The IFFHS (International Federation of History and Football Statistics) has published a ranking with the top ten football players in history. Argentine Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to the title of the last World Cup, was pointed out as number one of all time.
The entity did not disclose the criteria it adopted in the preparation of the list, which has three Brazilians. Pelé appears in second place, Ronaldo is the sixth, and Ronaldinho Gaúcho closes the relationship, in the tenth place.
Also entered the classification prepared by IFFHS Diego Maradona (3rd), Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (4th), Dutch Johan Cruyff (5th), Frenchman Zinédine Zidane (7th), German Franz Beckenbauer (8th) and Argentine Alfredo Di Stéfano (9th).
Among the ten ranked, only Messi, 37, and Cristiano Ronaldo, 40, remain active. The Argentine today works at Inter Miami of the United States, and the Portuguese pursues the thousandth career goal at Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia.
Both are still part of their respective national teams, and the expectation is that they are in the 2026 World Cup. There was a tone of farewell in their participation in the 2022 World Cup, but they were staying in their national teams and seem inclined to work in next year’s competition.
