Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the 25 best men's footballers of the 21st century so far - ranked

A fully-fit and firing Kevin De Bruyne is a joy to behold, a wonderfully elegant footballer capable of pulling off passes that others can't even see - which helps explain why he's won the Premier League's Playmaker of the Year award on three occasions. The brilliant Belgian would have claimed even more had it not been regularly hindered by injury, but De Bruyne's CV is as impressive as his unstoppable mix of intensity and innovation. He has six Premier League titles to his name and been named in the Team of the Year five times.

Success at international level has thus far eluded De Bruyne and the other members of Belgium's 'Golden Generation', but his reputation as "The Godfather of attacking midfielders", as Joe Cole once put it, remains firmly intact.

When a 16-year-old Wayne Rooney ended Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run with a stunning strike for Everton at Goodison Park on October 19, 2002, Arsene Wenger proclaimed the already fully-formed forward "the biggest English talent" he'd seen during his time in charge of the Gunners. Sir Alex Ferguson was just as smitten and signed the Scouse street-footballer for Manchester United just two years later for £25 million - which proved an absolute bargain.

Rooney won 16 trophies at Old Trafford, including five English titles and a Champions League, and went on to become United's record goal-scorer (208). Of course, when it comes to Rooney, there's always the nagging feeling that he could have achieved even more had he looked after himself better - he looked like a potential all-time great at Euro 2004 - but he was one of the most complete forwards of the modern era, as underlined by the fact that he ranks second for goals and fourth for assists in the all-time Premier League standings.

When Carlo Ancelotti saw Kaka for the first time, he wasn't convinced. The Brazilian looked far too prim and proper; he reminded him of a clean-cut university student. "But then he stepped onto the field," the Italian wrote in his autobiography, "and the heavens opened!" Kaka really was a divine footballer, blessed with a celestial elegance and the quintessential deceptive turn of pace that made it look as if he were gliding rather than running by opponents.

The fresh-faced attacking midfielder helped AC Milan win the Scudetto in his first season at Milan, scored 104 goals in total for the Rossoneri and was unstoppable during the 2006-07 Champions League triumph. Kaka may have struggled for form and fitness after moving to Real Madrid in 2009 but, as Andrea Pirlo once said of his former team-mate, "For two or three seasons, he was the best player in the world."

At the time of writing, Kylian Mbappe is in crisis - and arguably for the first time in his career. Indeed, what makes the Frenchman's current struggles at Real Madrid so surprising is that Mbappe has been almost incessantly brilliant since bursting onto the scene at Monaco. Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time leading goal-scorer has already smashed a number of records in Ligue 1, the Champions League and, most impressively of all, the World Cup. This is a fearsome forward who provoked comparisons with Pele by scoring in the biggest game in football while still only a teenager.

At the last World Cup in Qatar, meanwhile, he became only the second player in tournament history to score a hat-trick in the final. Safe to say, then, that it shouldn't take too long for Mbappe to get back to his brilliant best and, given he’s still only 25, it’s inevitable that further records will fall in the future.

If we were taking entire careers into account, Maldini would be right up near the top of this list, as we’re talking about the finest defender in history. But then, part of that is down to the fact that during the time frame in question (2000-onwards), Maldini reinvented himself as one of the best centre-halves in the world, having previously been the game's greatest left-back, and continued playing until 41.

Of course, it helped that the AC Milan icon possessed every possible attribute. He was such a "complete defender", as Zlatan Ibrahimovic put it, that he usually won the ball so easily from attackers with his combination of speed, strength and intelligence that he viewed tackling as a last resort. Oh, and Milan's 2007 Champions League-winning captain could also play too.

"What was so impressive about Maldini," Ronaldinho said, "is that when he was on the ball, he didn't look like a defender, but rather an elegant midfielder."

A prodigious talent, Iker Casillas was still only a teenager when he won the first of his three Champions Leagues with Real Madrid, in 2000. As well as boasting wonderful reflexes and fantastic footwork, 'San Iker' was also a fantastic leader and skippered Spain to glory in both the 2008 and 2010 European Championships, as well as the 2010 World Cup.

"I don't have to use up many words to say how good Iker is," Gigi Buffon once said. "The results are there for all to see. He has won everything there is to win."

For a significant chunk of his time at Real Madrid, Karim Benzema was criticised for not scoring enough goals. Then, Cristiano Ronaldo left Santiago Bernabeu, allowing the Frenchman to take centre stage, and he turned in one breath-taking performance after another on his way to winning the Ballon d'Or in 2022.

So, while Benzema hasn't always been the most likeable character in the game - the reasons why he was frozen out of the France squad for so long are well-documented - there was no disputing the fact that he deserved some belated appreciation for being one of the most complete centre-forwards in modern football.

As Lionel Messi said at the time, "Benzema deserves the Ballon d'Or for the great year he had, but also what he has been doing throughout his career. He's a wonderful player and I think it is important for him, and football, that he has this recognition."

Pep Guardiola is obviously one of the greatest coaches of all time, but he didn't want Samuel Eto'o at Barcelona, which is just so strange. The Catalan even tried to get rid of the forward before the start of his first season in charge. Luckily for Pep, he failed, with Eto'o proving utterly integral to Barca's treble triumph by scoring 36 times in all competitions, including the crucial opener in the Champions League final win over Manchester United.

Unfortunately for the Blaugrana, Guardiola finally managed to move Eto'o on during the summer of 2009, and that dreadful decision immediately backfired. The industrious and versatile striker played a pivotal role in Inter dethroning Barca as European champions during what was a second consecutive treble-winning season for him personally. When one also considers that Eto'o lifted two African Cup of Nations trophies during the 21st century, it really is hard to figure out why Guardiola didn’t rate him!

Rudi Garcia once pointed out that Rome has only ever had three kings: the Pope, the crime boss 'Libanese' and Francesco Totti. The latter's reign remains the only one worth celebrating.

A true 10, Totti was a product of a different era that thrived in the modern game. He could prise open defences with perfectly-timed, no-look passes or merely dribble through them in his distinctive languid style. Whether chipping goalkeepers or beating them with volleys from ridiculous angles, everything just seemed to come so naturally - and easily - to him.

Totti, who scored 250 Serie A goals for Roma in total, could have lifted countless trophies with Real Madrid, who repeatedly tried to sign him, but none of them would have compared to the title he claimed with his hometown club in 2001. Totti is a World Cup-winning, one-club legend, meaning he is, in the words of Carlo Ancelotti, "immortal".

When Toni Kroos retired during the summer of 2024, while still unquestionably at the peak of his powers, the World Cup winner wrote on social media: "Thank you, football, you beautiful game. And... you're welcome!" Not even Kroos' critics - and he had quite a few during his career - could dispute the idea that the world champion and six-time Champions League winner gave as much to the game as he got out of it.

Once described ‘The Roger Federer of football’, Kroos carried himself with a seemingly effortless elegance. "He can play a match and not even need to shower afterward" - which was high praise coming from the great Juan Roman Riquelme.

The importance of Kroos' work was often underappreciated - Bayern Munich selling him for just €25m (£21m/$26m) immediately after he'd helped the Bavarians win the treble and Germany win the World Cup genuinely ranks as one of the worst decisions in football history - but his status as an all-time great is beyond question.

Just like everyone else, Gigi Buffon was astounded when AC Milan decided against renewing Andrea Pirlo's contract, thus allowing him to join Juventus. "The first thing I thought was, 'God exists!' A player of his level and ability, not to mention that he was free, I think it was the signing of the century!" He's probably right, in fairness. Pirlo's switch from San Siro to Turin altered the course of Italian football history, sparking an unprecedented run of success for Juventus.

Pirlo, of course, had played a pivotal role in two Champions League triumphs at Milan and famously played PlayStation before going out and winning the World Cup with Italy in 2006 in characteristically cool fashion. He arguably got even better in his 30s, though, winning Serie A Player of the Year in all but one of his four title-winning seasons in Turin, while at the same time pulling the strings during the Azzurri's runners-up finish at Euro 20212.

Manuel Neuer pretty much changed the game. There were goalkeepers that came before the German who were good with the ball at their feet, but Neuer took the role of 'sweeper-keeper' to a whole other level, so much so in fact that Pep Guardiola reportedly even considered playing him in midfield!

He has also broken one clean sheet record after another while winning every major honour at club level with Bayern Munich, including two trebles, and collected the Golden Glove award at the end of Germany's 2014 victorious World Cup campaign. And the crazy thing is, at 38, he’s not done yet!

Robert Lewandowski is living proof that you can be the best player in the world without winning a Ballon d'Or. The prolific Pole was ludicrously denied the prize in 2020 by France Football because of the pandemic - even though he'd already done more than enough during Bayern Munich's treble-winning season to warrant recognition.

At his absolute peak - which is probably hard to identify given he's produced so many world-class campaigns - Lewandowski was unstoppable, a tall and powerful No.9 who was strong in the air and lethal off either foot. Remarkably, the Barcelona ace is still going strong and, at 36, is presently leading the race for the 2024-25 European Golden Shoe.

"Robert Lewandowski has been the best striker in the world for the last 10 years," former Bayern and current Blaugrana boss Hansi Flick said. "His job is to play up front and score goals, and he does that. Simple!"

At Anfield, the fans used to joke that Luis Suarez was so ingenious and that he could nutmeg a mermaid - which perfectly sums up the unpredictable Uruguayan's remarkable ability to find a way past opponents through a combination of skill, speed, ingenuity and mastery of the dark arts. At his peak, Suarez was simply unstoppable, a force of nature that laid waste to the Premier League before then teaming up with Lionel Messi and Neymar to form the greatest attacking triumvirate in football history.

After being stupidly discarded by Barcelona, he promptly fired La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid to the title and has since enjoyed further success at Gremio and Inter Miami. When one also considers that he helped Uruguay win the Copa America in 2011, it's impossible to dispute his claim on the title of the greatest No.9 of his generation. As Steven Gerrard once said, "You've got a chance of beating anyone in the world with Luis Suarez in your team."

The debate over whether Thierry Henry was twice robbed of a Ballon d'Or still rages today, but what everyone agrees on is that he was one of the best players of his generation. The France forward played a key role in Les Bleus winning Euro 2000 and reaching the final of the 2006 World Cup, while he also got his hands on the Champions League with Barcelona - but he was at his peerless best in the Premier League.

A lethal finisher blessed with blistering pace that was as effective as he was elegant, Arsenal's all-time leading goal-scorer could tear a team to shreds all on his own. "It was embarrassing for the defenders: he just scored when he wanted," said former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. Henry scored 30 times for the ‘Invincibles' during their historic 2003-04 campaign, and he remains the only player ever to record at least 20 goals and 20 assists in the same Premier League season - which is just the perfect testament to his all-round excellence.

There are plenty of people who love Sergio Ramos and a not insignificant amount who loathe him. Nearly everyone respects him, though. Say what you will about one of the most unapologetically aggressive players in football history, but the man has had a remarkable career.

He may have often been a liability because of propensity for picking up red cards, but he also had an incredible habit of producing big performances and plays when it mattered most - as best underlined by his game-changing, last-minute equaliser for Real Madrid in the 2014 Champions League final.

Ramos was a wonderfully composed defender on the ball, had a terrific right foot and was outstanding in the air, which helps explain why he scored more than 100 goals at club level and 23 for Spain, but he will be best remembered as a ruthless competitor who was willing to do whatever was required to win - and that attitude served him well as he lifted every major trophy in football.

The greatest goalkeeper of all time, the man that even Iker Casillas admitted all others should be judged. "Buffon is the benchmark," the Real Madrid icon said - and with good cause. Buffon was no 'sweeper-keeper', merely the ultimate guardian of the goal - and one without any weaknesses. Tall, strong, athletic and acrobatic, Buffon was almost unbeatable at his best and, here's the thing; he was at his best for two decades.

By the time he left Juventus in 2021 to play for childhood club Parma, he'd racked up more Serie A appearances than any other player in history and won 10 Scudetti. It's easy to understand why, then, Fabio Cannavaro said of his team-mate, who conceded just two goals (a penalty and an own goal) during Italy's 2006 World Cup win in Germany, "Gigi is the Maradona of goalkeepers!"

The first time Cesar Luis Menotti watched Sergio Busquets play, he called a friend and said, "I have just seen a player from an extinct species!" When he first appeared on the scene at Barcelona, Busquets really was something of an anomaly in modern football, a defensive midfielder that was more elegant than athletic, but he regained possession as brilliantly as he retained it.

Busquets was just as integral to the unprecedented spells of success enjoyed by Barca and Spain as Xavi and Andres Iniesta - with whom he formed the finest midfield trio of all time - but he never really got the credit he deserved from the wider public. Vicente del Bosque put it best when he said, "If you watch the whole game, you won't see Busquets - but watch Busquets, and you will see the whole game."

When Luka Modric broke Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's stranglehold on the Ballon d'Or in 2018, the humble Croatian said he was "happy that someone normal was able to win" the award. There's never been anything normal about Modric's ability as a footballer, though.

The multi-talented midfielder is an extraordinary player, and Zinedine Zidane was tipping Modric to claim a Ballon d'Or long before he actually got his hands on the trophy, after inspiring Real Madrid to Champions League glory and leading his country to the final of the World Cup.

What makes Modric so special is his willingness to work so hard for the team even though he's such a gifted individual. "He is a complete player who makes others better," as Slaven Bilic rather simply put it.

Ronaldinho was the catalyst for Barcelona’s 21st century success. "It had been a tough time for the club,” Lionel Messi acknowledged, "and the change that came about with his arrival was amazing.”

The Brazilian's impact was instantaneous, with Ronaldinho scoring a stunner on his debut against Sevilla in September 2003 - the first of countless astounding strikes for the Blaugrana. The No.10 didn't just thrill Camp Nou, though. When Frank Rijkaard said that "the whole world adores him", he wasn't wrong. Even the Santiago Bernabeu stood to acclaim one of the most gifted players of all time, a human highlight reel capable of things nobody had ever even thought of before - let alone seen.

Could Ronaldinho have achieved more with his divine talent? Absolutely. But we're still talking about a World Cup winner who influenced an entire generation. Indeed, the mere mention of Ronaldinho’s name still makes football fans smile - and that's just the most beautiful legacy.

Just a mesmerising character, a footballer blessed with a grace and cursed with a volatility that made him utterly compelling, Zinedine Zidane really was one of those players that you just couldn't take your eyes off. Roberto Carlos even claimed that Real Madrid fans turned up early at Santiago Bernabeu just to see the Frenchman warm up.

Of course, we've had to overlook everything he did pre-2000 (including winning a World Cup) in compiling this particular list, but Zidane remains fully deserving of his lofty position. The most elegant of attacking midfielders was sensational for France at both Euro 2000 and the 2006 World Cup (before being infamously sent off in the final of the latter), while his goal in the 2002 Champions League final is the stuff of legend.

Shortly before his retirement, Pele even said, "Zidane is the master. Over the past 10 years, there's been nobody like him."

A disturbing amount of football fans in a modern era obsessed with goals and assists don't rate Andres Iniesta too highly, which says more about them than a player who was a pure joy to behold, a quiet yet determined character that always rose to the occasion.

Iniesta played the game at his own pace because he was capable of simply gliding past opponents, but this was a quiet but competitive character who always rose to the occasion - whether it was a World Cup final for Spain or a Champions League semi-final second leg for Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.

Iniesta won everything worth winning at both club and international level, but he'll be more remembered for his genius rather than his trophy tally. "People have compared him to me and I can see the similarities," Zinedine Zidane said, "but let me tell you: that is an honour for me!"

Xavi personifies the concept of 'Barcelona DNA'. This was a Catalan who learned everything there was to learn at La Masia and, upon graduating to the first team, promptly went about schooling team-mates and opponents in the art of passing. Even Diego Maradona referred to him as "The Professor of Football" and once pleaded with him not to retire because "when he has the ball, the world smiles."

Xavi was the beating heart of the greatest club side the game has ever seen, and also one of the most successful international teams of all time. Between 2008 and 2012 alone, he won one World Cup, two European Championships and two Champions Leagues and, even at a time when the importance of deep-lying playmakers was criminally undervalued, Xavi was revered by his peers, thrice finishing third in the Ballon d'Or voting.

When he finally retired, he did so as a legend. "Xavi is football," Thiago Alcantara said. "He is eternal."

The final few years of Cristiano Ronaldo's career have been tough to watch, with the Portuguese embarrassing himself at the last two major international tournaments while at the same time trying to convince the watching world that what he's doing in Saudi Arabia is significant. But, in truth, there's nothing Ronaldo can do between now and his eventual retirement that will call into question his status as one of the finest forwards in football history.

For nearly two decades, Ronaldo tormented top-class defenders, first as a wing wizard and then as arguably the most effective and terrifying goal-scoring machine the game has ever seen. The mere fact that 'Mr. Champions League' won five Ballons d'Or during Messi's peak years is testament to his greatness.

Ronaldo has set records at both club and international level that are unlikely to be ever bettered while inspiring an entire generation with not only his consistently decisive displays at the highest level, but also his drive, determination and dedication to his craft, with World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit arguing, "Cristiano Ronaldo can be considered the greatest role model in football history when you look at where he came from and where he is today at 39."

Who else? Lionel Messi isn't just the greatest player of the 21st century - he's the greatest player of all time. After exploding onto the scene as a teenager at Barcelona, 'La Pulga' achieved a level of sustained excellence that had never been seen before. Even 1986 World Cup winner Jorge Valdano admitted that whereas "Maradona was Maradona sometimes, Messi is Maradona every day."

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's scoring starts are insane (he netted 672 times in 778 games for Barca alone) but before going into semi-retirement in MLS, he was about so much more than goals. He was a threat every single time he picked up possession - no matter where he was on the field - because he was a devastating dribbler blessed with a wondrous range of passing that perfectly complemented his incredible vision.

It was that all-round excellence that allowed him to deliver one logic-defying performance after another as he finally emulated Maradona by leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022 at 35 years of age. He's still shining on the international stage, too, and might even play in 2026. And why not? He's the GOAT.