ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI • DIDI • GIANLUIGI BUFFON GUNTER NETZER • PAOLO ROSSI • KYLIAN MBAPPE KENNY DALGLISH • MICHAEL LAUDRUP • BOBBY MOORE PACO GENTO • LUIS SUAREZ • ROMARIO • MATTHIAS SINDELAR VALENTINO MAZZOLA • STANLEY MATTHEWS • RIVALDO RAYMOND KOPA • LOTHAR MATTHAUS • SOCRATES MANUEL NEUER • RUUD GULLIT • THIERRY HENRY LUKA MODRIC • ROBERTO BAGGIO • CARLOS ALBERTO FRANCO BARESI • ANDRES INIESTA • XAVI • LEV YASHIN RONALDINHO • GIUSEPPE MEAZZA • PAOLO MALDINI BOBBY CHARLTON • GARRINCHA • EUSEBIO • ZICO MARCO VAN BASTEN • MICHEL PLATINI • FERENC PUSKAS GERD MULLER • GEORGE BEST • RONALDO • ALFREDO DI STEFANO FRANZ BECKENBAUER • ZINEDINE ZIDANE • JOHAN CRUYFF CRISTIANO RONALDO • DIEGO MARADONA • PELE • LIONEL MESSI
50 ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI
But for a pesky Icelandic volcano and its ash cloud preventing the Pole from flying to England, Lewandowski might have signed for Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn in 2010. Instead, he joined Dortmund, fired them to two Bundesliga titles, scored 344 goals in 375 games for Bayern Munich and now bangs them in for Barcelona. Good work, Eyjafjallajokull.
Career highlight Conquering Europe with Bayern in 2020 – the Ballon d’Or was his, if France Football hadn’t cancelled it.
49 DIDI
The elegant Brazilian nearly had his leg amputated as a teenager, but went on to win two World Cups, play for Real Madrid and invent the ‘falling leaf’ knuckleball free-kick. “I’m nothing compared to Didi – I’ll never be anywhere near as good as he is.” The words of Pele.
Career highlight Being named the 1958 World Cup’s best player, ahead of Pele, Garrincha and the 13-goal Just Fontaine.
48 GIANLUIGI BUFFON
Footballers tend to wane at 30, but Buffon balanced quality and longevity like a 1970s Coppola movie, adding another eight scudetti to his Juventus tally. He’s the only keeper to be in the Ballon d’Or top two since 1973 and, at 45, is still in Serie B and closing in on 1,200 career appearances.
Career highlight Starring in Italy’s 2006 World Cup triumph.
47 GUNTER NETZER
One of the game’s great passers, able to put the ball on a Deutsche Mark from any distance, Netzer won four trophies with Real Madrid but was at his stylish, dashing, playmaking best as the leader of a Monchengladbach team that won two German titles.
Career highlight Running the show as West Germany were crowned kings of Europe in 1972.
46 PAOLO ROSSI
Only nine players have won the Ballon d’Or, European Cup and World Cup; Rossi is one, despite having his best club spell with little Vicenza and failing to score in Italy’s first four games at Spain 82. Six goals in their next three brought the Juventus star the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball and a world title.
Career highlight Netting a famous World Cup hat-trick against Brazil in 1982, then titling his autobiography I Made Brazil Cry.
45 KYLIAN MBAPPE
Already? Yes, already. The French star is a World Cup icon at 24
HERE WAS A PLAYER CAPABLE OF GOING TOE-TO-TOE WITH MESSI ON THE BIGGEST STAGE
“Do I feel under pressure heading into the World Cup? No. For me, football is all about pleasure. A World Cup comes along once every four years. You can’t afford to let it pass you by.”
Those were Kylian Mbappe’s words to FourFourTwo at the beginning of 2018. Five years later, he has ensured that his name will be linked with the tournament forever.
It should be far too early for Mbappe to earn consideration for a list such as this. But the 24-year-old could retire this month and still leave a legacy that will stand the test of time. Who knows where he will rank when his playing days come to an end?
A much-discussed prodigy since his early days in Monaco’s first team, Mbappe didn’t even make some of France’s squads in the younger age groups. At the Under-17s Euros in 2015, for instance, Odsonne Edouard, Jonathan Ikone and the brilliantly-named Maxime Pelican got the nod ahead of him.
Two years later, the speedstar stunned Manchester City in the Champions League, helped Monaco to win Ligue 1, joined Paris Saint-Germain for £166 million and won
