Best Football players of all time

This is an arbitrary subjective list of the best football players of all time . The list is in no particular order and views are subjective. There were way too many options so I potentially could have excluded a lot of options.

Here are the best football players of all time - 

GK Lev Yashin

The one who is nicknamed as The Black Spider man was indeed venom for opposition attackers, someone on whom the present day award for the best goalkeeper is named after definitely warrants a spot on the list. A pioneer who was way ahead of his time  in terms of athleticism,  positioning, aggressive  style of play in an era where playing conditions were less than ideal and far more rougher than today's polished game. 

His approach was unprecedented  and had set the standard  for future goalkeepers  to follow. Over 150 penalty saves and  270 clean sheets in almost over 350 appearances is absolutely bonkers. Honorable mention goes our to the liked of Neuer , Gordon Banks Buffon and  the legendary Scott Sterling among others .

CB Ledley King

For all rights and purposes , this man shouldn't have been able to walk let alone carve out 250+ appearances career at Premier League level with his knee problems that had plagued him throughout his entire career. Someone who didn't even train after a certain point in his career and only used to do fitness exercise on his own. 

The performances he put in week in week out defied any logic. A one club man with Tottenham, his longevity at the highest level wasn't just being their but competing for the best honours and captaining Tottenham to a League Cup Final in 2008 against Chelsea. Honourable mentions include Maldini , Jaap Staam Cannavaro , Koeman among others

LB/RB  Phillipp Lahm

The man never got a red card, should have as he wasn't the fastest by any means. Played RB, LB, CDM and CM even though was far from being a physical specimen, but still captained Germany to a World Cup win in 2014. Two 3rd place finishes in 2006 and 2010, over 100 senior  German Caps, over 650 appearances for Bayern and Stuttgart. 

Achieved the World Cup team of the tournament in 2006, 2010 and 2014, and the UEFA Team of the Tournament in 2008 and 2012 and in the UEFA Team of the Year 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Not the flashiest of full Backs unlike Dani Alves Maicon or Jordi Alba but did the job and did it as gracefully as anybody could hope to do so.

CAM  Michel Platini

Two other worldly GOATS names Messi and Ronaldo  have 13 Ballon D 'Orr combined, which has skewed the general perception of  the degree of difficulty to be at the top and give 10/10 Performances  week in week out. Along with Van Basten and Cryuff, they have won it 3 times each, but Platini had won it 3 consecutive times between 1983-1985 and achieving 3rd place finishes in 1197 and 1980.

His free kicks inspired the likes of Del Piero and Pirlo, his style of play was more poetry than perfection. He was a prolific goal scorer despite his lack of notable physical prowess, a distinct feature visibly noticeable in another so called lazy genius  of the modern game Ozil.

CDM Patrick Viera

A complete all action midfielder who had a presence that could strike fear into the hearts of opposition but also had the grace, technique and IQ to impact the game  with his forward runs. 

I could go on about his World Cup win, his time at Arsenal, both Milan clubs, his trophy cabinet etc. But the real impact he left was that being the embodiment of being the picture perfect captain leader legend while also making sure that his individual legacy remained intact. The man with the Vicks t-shirt was a complete package.

CM Xavi

If football was a human being, then Xavi would be its heartbeat. Though, if one was to purely use surface level stats as a metric, then xavi would come nowhere near in the conversation for the best ever. But when it came to deliver the goods on the pitch, everyone knew how integral xavi was to the tiki-taka way. 

While the likes of messi for Barcelona and David Villa for Spain were the Rockstar singers, Xavi was the conductor who pulled all the strings . His game might look simple at first,  but that's where his genius lies . Also , one doesn't manage to rake up over 100 Spain international appearances, win a World Cup and  represent Barca in arguably one of their greatest eras. Being a mainstay in their success for so long requires more than the ability to be a so called " Sideways/Short Pass merchant"

ST Ronaldo(R9)

Nicknamed the "Phenomenon", Ronaldo Nazario was the complete multi-purpose forward, tall but not too tall to be awkward and lanky, strong yet had the nimblest of  touches, shot power that can only be described as OP. He has the ability to shred through defensive lines in a single dribble  and his footwork and tricks defied physics  and unfortunately his own body. 

He was the main character while he was at his physical peak during  his time at Cruzeiro, PSV. Barca, Inter and even his final swansong at Cotinthians, where the now supposedly Fat Ronaldo inspired corinthians who were just promoted from the 2nd tier. They were cash-strapped to a League title showing us all that no matter what he truly had the ability to turn the game or even teams on their heads single handedly whether he was 17 or 33.

LW/RW  Garrincha

Known as the bent legged angle,  who had won 2 World Cups and was a key player alongside Pele in the all conquering Sealcao side of the 60s. He was Ronaldinho and Neymar combined (Hyperbolically) in terms of his approach and style of play in a time when footballers were far less protected and the game was a lot rougher. 

A direct winger who toyed with defenders like a child. Way ahead of his time, he is undoubtedly my pick, even though one can argue that he might have not been able to withstand the rigours of modern football, but a man can dream. And in this dream, Garrincha is pick for the winger spot.

Cover Credit - FC Barcelona