Who Is The Best Football Player Of All Time?
As of 19 September 2026, the player the public has backed most on this site is Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina), with €180 backed in total.
No governing body names a greatest player, and the awards that come closest were voted on season by season rather than across careers. The two names that dominate the modern argument are Lionel Messi, who has won the Ballon d’Or a record eight times and won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won it five times and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football. Earlier generations point to Pelé or Diego Maradona.
Comparing across eras means comparing different rules, different numbers of matches and different levels of protection for attacking players — which is why the argument has never resolved. This ranking does not try to resolve it with statistics. It shows which players people are willing to back today.
Most backed right now
- 1Lionel Messi×8Inter Miami€180
- 2Cristiano Ronaldo×5Al Nassr€178
- 3Ousmane DembéléPSG€176
- 4Kylian MbappéReal Madrid€166
- 5Nuno MendesPSG€166
- 6Lamine YamalBarcelona€163
- 7VitinhaPSG€160
- 8Mohamed SalahLiverpool€160
- 9RaphinhaBarcelona€160
- 10Achraf HakimiPSG€160
Last updated 15 September 2026, 10:52 UTC
All-time questions
- Who is the best football player of all time?
- There is no official answer. Lionel Messi, with a record eight Ballons d'Or and the 2022 World Cup, and Cristiano Ronaldo, with five Ballons d'Or and more goals than any other man in international football, are the two most frequently named. Pelé and Diego Maradona are the usual answers from earlier generations.
- Why is the all-time question so hard to settle?
- Eras are not directly comparable. Rules, pitches, the protection given to attackers, the number of matches played each season and the statistics that were recorded have all changed. Any comparison across decades depends on which of those differences you choose to discount.
- How does this ranking answer it?
- By public backing rather than by a jury. Anyone can back any player with any amount, and rank is the total backed and nothing else. There are no payouts: the money is a vote, not a bet.
Who is the best football player in the world right now? · Full live ranking