🏆 The 25 greatest players of the last 25 years: Superman in 15th place | OneFootball

Welcome to OneFootball's definitive ranking of the 25 greatest players of the last 25 years.

Over the course of 25 days, we will be counting down our top 25 men's footballers of the 21st century so far, before revealing the winner on 1st January 2025.

Check out the list so far here

Today, our countdown continues with...

15th: Gianluigi Buffon (296 points)

Gianluigi Buffon remains an idol to this day to anyone who had aspirations of being a goalkeeper, with the Italian one of the best ever to grace the gloves.

He defined an era, popularising the position and changing the view of goalkeepers forever, going from strength to strength after his then world record transfer from Parma to Juventus.

At his peak, he had no equal and came second in the 2006 Ballon d'Or voting, only losing out to international and club colleague Fabio Cannavaro.

Fun fact

📸 Michael Regan - 2015 Getty Images

In March 2016 during a derby against Torino, Buffon set an incredible record by going 973 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal, eclipsing the mark of 929 which had previously been held by Sebastiano Rossi.

Watch him in action

How we voted

Thirty-eight members of OneFootball's global editorial team ranked their top 25 players of the 21st century so far. Players ranked at #1 earned 25 points, second place earned 24 points, and so on. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest individual ranking was placed higher on the list.

📸 GIUSEPPE CACACE - AFP