Cristiano Ronaldo look away now! Thierry Henry pipped by a team-mate! And where does Lionel Messi rank among the greats? OLIVER HOLT's definitive 100 greatest footballers - so who comes out on top and do you agree?

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So let’s grasp the nettle straight away and start with an apology.

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry that I left so many wonderful players off this list and I’m sorry if they were your favourite players. I’m sorry if there are players that mean the world to you, that you associate with a wonderful time in your life or a happiest moment, and I haven’t included them.

I’m sorry if Zlatan’s your hero and you don’t see his name here. I always thought he was a legend in his own mind, a gifted player whose bluster outweighed his talent. My apologies if you think that is heresy.

I’m sorry that Gianfranco Zola’s not on the list. What a player and how much joy he brought to so many people. I’m sorry Eden Hazard isn’t there. I’m sorry that Luis Suarez isn’t there. Not just one Luis Suarez, but two.

Mail Sport's Oliver Holt has compiled his personal list of the 100 greatest ever players 

Cristiano Ronaldo is the second best player of his generation, but where is he on the list?

Luis Suarez (left) and Sergio Aguero (right) are among the players not to be included in the 100

The Luis Suarez who played for Liverpool and provided moments that made the soul sing in his time at Anfield and the Luis Suarez who played for Inter in the 60s and is regarded as one of the greatest Spanish players of all time. I’m sorry I didn’t include either of them.

I’m sorry about Gabriel Batistuta and Michael Owen and Sergio Aguero and Bryan Robson and Ray Wilkins and John Barnes and Chris Waddle, who didn’t make my top 100, and who I loved to watch and have been lucky enough to speak to over the years and who I still idolise.

And I am imagining my esteemed colleague Jeff Powell shouting at me from his home in west London about the absence of Tom Finney. Jeff has watched a lot more football than me and compiled lists like this before and I know how high Finney is in his estimation.

So this list is flawed, there are too many English players on it and not enough Germans or Italians or Argentinians but it’s my list and I’m sticking with it. I took advice from Mail Sport’s brilliant football writer, Matt Barlow, and from former England player Kieron Dyer, both of whose opinions I value greatly but I didn’t ask for too much advice because what would be the point of compiling a list if it’s not yours?

It is made up of my favourite 100 players, players whose greatness demands inclusion, players who mean something special to me, players who I have read about, players whose skills I have watched over and over again, as we all do, on sometimes grainy television footage.

I’m not going to apologise about Cristiano Ronaldo being at number 10, by the way. I don’t see that that is even remotely controversial. Ronaldo is the second-best player of his generation. I think most football fans accept that. And this list is drawn from many generations.

And anyway, Ronaldo never made my soul lift the way Lionel Messi did. Again, many will disagree.

It’s not a cold, hard list. Elements of it are irrational, I suppose. That’s why Duncan Edwards is on it, even though he died of the injuries he sustained in the Munich Air Disaster when he was only 21.

Gabriel Batistuta (left) and John Barnes (right) were also not included in the list

By many metrics, he would not get close to a list of the top 100 footballers of all time but I grew up with grandparents who talked about him with misty eyes and I listened to Bobby Charlton talk about him and I read of everything he achieved in his short career. I’m happy he’s on this list.

Maybe Johnny Rep would not be on too many people’s lists, either, but when I was a kid, he epitomised the joy of Holland’s Total Football for me. He was one of the players who started my love for football. And Eder was not the greatest of the Brazil team of 1982 but I leapt off my sofa when he scored that chip against Scotland and I idolised him.

And I decided to cheat a little by using a Ryder Cup style captain’s pick to include Norman Whiteside on my list at number 100 because I will always associate the visceral joy of watching football with him.

I will always remember hugging strangers in the mayhem and the tumult of the Manchester United end at the 1985 FA Cup Final at the old Wembley when Whiteside scored the goal that won the game against that mighty Everton side. He was a brilliant player, better than he was ever given credit for, but he's an indulgence on this list.

Duncan Edwards makes the list despite his early death aged 21 in the the Munich Air Disaster

Any list – your list as well as my list – can become dominated by those who are not on it. But really, it should be about the players who are on it. This list is meant as a celebration of them and of football’s rich, rich history and of what the game means to all of us and of what players mean to us and why they capture something in us.

I know you’ll disagree with some of the names on the list and you’ll be right to. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The depth of our feeling for the game and the intensity of our opinions about the players are just some of the things that make football so beautiful.

50. Gareth Bale

After John Charles, Wales’ greatest player. Certainly the principality’s most decorated player. 

Bale was a flying winger with a devastating left foot who won a fistful of Champions League winner’s medals and scored in two Champions League finals against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool. He also led Wales to the semi-finals of the 2016 European Championships.

Gareth Bale's iconic goal in the Copa del Rey final of 2014 when he burst past Barcelona's Marc Bartra was the Welshman at his flying best and he is his country's second greatest player

49. Robert Lewandowski

A prolific goalscorer at Bayern Munich, he won eight Bundesliga titles and the Champions League with the German champions. 

Harry Kane is trying to chase down his single-season scoring record of 41 goals. Moved to Barcelona and was La Liga’s leading goalscorer in the 2022-23 season.

Robert Lewandowski is second only to Gerd Muller in Bayern Munich's list of all-time top goalscorers

48. John Robertson

Brian Clough used to tell new signings at Nottingham Forest to give the ball to ‘the fat lad on the left’. 

He was referring to Robertson who ran the team from the left flank and was the key man as Forest won successive European Cup finals in 1979 and 1980. 

Robertson got the winner in the second of those games, against Hamburger SV but, outside Nottingham, has never quite got the credit he deserved.

John Robertson was a key figure in Nottingham Forest's European Cup winning teams 

47. Roy Keane

One of the top five players in the last 30 years of English football. It feels a little as if, perhaps because of his television persona, some people have forgotten quite how good he was when he was the driving force of Sir Alex Ferguson’s great Manchester United teams of the 90s. 

His performance for United in the 1999 Champions League semi-final second leg against Juventus in the Stadio delle Alpi, especially after a booking meant he knew he would be ruled out of the final, was one of the finest individual displays I’ve ever seen.

Roy Keane is one of the top five players in the last 30 years of English football and his performance against Juventus in 1999 is one of the finest individual displays I've seen

46. Lothar Matthaus

The first outfield player to appear at five World Cups and Germany’s record appearance holder, Matthaus was a formidable box-to-box midfielder with relentless drive and energy, who was a powerful striker of the ball. 

He won the World Cup with West Germany in 1990 and league titles with Inter Milan in Italy and Bayern Munich in Germany.

Lothar Matthaus was a formidable box-to-box midfielder with relentless drive and energy

45. Hugo Sanchez

Leading scorer in La Liga four years in succession in the mid-80s and five times altogether, Sanchez was a brilliant forward, a scorer of spectacular goals and a performer of spectacular celebrations, he also led Mexico to the quarter finals of the World Cup in 1986.

Hugo Sanchez was LaLiga's leading scorer in four straight seasons and was a brilliant forward

44. Paul Gascoigne

The greatest English player since Bobby Charlton, Gascoigne’s career as a creative midfielder was blighted by a serious knee injury sustained in the 1991 FA Cup Final.

Despite scoring a memorable goal against Scotland at Euro 96, he was never quite the same player again. But the well-remunerated players of today’s Premier League owe him a huge debt. 

It was partly his heroics for England at the 1990 World Cup, and his tears in the semi-final defeat to West Germany, that sparked the boom in the English game and led towards the league becoming the most celebrated in the world.

Paul Gascoigne's tears at the 1990 World Cup  sparked the boom in the English game 

43. Hristo Stoichkov

A combustible forward, he wielded his left foot like a grudge. Stoichkov was the top scorer at the 1994 World Cup in the USA and won the Ballon d’Or the same year. 

A prolific striker, he was part of Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team at Barcelona where he helped them win the European Cup for the first time in 1992.

Hristo Stoichkov was the top scorer at the 1994 World Cup in the USA and won the Ballon d’Or the same year

42. Denis Law

One third of Manchester United’s Holy Trinity, The Lawman was a goal-poacher supreme. He scored 237 goals in 404 matches for United. 

Only Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton scored more. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1964, the only Scottish player to have done so.

Denis Law was superb at Manchester United and is the only Scotsman to win the Ballon d'Or

41. Thomas Muller

One of Bayern Munich’s greatest players, he has won a record 12 Bundesliga titles and two Champions League trophies with the German giants. 

He has become a byword for club loyalty but also for versatility, longevity and the skill and vision that has allowed him to be the brains of Bayern forward lines for more than a decade.

Thomas Muller is one of Bayern Munich's greatest players with a record 12 Bundesliga titles

40. Romario

One of football’s greatest goalscorers, he did not possess quite the same flair as other Brazilian greats and is not as revered in his homeland as some who came before and after. 

But he scored the goals that got Brazil to the 1994 World Cup final where they won their fourth title.

Romario is one of football's greatest scorers and helped lead Brazil to their fourth World Cup

39. Jairzinho

Overshadowed by Pele, but anyone who scored in every game of Brazil’s march to World Cup victory in 1970 – Jairzinho is still the only player to achieve this feat – deserves to be on this list. 

A club legend at Botafogo, he replaced his idol Garrincha as a revered winger for the national team.

Jairzinho scored in every game of Brazil's march to victory at the 1970 World Cup

38. Thierry Henry

One of the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ in their unbeaten season of 2003-04, Henry was the talisman for Arsene Wenger’s great sides and a forward who bewitched English football. 

He had to go to Barcelona to win the Champions League but by then he was already a World Cup and European Championships winner with France and established in the pantheon of the best players to have graced the game.  

Henry is one of the Premier League's biggest icons and is a member of the 'Invincibles'

37. Dennis Bergkamp

I was at the Stade Velodrome in 1998 when Bergkamp scored the wonder goal that won a World Cup second round tie for Holland against Argentina and became an instant classic. 

He was a scorer of great goals, more than a great goalscorer, a player of rare subtlety and guile and grace. 

He was one of the most influential of foreign imports into the Premier League, too, the kind of player who changed our football forever.

Dennis Bergkamp is one of the most influential foreign imports into the English game

36. Franco Baresi

The Rolls Royce of defenders. Following on from a generation of hard men like Claudio Gentile, Baresi might not exactly have killed you with kindness but he was such a bright reader of the game that he anticipated danger before he needed to resort to the unseemly methods of old.

Franco Baresi was the Rolls Royce of defenders and an excellent reader of the game

35. Gerson

The ‘brain’ of the Brazil 1970 World Cup winning side, Gerson was the glue that held the stars of the team together and set its tempo. 

Often overlooked, he was one of the most important players in the greatest national side of all time.

Gerson (centre right) was the glue that held Brazil's 1970 World Cup winning side together

34. George Weah

The greatest African player of all time, Weah was a prolific goalscorer for AC Milan, where he won two Serie A titles in the 1990s, and remains the only African player to have won the Ballon d’Or, in 1995. 

A forward with searing pace and dazzling skill, he was also named the European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year.

George Weah remains the only African player to ever win the Ballon d'Or award

33. Andres Iniesta

They were inseparable during their playing careers so let’s not separate Xavi and Iniesta on this list, either. 

Iniesta, too, was remarkably adept at receiving the ball in tight spaces and retaining possession. 

He was a beautiful passer of the ball and it was his winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final that sealed a period of Spanish dominance in the international game.

Andres Iniesta (right) was a beautiful passer of the ball and scored several important goals including in the 2010 World Cup final and against Chelsea (pictured) in 2009

32. Xavi

A metronome of a midfielder, the fulcrum of the Pep Guardiola Barcelona team that many believe to be the best club side of all time. 

Xavi was so technically adept that he could dictate play without opponents having a chance of stealing the ball from him. He was an accomplished conductor of the most beguiling of orchestras.

Andres Iniesta and Xavi were inseparable in their careers, even on this list 

31. Paolo Maldini

A one-club man who played for AC Milan for more than two decades and holds the Serie A appearance record for an outfield player, Maldini played in eight European Cup and Champions League finals and, even in a country that reveres its defenders, is regarded as the greatest left back Italy has ever produced.

Maldini played in eight European Cup and Champions League finals in a legendary career

30. Stanley Matthews

The wizard of dribble was a supremely talented winger who was the first winner of the Ballon d’Or, beating Di Stefano into second place. 

He played for most of his career at Blackpool, the team he inspired to a memorable victory in the 1953 FA Cup Final against Bolton Wanderers, a match that has become known simply as The Matthews Final. 

He played in the top flight with Stoke City until he was over 50 and remains the oldest player ever to appear in England’s leading division.

Stanley Matthews was the first ever winner of the Ballon d'Or and played past the age of 50

29. Lev Yashin

The world’s first sweeper-keeper, Yashin is credited with revolutionising the position of goalkeeper by dominating his defence and pioneering a more proactive attitude towards starting attacks. 

He was a brilliant shot-stopper and holds the world record for the number of penalties saved at over 150. He played 74 times for the Soviet Union and is the only goalkeeper ever to have won the Ballon d’Or.

Lev Yashin (seen punching the ball) was the world's first sweeper-keeper and is the only player in his position to have won the Ballon d'Or

28. Nándor Hidegkuti

An integral part of the Mighty Magyars Hungary side that ripped England to shreds at Wembley in 1953, Hidegkuti was one of the first to play as a withdrawn centre forward and used his superb technical ability to tear sides apart. 

He scored a hat-trick in that 6-3 over England and helped lead Hungary to the World Cup final in 1954.

Nandor Hidegkuti was part of the Hungarian side that ripped England apart back in 1953 (pictured scoring against Germany during the 1954 World Cup)

27. Duncan Edwards

This is an unashamedly sentimental pick. It is a selection made, I suppose, on the idea of the player everyone knew that Edwards would have become as much as for what he actually achieved.

Picked for England when he was 18, Edwards was the colossus of the Busby Babes side that was decimated in the Munich Air Disaster. 

Bobby Charlton said he was the greatest player he ever saw. He had already won two league titles and won 18 caps for England when he died at the age of 21.

Duncan Edwards was described by Sir Bobby Charlton as the greatest player he ever saw 

26. Kenny Dalglish

A creator as well as a scorer, Dalglish was a football clinician, precise as a surgeon’s scalpel with his passing and his finishing. 

His partnership with Ian Rush at Liverpool is one of the greatest in club history. He won three European Cups and his winner against FC Bruges in the 1978 final was one of the coolest chips you will ever see.

Kenny Dalglish is widely regarded as Liverpool's greatest ever player for his exploits in the 1970s and 80s

25. John Charles

The Gentle Giant, Charles’ greatness rests on his appearances for Leeds United in the 1950s and especially his career with Juventus, where he distinguished himself as a player who could operate either as a centre forward or a centre half. 

Charles, who played for Wales in the 1958 World Cup finals, was a big man but he was technically brilliant, too. 

He won three league titles with Juve and was Serie A’s leading scorer in 1957-58. In 1997, Italian fans voted him the best ever foreign import, ahead of Zidane, Maradona and Platini.

Italian fans voted John Charles as the best ever foreign import after his exploits at Juventus

24. Gianni Rivera

A sublime playmaker, Rivera mastered the knack, as completely as anyone in football every mastered it, of making the game slow down around him. 

A beautifully composed midfielder, he won three Serie A titles with AC Milan, two European Cups and scored the winner in Italy’s epic 1970 World Cup semi-final win over West Germany.

Gianni Rivera (left with Jimmy Greaves) was a sublime playmaker and played big roles for AC Milan and Italy

23. Bobby Moore

An immaculate defender, a clinical tackler and a player who remains a revered symbol of elegant, unhurried leadership in English sport. 

Moore was the captain who led England to World Cup victory in 1966 and then wiped his hands clear of mud on the way up the Wembley steps so that he would not dirty the Queen’s white gloves when she presented him with the trophy. 

He became a template for a ball-playing centre-back.

Bobby Moore lifting the World Cup in 1966 is one of football's most iconic images

22. Cafu

If Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning team was famed for its Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo front line, Cafu was its captain and beating pulse. 

A fabulous defender and a full-back who was an auxiliary attacker. 

Kieron Dyer remembers playing at left midfield against him for England when Brazil were down to 10 men in the 2002 World Cup quarter final and being forced to play left back because of Cafu’s relentless energy, even with a man down.

Cafu was Brazil's beating pulse in a team full of attacking talent during the 2002 World Cup

21. Marco van Basten

Part of the great AC Milan triumvirate of the 1990s, with Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, Van Basten was a cultured forward who made goalscoring look easy. 

His winner for Holland against the Soviet Union in the 1988 European Championships final was one of the greatest goals ever scored.

Marco Van Basten was a huge success at AC Milan and scored one of the best ever goals with his winner for Holland against Soviet Union in the 1988 European Championship final

20. Michel Platini

Given the political indignities that have befallen him in his life after playing, it is sometimes easy to forget what a majestic playmaker Platini was. 

He was a model of French insouciance and pure elegance. I saw him play for Juventus against Aston Villa at Villa Park in 1983. It was like watching a three-star Michelin chef serving up a banquet.

Michel Platini was a majestic playmaker who was a model of French insouciance and elegance

19. Roberto Baggio

The Divine Ponytail was a player whose individualism and flamboyant style captured the imagination of a generation. 

World Player of the Year in 1993, he scored in three World Cups and his bravura play on home soil in the 1990 finals was the highlight of the tournament. Another player who made the heart sing.

Roberto Baggio's flamboyant style captured the imagination of a generation

18. Ronaldinho

I still don’t know if Ronaldinho meant his chip over David Seaman in the 2002 World Cup quarter-final that eliminated England and sent Brazil on towards winning the tournament but it doesn’t affect his position on this list. 

He scored one of the most bewitching goals I have ever seen live, the extravagant toe-poke for Barcelona against Chelsea in their 2005 Champions League tie at Stamford Bridge. 

He was one of football’s great entertainers, a font of tricks and flicks and breathtaking goals.

Ronaldinho was one of football's greatest ever entertainers and had a huge array of tricks 

17. Eusebio

The only Portuguese player to win the World Cup Golden Boot, in 1966, Eusebio was a bullet of a forward who combined intelligence, power and speed. 

In English football, he is remembered for the shot that Alex Stepney saved in Manchester United’s 1968 European Cup final against Benfica but Eusebio had already won the trophy once by then, scoring in Benfica’s 5-3 win over Real Madrid in 1962.

Eusebio was a bullet of a forward who is the only Portuguese player to win a World Cup golden boot

16. Kylian Mbappe

The highest active player in a leading league in this list, Mbappe has already won the World Cup once, in 2018, and scored a hat-trick in the final in 2022, becoming only the second player after Sir Geoff Hurst to achieve that feat. 

A magician of a forward, blessed with pace, technique and dazzlingly quick feet, Mbappe’s club career has not yet hit the same heights as his international career. That may change next season when it is thought he will join Real Madrid from PSG.

Kylian Mbappe added to his growing reputation with a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final

15. Gerd Muller

The greatest pure goalscorer of all time, Muller won every trophy there was to win with Bayern Munich and West Germany and scored the goals that won them. 

It was not just that he was prolific and that he had an extraordinary instinct of how to be in the right place at the right time, it was also that he stepped up on the biggest stages, including getting the winner in the 1974 World Cup final.

Gerd Muller (left) won every trophy that there was to win with Bayern Munich and West Germany

14. Bobby Charlton

England’s greatest footballer, the scale of what he achieved is hard to surpass given what he suffered. 

A survivor of the Munich Air Disaster of 1958 that took so many of his friends and teammates, including Duncan Edwards, who might have been near the top of this list had he lived, Charlton fulfilled that team’s destiny by winning the European Cup with Manchester United in 1968. 

A marauding midfielder with a cannonball shot, he had helped lead England to their only World Cup triumph at Wembley in 1966.

Bobby Charlton survived the Munich Air Disaster to have a legendary career for club and country

13. Ferenc Puskas

The leader of the Mighty Magyars, Puskas was the leading talent in the Hungary team that took England apart 6-3 at Wembley in 1953. 

His first goal that day was a masterpiece of skill and impudence, an extravagant drag-back that suckered an England defender, followed by a cannonball of a finish. Puskas averaged more than a goal a game in his career, he led Hungary to the 1954 World Cup final and formed a brilliant partnership with Di Stefano at Real Madrid.

Ferenc Puskas was the leading talent in the Hungary side that took England apart

12. Franz Beckenbauer

Der Kaiser was an imperious player who made defending look beautiful. He read the game as well as any player in history but he was also an immaculate tackler and a fine passer of the ball. 

He was the mainstay of the great West Germany teams of the late 60s and early 70s.

Franz Beckenbauer made defending look beautiful and was a mainstay for West Germany

11. George Best

Best’s achievements were largely confined to club football because playing for Northern Ireland robbed him of the opportunity to appear at major tournaments.

What he did for Manchester United was enough to celebrate his talent, though. He was the genius who gilded the Sir Matt Busby side that won the 1968 European Cup final, one of the Holy Trinity with Denis Law and Bobby Charlton. 

Like Cruyff, he stood for something, too. He stood for the irrepressibility of talent, the joy of expression, a celebration of individuality and a refusal to be tamed.

George Best's genius helped lead Manchester United to the European Cup back in 1968

10. Cristiano Ronaldo

A magnificent athlete and a wonderful goalscorer, Ronaldo was a supreme individualist, a clinical finisher, a majestic header of the ball and a fine free-kick specialist. 

Nurtured by Sir Alex Ferguson in his youth, he won Champions Leagues with Manchester United and Real Madrid and the European Championships with Portugal.

His dedication, his scoring prowess and his love of the game helped to make him second only to Messi in his generation of footballers.

Ex-Real Madrid and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is second only to Lionel Messi in his generation of players

9. Zico

He never won a World Cup but he is regarded within Brazil with more affection than many of those in the teams of 1994 and 2002 who did. 

A sublime number 10 and a master of the dead ball, he was the jewel of the 1982 World Cup side. Flamengo’s all-time hero, his statue stands at the top of the stairs of the club’s superstore in Rio.

Zico didn't win a World Cup but is ranked higher in his country than some of their stars who have

8. Garrincha

A dribbler extraordinaire, Garrincha is revered by many in Brazil every bit as much as Pele. 

He was the unsung hero of the 1958 World Cup win and the player of the tournament in 1962 when Pele was ruled out by injury in the early stages. He epitomised the wonderful excitement of wing-play.

Garrincha (left) is revered by many in Brazil every bit as much as Pele

7. Ronaldo Nazario

The original Ronaldo and the greatest Ronaldo. If it were not for the injuries that crippled much of his career, Ronaldo would have been higher on this list. 

Il Fenomeno was one of the greatest dribblers of all time. A bewitching, blur of a player with lightning pace and immaculate control, he was a joy to watch. 

He led Brazil to World Cup victory in 2002, the last time they won the tournament. 

He was so good that when he was substituted after scoring a hat-trick for Real Madrid in a Champions League tie against Manchester United, the home fans at Old Trafford gave him a standing ovation as he left the pitch.

Ronaldo is seventh on this list and could have been even higher if it were not for injuries

6. Alfredo di Stefano

Widely regarded as Real Madrid’s greatest ever player, he won five European Cup finals and scored in every one. 

Franz Beckenbauer believed him to be the best player to have graced the game and he scored a hat-trick in one of football’s greatest occasions, Real’s 7-3 European Cup final victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park in 1960, a match witnessed by a young Alex Ferguson.

Alfredo Di Stefano is one of Real Madrid's greatest players and won five European Cups

5. Zinedine Zidane

Watching Zidane was like watching a ballet dancer in football boots. His noble bearing, the way he glided across the pitch and his unrivalled technical ability all made him a delight to watch both for France, winning the World Cup in 1998, and for Juventus and Real Madrid. 

Watch the way he controls a throw from Fabien Barthez and turns away from his marker in one movement in a 2001 game against Denmark for a snapshot of his genius.

Zinedine Zidane scored one of the all-time great goals in a Champions League final in 2002

4. Johan Cruyff

The most intelligent footballer of all-time, Cruyff played like the conductor of an orchestra. 

He and coach Rinus Michels became synonymous with the concept of Total Football and his influence can still be felt in the principles applied by Pep Guardiola. 

Cruyff, who won the European Cup three times in a row with Ajax, was a creative genius who was the fulcrum of the wonderful Holland team that reached the 1974 World Cup final. 

Some of us are still in mourning that they lost the game to West Germany.

Johan Cruyff's influence can still be felt today in the principles applied by Pep Guardiola

3. Diego Maradona

The scorer of the greatest individual World Cup goal of all time, against England in 1986, Maradona was a rebel angel whose ability took the breath away. 

His low centre of gravity gave him incredible balance and poise and strength. 

There were times where it seemed an entire team could not contain him. 

He was a giant of a player, both for Argentina and for Napoli, who he led to improbable Serie A titles.

Diego Maradona scored the greatest individual World Cup goal of all time against England

2. Pele

I did not queue up to file past the coffin of the Queen when she died but I did queue up to file past the coffin of the King. In football terms, that was what Pele was and will always be. 

When he died at the end of 2022, I went to Santos in Brazil to join the mourners at his funeral and the hours I spent in the queue with hundreds of thousands of Brazilians, young and old, was a reminder of the joy he had spread through football. He was the personification of the Beautiful Game. 

He is the only player to have won the World Cup three times, the first time as a teenager in 1958. He was the figurehead of the greatest football team of all time, the Brazil side that won the 1970 World Cup. 

His part in the greatest team goal of all time, Brazil’s fourth in the 1970 final, summed him up: a perfectly-weighted, beautifully elegant, typically unselfish rolled pass to Carlos Alberto, who smashed it into the net. The beauty of simplicity.

Brazil legend Pele was the personification of the Beautiful Game during his legendary career

1. Lionel Messi

A week before Christmas, in December 2016, I took my nine-year-old son to watch Lionel Messi play for Barcelona in the Nou Camp. 

My son doesn’t even like football particularly but I wanted him to see Messi play anyway. Because Messi is the greatest to have ever played the game and because I wanted my son to be able to tell people, maybe his own kids or his grandkids, that he had seen Messi play. 

Messi scored in the game we watched, against Espanyol, and the headline on the front of the Sport newspaper the next morning was ‘El Messias’. And that is what he was to football. He was the Messiah. He was the one we had been waiting for. 

Leading Argentina to winning the World Cup in 2022 erased the last doubt in his claim to be the greatest player ever. His goalscoring record is phenomenal and his appreciation of time and space is other-worldly. 

He spreads joy whenever he plays. The last memory of him playing live that I’ll cherish is seeing him turn Jokso Gvardiol inside-out in the World Cup semi-final against Croatia in the Lusail Stadium in Qatar in 2022 as a precursor to setting up a tap-in for Julian Alvarez. It was just one of many moments of genius.

Lionel Messi's World Cups success erased the last doubt in his claim to the greatest ever

Now tell us what you think. Do you agree with Holt's list? Email us your thoughts at top100@dailymail.co.uk