Legendary Argentine Diego Maradona has beaten Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi to be named the best footballer of all time.
The 59-year-old World Cup winner is frequently mentioned in the longstanding debate over ‘football’s GOAT’ alongside fellow legend
Pele , Messi and
And on this occasion, Maradona walked away with the ultimate bragging rights after beating Messi to the top spot.
Fans over at Ranker had their say on the best of the best football has ever seen, with Barca captain Messi finishing second.
Legendary Brazilian Ronaldo,
who Messi called the best striker of all time
, took home the third spot in the rankings.
Juventus superstar Ronaldo fell short of making the top three and finished fourth, while Brazil icon Ronaldinho rounded off the top five.
Italian legend Andrea Pirlo shockingly finished in
the top spot of Ranker’s previous rankings for the best footballer of all time
But the former Juventus and AC Milan star has tumbled down to 10th in the latest update to the rankings.
Posted below are the top 50 footballers of all time, according to fans.
50. Rivaldo
49. Peter Schmeichel
48. Arjen Robben
47. Wayne Rooney
46. Eusebio
45. Dennis Bergkamp
44. Alfredo Di Stefano
43. Robert Lewandowski
42. Toni Kroos
41. Kaka
40. Philipp Lahm
39. Luis Suarez
38. Luis Figo
37. Iker Casillas
36. Gareth Bale
35. Samuel Eto’o
34. Ferenc Puskas
33. Romario
32. Roberto Baggio
31. Manuel Neuer
30. Cafu
29. Lev Yashin
28. Gerd Muller
27. Sergio Ramos
26. Didier Drogba
25. Francesco Totti
24. Ryan Giggs
23. Steven Gerrard
22. Carles Puyol
21. David Beckham
20. Neymar
19. Raul
18. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
17. Roberto Carlos
16. Franz Beckenbauer
15. Xavi
14. Thierry Henry
13. George Best
12. Luka Modric
11. Gianluigi Buffon
10. Andrea Pirlo
9. Andres Iniesta
8. Pele
7. Johan Cruyff
6. Zinedine Zidane
5. Ronaldinho
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
1. Diego Maradona
