World Football Players
A country-wise archive of legendary football players — featuring Golden Era icons as well as modern superstars. Every section includes short notes and club references.
Europe
England
-
Bobby Charlton
MF • 1966 World Cup winner • Manchester United -
Bobby Moore
DF • 1966 World Cup captain • West Ham United -
Wayne Rooney
ST • England’s top scorer • Manchester United
Germany
-
Franz Beckenbauer
SW • World Cup winner (player & coach) • Bayern Munich -
Gerd Müller
ST • World Cup 1974 • Bayern Munich -
Manuel Neuer
GK • World Cup 2014 • Bayern Munich
Italy
-
Paolo Rossi
ST • WC 1982 Golden Boot • Juventus -
Roberto Baggio
AM • Ballon d'Or 1993 • Juventus -
Gianluigi Buffon
GK • WC 2006 • Juventus
Spain
-
Fernando Hierro
DF • Real Madrid legend -
Xavi Hernández
CM • World Cup + EURO • Barcelona -
Andrés Iniesta
CM • WC 2010 winning goal • Barcelona
South America
Brazil
-
Pelé
FW • 3× World Cup • Santos -
Ronaldo Nazário
ST • 2× World Cup • Inter, Real Madrid -
Neymar
FW • PSG • Barcelona
Argentina
-
Diego Maradona
AM • WC 1986 • Napoli -
Lionel Messi
FW • WC 2022 • Barcelona -
Gabriel Batistuta
ST • 2× Copa América • Fiorentina
Asia
Japan
-
Hidetoshi Nakata
AM • Serie A icon • Roma -
Shinji Kagawa
AM • Dortmund • Man United
South Korea
-
Cha Bum-kun
FW • Bundesliga legend -
Son Heung-min
FW • Tottenham • Golden Boot
Iran
-
Ali Daei
ST • Former world top scorer
Africa
Cameroon
-
Samuel Eto’o
ST • 3× UCL • Barcelona
Côte d’Ivoire
-
Didier Drogba
ST • Chelsea • UCL winner -
Yaya Touré
CM • Man City • 4× African POTY
Egypt
-
Mohamed Salah
RW • Liverpool • EPL records
North America / CONCACAF
Mexico
-
Hugo Sánchez
ST • Real Madrid legend
USA
-
Landon Donovan
FW • USMNT legend • LA Galaxy
Oceania
Australia
-
Tim Cahill
AM • Everton • World Cup scorer
Netherlands
-
Johan Cruyff
AM • Total Football Icon • Ajax / Barcelona -
Marco van Basten
ST • 3× Ballon d’Or • Milan -
Ruud Gullit
MF • Ballon d’Or • Milan
Portugal
-
Cristiano Ronaldo
FW • All-time great • Real Madrid -
Eusébio
ST • 1966 WC star • Benfica -
Luís Figo
RW • Ballon d’Or • Real Madrid
Uruguay
-
Diego Forlán
FW • WC 2010 Golden Ball -
Luis Suárez
ST • Liverpool/Barcelona -
Edinson Cavani
ST • PSG
Nigeria
-
Nwankwo Kanu
FW • Arsenal • Ajax -
Jay-Jay Okocha
AM • Nigerian icon
Ghana
-
Abedi Pele
AM • Marseille legend -
Michael Essien
CM • Chelsea
India
-
Sunil Chhetri
ST • India’s top scorer
Bangladesh
-
Hamza Choudhury
DM • Bangladesh Top Footballer -
Jamal Bhuyan
DM • Bangladesh Captain
Saudi Arabia
-
Sami Al-Jaber
FW • World Cups
Canada
-
Alphonso Davies
LB/W • Bayern Munich
Costa Rica
-
Keylor Navas
GK • Real Madrid • UCL
New Zealand
-
Wynton Rufer
FW • Werder Bremen