once in 2014.
