Soccer is arguably the most popular sport in the world. Perhaps it’s because this sport requires less equipment to play. You can even have alternative materials to soccer balls, like cans and some stones, to mark the goal. Plus, football is easy to learn, making it easy for first-time observers to learn the game’s rules instantly.
Almost every country also has football leagues that regulate competitions to determine the best teams and players to compete internationally. To name the best of the best, read the following sections of this blog and become familiar with the biggest names in international football!
Lionel Messi
Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, Lionel Messi has become a household name in football. Those who follow and regularly bet on football matches certainly know him. Messi played for different clubs in her youth career, like Grandoli, Newell’s Old Boys, and Barcelona. In his senior career, he played for Barcelona C, Barcelona B, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Inter Miami. He also competed internationally with Argentina U20, Argentina U23, and Argentina.
Messi won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the national team. He also holds the record for the most goals in La Liga (474), most assist in La Liga (192), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36), most assists in Copa América (17), and UEFA Champions League (eight).
He was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2020 and 2023, Copa América Best Player in 2015 and 2021, Copa América Top Goalscorer in 2021, and numerously awarded the 15-time Argentine Footballer of the Year, among other accolades under his belt.
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Cristiano Ronaldo
Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is also one of the greatest players of all time. Ronaldo played for the Andorinha, Nacional, and Sporting CP in his youth career. Moreover, he played for Sporting Cp B, Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Al Nassr in his senior year. At the international level, Ronaldo played for Portugal U15, Portugal U17, Portugal U20, Portugal U21, Portugal U23, and Portugal.
His international debut was with Portugal in 2003. He played for the team at age 18 and earned 200 caps since then. Starting young, Ronaldo was named Portugal’s most-capped player. He is also an all-time top goalscorer with 100 goals at the international level. His first international goal happened during Euro 2004, which helped Portugal reach the final.
In July 2008, Ronaldo captained the national team. He was then named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2005. In 2006, he ushered the national team to their inaugural major tournament title at Euro. In the same competition, he earned the Silver Boot as the second-highest goalscorer of the tournament. They also won the 2019 UEFA Nations League and 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.
Pele
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, also popularly known as Pele, was a Brazilian professional footballer who played for Bauru, Santos FC, New York Cosmos, and the Brazil National Team. His first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on July 7, 1957. He was 16 years and nine months old when he scored his first goal for Brazil, making him the youngest goalscorer for his country.
In addition, Pele was also the youngest footballer to play in a World Cup final game. Pele was 17 years and 249 days old when he secured two goals in the final with Brazil, overthrowing Sweden 5–2 on June 29, 1958. Moreover, he also participated in the 1959 South American Championship and was the top scorer with eight goals. Pele was also named the best player of the tournament.
In the 1962 World Cup, during their first match against Mexico, Pelé assisted the first goal and then scored the second one. He also played in the 1966 and 1970 World Cups.
Diego Maradona
Born in Lanús, Argentina, Diego Armando Maradona became the most celebrated Argentine professional football player and manager in history. Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Napoli, Sevilla, Barcelona, and Newell’s Old Boys. Moreover, he also became part of the Argentina U20 from 1977 to 1979 and the Argentina men’s football team from 1977 to 1994.
During his international debut in the World Cup in 1982, Argentina’s men’s national team played against Belgium. In the 1986 World Cup, Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory against West Germany.
For the second time, Maradona captained the national team during the 1990 World Cup, where they lost to West Germany, 1-0. He also played two games in the 1994 World Cup, scoring one goal against Greece. Then, he set up his team’s goals on free kicks in the second game and won against Nigeria, 2-1.
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Final Thoughts
Football is one of the biggest sports in the world, with world-famous tournaments like FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, UEFA Championship League, and Copa America. With many leagues distributed across different nations, many iconic footballers rose to fame, and the ones mentioned here are topping the ranking!
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