There are many different figures in football history who have had a profound impact on the sport. Many players, managers and even owners have become household names even for those who don’t follow the beautiful game.
Some figures have had successful playing careers before taking their experience and using it to become an even greater manager. While others are known solely for their exploits in one specific role.
For example, the iconic Sir Alex Ferguson will go down in history for his incredible managerial reign at Manchester United, where he brought endless success to the club with his tactics and unique management style. The Scotsman won multiple Champions League titles and guided the Red Devils to 13 Premier League triumphs.
On the other hand, there is Pele, who is considered one of the most inspirational players in football history. The icon stunned fans globally with his electric speed and skillful dribbling, which helped guide Brazil to three World Cup victories.
Here are the 10 biggest legends in football history.
| 10 Biggest Legends in Football History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Active Years |
| 1. | Johan Cryuff | 1964-1996 |
| 2. | Pele | 1956-1977 |
| 3. | Franz Beckenbauer | 1964-1996 |
| 4. | Lionel Messi | 2000-Present |
| 5. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 1995-Present |
| 6. | Diego Maradona | 1977-2020 |
| 7. | Pep Guardiola | 1984-Present |
| 8. | Alfredo Di Stefano | 1945-1991 |
| 9. | Ferenc Puskas | 1942-1993 |
| 10. | Sir Alex Ferguson | 1957-2013 |
10 Sir Alex Ferguson
Active Years: 1957-2013
Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest managers of all time and has won more trophies than any other manager in history.
His most notable achievement was the 1999 treble, when he guided a youthful Manchester United side to a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League haul. He also won the European Cup Winners’ Cup with Aberdeen, an underdog side in the competition.
During his 26 years with United, he won a staggering 38 trophies. He was also one of the first managers to fully appreciate the use of an entire squad rather than a starting XI, and transitioned to the new era of Premier League football, with its added financial incentives and increased pressures, quicker than any of his rivals.
9 Ferenc Puskas
Active Years: 1942-1993
Ferenc Puskas is one of the greatest on-pitch talents in football history. The Hungarian, who could operate as an attacking midfielder or a forward, scored 84 goals in 85 matches for his country and was part of a side that famously demolished England twice with a revolutionary, progressive style of play.
At Real Madrid, he won three European Cups – with these triumphs coming in 1559, 1960 and 1966 – as part of an iconic Los Blancos team that also included Alfredo Di Stefano.
Puskas’ knack for divine play was so prevalent that he even has an award named after him. In 2009, the FIFA Puskas Award was introduced and is given to the player who has scored the best goal over the past calendar year.
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8 Alfredo Di Stefano
Active Years: 1945-1991
One of the greatest forwards in football history, well-known for his spell at Real Madrid, Alfredo Di Stefano was Los Blancos’ original ‘Galactico’. He played an instrumental role in the club’s success between the late 1950s and early 1960s.
After moving to the Spanish capital, he played his international football mainly for Spain, although he did also represent both Argentina and Colombia too. Di Stefano helped Los Blancos dominate Europe and La Liga, scoring 216 league goals in 282 matches and also finding the back of the net in five consecutive European Cup finals.
His goals to game ratio was a club record at the time, although this has now been surpassed by the likes of Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo.
7 Pep Guardiola
Active Years: 1984-Present
Pep Guardiola had a very successful playing career. The defensive midfielder was part of the Barcelona side which won the European Cup in 1992 for the first time in the club’s history. He also captained the Spanish giants from 1997 to 2001.
However, Guardiola has gone on to become an even better manager, and could well be remembered as the greatest manager of all time.
The Spaniard is the only manager to win the continental treble twice, and he also holds the record for the most consecutive league games won in the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga. His style of football, first implemented at Barcelona but since imported to Bayern Munich and Manchester City, has influenced peers across Europe for almost two decades.
6 Diego Maradona
Active Years: 1977-2020
Diego Maradona is considered by many as one of the greatest players of all-time. He is one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award, alongside Pele.
The Argentine’s career was filled with controversy, but there was no doubt about his natural talent. That duality epitomised Maradona’s era of football; the romanticism of flawed geniuses helped make the sport more popular than ever before.
Maradona’s ability to score arguably football’s greatest goal, when he ran past five England defenders before slotting home, shortly after scoring arguably football’s most despicable goal, the infamous ‘Hand of God’, perfectly captured his nature.
Maradona played in four World Cups, captaining his team to victory in 1986 and also winning the Golden Ball, while at club level he transformed Napoli from relegation-threatened sleeping giants to regular Serie A winners.
5 Cristiano Ronaldo
Active Years: 1995-Present
Competing with Maradona for the title of the greatest player of all time is Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo. The 39-year-old is one of the most successful players of the modern era, setting numerous goalscoring records and winning copious individual accolades – including five Ballon d’Ors.
Ronaldo has won 33 trophies, which includes five Champions League titles – four at Real Madrid and one at Manchester United – and one European Championship with Portugal, who he has made a record number of appearances for.
Ronaldo has won titles in England, Spain and Italy and continues to hone in on 1,000 career goals.
4 Lionel Messi
Active Years: 2000-Present
Just ahead of Ronaldo is his rival Lionel Messi, who just edges him in these rankings due to the fact he has won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards and the World Cup.
Messi is one of the most decorated players in the history of the sport, winning 45 trophies, which includes four Champions League titles with Barcelona and two Copa Americas with Argentina.
While Ronaldo has gained adoration for his ability to continuously perfect his game and particularly the art of goalscoring, Messi is famed for his natural ability and is perhaps the most gifted player to ever grace the sport.
3 Franz Beckenbauer
Active Years: 1964-1996
Franz Beckenbauer is a legend of the game, winning trophies as both a player and as a manager. The German is the only defender to win two Ballon d’Ors and has been credited with the invention of the sweeper role, which has subsequently lead to the development of centre-backs like John Stones regularly stepping into midfield and building play from defence.
Beckenbauer, who also operated as a defensive midfielder at times, made 103 appearances for West Germany, representing his nation at three World Cups and two European Championships. He is one of three men to have won the World Cup as both a player and manager, captaining West Germany to victory in 1974 and repeating this as a manager in 1990.
At club level, he spent the majority of his career at Bayern Munich, winning the European Cup three times.
2 Pele
Active Years: 1956-1977
Pele stunned the footballing world with his unique ability to blend physicality with technical prowess and creative instinct, which made him arguably the best player of his generation. The Brazilian legend scored a remarkable 1,279 goals in 1,363 matches throughout his career, although this does include friendlies.
While Pele’s club career was spent almost entirely at Santos, making the quality of opposition difficult to determine, he is also the only player to win three World Cups and is therefore perhaps the greatest international footballer of all time.
Pele joins Maradona as one of the joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century award.
1 Johan Cruyff
Active Years: 1964-1996
Taking top spot is the legendary Johan Cruyff. The Dutchman revolutionized football in many ways as both a player and as a manager. Cruyff is considered one of the greatest players ever. The silky forward won the Ballon d’Or on three occasions, in 1971, 1973 and 1974.
Cruyff was an inventive player and popularised the ‘Cruyff turn’, a simple yet effective piece of skill which marked a significant technical development for the sport. But he was just as creative as a manager, evolving the ‘total football’ style of play which would provide the foundations for Pep Guardiola’s iconic philosophy at Barcelona many years later.
He won the European Cup as both a player and as a manager and was inducted into the World Team of the 20th Century and the FIFA World Cup Dream Team.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 13/11/2024
