Messi, Ronaldo, Pele, Zidane, Cafu: What is the greatest XI in history?

Picking the greatest XI in football history is pretty much an impossible task.

Every single person who follows the sport has differing opinions on who are the greatest to have graced the pitch in a professional setting.

The only two players we reckon feature in 99% of XIs are eternal rivals Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, although some of the older generation will opt for the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff over the pair of Ballon d’Or hoarders.

We’re not going to try and name an XI, as it’s just far too difficult. Instead, we’re going to work out the finest team in football history from the 2.9 million votes cast by fans on Ranker‘s ‘The Best Soccer Players of All Time’ list.

The collection of players selected is very impressive and naturally, there are a few surprises chucked in the mix as well.

Let’s take a look at the XI…

No Lev Yashin, Iker Casillas, Peter Schmeichel or Manuel Neuer. Buffon is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats when it comes to goalkeeping, but the best of the bunch? Perhaps not, especially as he was never able to win the Champions League. Buffon did help Italy win the World Cup in 2006, though.

It’s hard to argue with this selection by the fans. Cafu, who is Brazil’s record appearance maker with 142 caps, excelled in both attack and defence, winning a plethora of trophies with Sao Paolo, AS Roma, AC Milan and – of course – his country. Cafu was named in the ‘Ballon d’Or Dream Team’ in 2020, which further highlights what an exceptional footballer he was.

One of the greatest captains the sport has ever seen. Ramos’ leadership qualities and pragmatic excellence helped Real Madrid win four Champions Leagues in the space of five years, while he was key to Spain’s vice-like grip