80. Alexis Sanchez
The greatest Chilean footballer ever? Sanchez certainly has a strong claim to be, having led his country through their golden age.
Alexis is Chile’s most-capped player and all-time top scorer, and it was his Panenka penalty that won the South American nation their first ever major honour in the 2015 Copa America final, before he won the Golden Ball the following year after captaining them to a successful title defence.
The sparky, hard-working striker has picked up league titles with Barcelona and Inter Milan, as well as twice winning Arsenal’s player of the year award during a prolific spell with the Gunners.
79. Edinson Cavani
Cavani is now in the twilight of his career, but what a career it’s been. ‘El Matador’ burst onto the scene at Palermo to earn a move to Napoli, where he scored a frankly ridiculous 104 goals in 138 games.
The goals kept flowing with PSG, where he became the French side’s all-time top scorer with 200 strikes, scooping up six league titles in the process, before enjoying an impressive time at Manchester United.
Quick and clinical, Cavani also helped Uruguay win the Copa America in 2011, and ranks among the greatest goalscorers of the century.
78. Ivan Rakitic
Cavani is now in the twilight of his career, but what a career it’s been. ‘El Matador’ burst onto the scene at Palermo to earn a move to Napoli, where he scored a frankly ridiculous 104 goals in 138 games.
The goals kept flowing with PSG, where he became the French side’s all-time top scorer with 200 strikes, scooping up six league titles in the process, before enjoying an impressive debut season at Manchester United.
Quick and clinical, Cavani also helped Uruguay win the Copa America in 2011, and ranks among the greatest goalscorers of the century.
77. N'Golo Kante
It’s often said that having N’Golo Kante on your team is like having 12 players on the pitch. The diminutive Frenchman’s ability to be, well, everywhere at once is unparalleled and it’s not a coincidence that success has followed everywhere he has gone.
He played a leading role in Leicester’s momentous 2015/16 Premier League title win, before steering France to 2018 World Cup glory and winning another league title and the Champions League at Chelsea. There's no one quite like him.
76. Jan Oblak
Atletico Madrid’s Slovenian giant has been the rock behind Diego Simeone’s resilient side since 2014.
A five-time winner of the Ricardo Zamora trophy for best goalkeeper in the division, he defined La Liga for so long with his presence, as one of the most consistent custodians in Europe. While form fluctuated with other superstars, Jan Oblak stood strong.
75. David Silva
Silva picked up the fitting nickname of ‘Merlin’ during his time at Manchester City, after producing moments of footballing wizardry year after year at the Etihad.
The Spaniard became one of the Citizens’ greatest players of all time during a ten-year spell in Manchester, with his creativity and guile helping the club to four Premier League titles
Silva also made a major impact in Spain’s two European Championship victories, scoring in the Euro 2008 semi-final and Euro 2012 final, as well as being part of the World Cup-winning squad of 2010.
74. Alessandro Nesta
Nobody did elegance like Nesta. One of the greatest centre-backs of all time, the Italian made slide tackles and man-marking an art form.
The four-time Serie A Defender of the Year began the 21st century by captaining his boyhood club Lazio to a league and cup double, and when he moved to Milan one of the greatest defences of all time was formed as Nesta joined up with Cafu, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta.
Nesta won two Champions Leagues and two Scudetti at San Siro and won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, although the latter was bittersweet for the centre-back, as he picked up a tournament-ending injury in the group stage.
73. Wesley Sneijder
The most-capped Dutch player of all time, Sneijder was indisputably one of the finest attacking midfielders in the world in his prime.
A title winner in four different countries with Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Galatasaray, the playmaker hit his peak in 2010, when he helped the Nerazzurri win an unprecedented Treble and guided the Netherlands to the World Cup final.
Sneijder scored five goals in South Africa before suffering an extra-time defeat to Spain, earning a place in the team of the tournament for a second successive major tournament, having shone two years earlier at Euro 2008 too.
72. Cesc Fabregas
It didn’t take long for it to be made abundantly clear that there was something special about Fabregas. The Spanish playmaker broke into the Arsenal first team aged 16, becoming the club’s youngest-ever player, and earned the captain’s armband by 21.
League titles arrived in subsequent spells at Barcelona and Chelsea, while Fabregas also played a crucial role in Spain’s era of international dominance between 2008 and 2012, setting up the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final to write his name into Spanish football folklore forever.
71. Fabio Cannavaro
Cannavaro’s defensive masterclass at the 2006 World Cup earned him the Ballon d’Or, and the Italian remains the only defender to have won the prize in the 21st century.
The centre-back adopted the Azzurri captaincy from fellow legend Paolo Maldini in 2002 and four years later he adopted the nickname “the Berlin wall” due to his stand-out performances in Germany, as Italy kept five clean sheets during the tournament.
It wasn’t a one-off. Cannavaro was one of the greatest defenders of his generation and enjoyed domestic success too, winning back-to-back La Liga titles with Real Madrid following his World Cup success.
70. Raul
The Real Madrid legend scored 323 goals in the Merengues’ famous white shirt, which stood as a club record until a certain Cristiano Ronaldo came along.
Raul narrowly missed out on the Ballon d’Or in 2001, finishing second to Michael Owen, but his 21st century honours list includes four La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and a DFB-Pokal with Schalke 04.
The Spaniard was lethal in Europe and boasts several impressive firsts: the first to score 50 goals and make 100 appearances in the Champions League era, as well as the first to score in two finals.
69. Bastian Schweinsteiger
The midfield engine behind a glorious period of success for Bayern Munich and Germany, Schweinsteiger was a player who could do it all: tackle, pass, control and lead.
He won eight Bundesliga titles and the Champions League with Bayern, making 500 appearances over 17 years, and played a crucial role in his country’s 2014 World Cup triumph.
His performance in the final victory over Argentina was monstrous. The midfielder, playing with a bloodied face after a clash with Sergio Aguero, helped keep Lionel Messi quiet, ran 15km and passed with 90 % accuracy. No wonder manager Joachim Low called him “the brain” of his Germany team.
68. Cafu
Cafu was already a world champion by the time the millennium arrived, but most of the flying right-back’s major honours arrived in the 21st century.
The Brazilian earned the nickname ‘Il Pendolino’ (the express train) in Italy due to his trademark surges down the flank, and he helped Roma and AC Milan to league titles before winning his first Champions League in 2007.
Cafu remains Brazil’s most-capped player, having played 142 games for his country, and the defender is the only player to have appeared in three consecutive World Cup finals, winning in 1994 and 2002 (as captain), and losing to France in 1998.
67. Harry Kane
Kane might not have an honours list to match his remarkable goal return, but the striker has established himself as one of the best strikers in the world through his exploits for club and country.
A prolific goalscorer who can also link attacking plays, Kane was Premier League top scorer three times, as well as winning the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot. Wayne Rooney’s record for most England goals didn't last long, either. Aside from the records though, his pure ability puts him as one of the greatest forwards of a generation.
66. Marcelo
From one attack-minded Brazilian full-back to another. Marcelo may not have enjoyed the international success of Cafu yet, but his time at Real Madrid has been littered with trophies.
The left-back has won 23 in total, including four Champions League and five La Liga titles, and scored in the 2014 Champions League final against Atletico Madrid.
He earned praise from Brazilian left-back royalty in 2012, when Roberto Carlos said “he has more ability than me with the ball”, while Paolo Maldini is another legend of the position to have described Marcelo as the best in the world in his role.
65. David Beckham
Where to start with Becks? A free-kick wizard and crossing artist who possessed arguably one of the most cultured right boots the game has seen, Beckham’s 21st century successes included league titles in England, Spain, France and the USA.
His only Champions League crown came in the 1990s - as did his runner-up Ballon d’Or finish in 1999- but Beckham nevertheless deserves to be considered among the greatest players of the century.
The former England captain is firmly in the debate about the best free-kick takers of all time, with the last-minute curler against Greece that sent the Three Lions to the 2002 World Cup being particularly memorable.
64. Ruud van Nistelrooy
The Dutchman was reliably prolific wherever he went, winning the Golden Boot in the Premier League, Eredivisie and La Liga as well as finishing as Champions League top scorer in three consecutive seasons.
Van Nistelrooy won Premier League player of the season in 2003 after firing Manchester United to the title with 25 goals, and at Real Madrid he equalled La Liga’s longest scoring streak of seven goals in his debut campaign.
An exceptionally clinical striker, Van Nistelrooy’s knack of finding and finishing chances helped him rack up 349 goals in 592 games by the time of his retirement, as well as 35 in 70 Netherlands caps.
63. Paolo Maldini
A world class left-back turned world class centre-back, Maldini is one of the greatest defenders of all time.
The AC Milan legend and one-club man would be far higher up this list were it not for the fact that his career began in 1984 and ended in 2009, but his place among the best of the century is well earned.
Maldini came third in the Ballon d’Or vote of 2003 after captaining the Rossoneri to Champions League glory, and he became a European champion again four years later, adding that medal to Serie A and Coppa Italia titles.
A player of enormous class and effortless elegance, the only shame is that he had already retired from international duty when Italy won the 2006 World Cup.
62. Nemanja Vidic
Manchester United’s decision to sign Vidic from Red Star Belgrade for £7 million in January 2006 proved to be one of their smartest-ever decisions, as the Serbian went on to become one of the greatest defenders to pull on a Red Devils shirt.
Vidic formed an imposing partnership with Rio Ferdinand at Old Trafford and won five Premier League titles and the Champions League among other honours in Manchester.
He’s one of just three players to be named Premier League Player of the Season twice, along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. Not bad for £7m.
61. David Villa
Spain’s all-time top scorer was an integral part of their Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup triumphs, winning the Golden Boot in the former tournament before being joint-top scorer in South Africa two years later.
A prolific goalscorer at Valencia, Silva’s move to Barcelona in 2010 gave him the chance to compete for major honours and he took it with both hands, scoring in their Champions League final victory over Manchester United in his debut season.
Villa also won two La Liga titles at Camp Nou, another with Atletico Madrid in 2013/14, and won the MLS MVP award during a prolific spell with New York City.
