🏆 The 25 greatest players of the last 25 years: The best in 1st 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 have counted down our top 25 men's footballers of the 21st century so far and it is now time to reveal the winner.

Check out the list so far here

Today, our countdown concludes with...

1st: Lionel Messi (942 points)

After the tallying up of our votes, Lionel Messi is the best player of the last 25 years. But he is arguably also the best who has ever laced up a pair of football boots.

He has dominated world football at will for almost 20 years. When he has the ball at his feet, defenders are at his mercy and goalkeepers have no answer to him.

With the 2022 World Cup, he added the crowning glory to his footballing legacy. An incredible eight Ballon d'Or wins underlines his status as the outstanding footballer of his generation.

Fun fact

Messi holds the record for the most liked post on Instagram. The photo of him after his World Cup win has so far received 75.6 million likes. That is 15 million more likes than the second most liked post - the infamous photo of an egg.

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.

📸 Dan Mullan - 2022 Getty Images