Following The Football 100 and The Basketball 100, the experts and award-winning journalists at The Athletic present their definitive ranking of the greatest male soccer players to ever grace the pitch.

The Athletic is back, returning with 100 compelling profiles of soccer’s most celebrated characters, from Dixie Dean, whose 1928 record for the most goals scored in an English top-flight season remains unbroken, to Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, whose stellar performances in the 2022 World Cup final drew almost 1.5 billion television viewers.

Each feature brings to life a player who has left his own mark on the game, whether he is known for a distinct trademark flash of skill—such as Johan Cruyff’s celebrated turn—or renowned for reinventing tactics or even entire positions. Some, like Pelé, Ferenc Puskás, Lev Yashin, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Diego Maradona, have become national icons. Others have carried club teams to silverware, conjured goals that have gone down in folklore, or found ways to stifle the sport’s most prolific forwards through their defensive excellence. Plenty suffered for their art along the way, yet their brilliance still illuminated matches on the most glittering of stages.

With a team of writers covering the sport worldwide, The Athletic leaves no stone unturned charting the players who have decorated the game’s most memorable moments. Through their stories, they reveal a global legacy and a sport that has divided the world through friendly rivalries while uniting it in overwhelming passion.

The Soccer 100 is a celebration of the beautiful game and its storied history, as told through its 100 greatest players.

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