On October 30, 2021, Diego Maradona will celebrate his 61st birthday if he does not die.
The legendary Argentine footballer tragically died in November 2020 after a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires. At the time, the football community expressed its condolences for the death of this most colorful figure and one of the greatest players in history.
Maradona is remembered for leading Argentina to the title in the 1986 World Cup final in Mexico. He also led Napoli to their only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990.
But how does Maradona rank among all the great men in history in the eyes of football fans?
On the Ranker website, the 50 greatest footballers of all time have been scheduled, with a total of 3.5 million votes.
Let's take a closer look at the results.
50. Hristo-Stoykov
49. Dennis Bergkamp
48. Piero
47. Cafu
Considering that the Brazilian is the only player to have played in three World Cup finals, only 47th, Cafu may be a little disappointed.
46. Pirlo
45. Philip Raham
44. Eric Cantona
43. Ryan Giggs
42. Oliver Kahn
41. Tony Kroos
40. Frank Lampard
39. Maldini
38. Bobby-Charlton
37. Sergio Ramos
36. Romario
35. Samuel Eto'o
34. Sergio Aguero
Aguero, who ranks ahead of the likes of Paulo Maldini, Bobby Charlton and Romario, may attract attention.
33. Raul
32. Roberto Carlos
31. Steven Gerald
Steven Gerrard is clearly a fantastic player for Liverpool, but seeing him at number 31 on this list shows how highly fans around the world rate him.
30. Roberto Baggio
29. Beckenbauer
28. Luis Suarez
27. Manuel Neuer
26. Luis Figo
25. Didier-Drogba
24. Iker-Casillas
23. Wayne Rooney
22. Thierry Henry
It's not shocking to see these superstars on the list. All these people were magnificent footballers at their peak.
Thierry Henry is arguably the greatest player in Premier League history and it may be a bit unfortunate that he was excluded from the top 20.
21. Zlatan-Ibrahimović
20. Karls-Puyol
19. David Beckham
It's surprising that Beckham is at such a high position on the list. The former England captain is a good player, but the 19th in history? This seems to be very generous, is it because of the value of the face?
18. Totti
17. George Best
16. Lev-Yassin
15. Harvey
14. Peter Schmeichel
13. Bailey
The most surprising thing is that Pele is only 13th! Even lower than Neymar! The Brazilian icon has been regarded by many as the greatest footballer of the past few decades. The Brazilian icon has been seen by many as the greatest footballer of all time over the past few decades, but perhaps his reputation has been affected by the fact that the three-time World Cup winner doesn't have many footage in the game compared to the other players on this list. For some, the fact that he has never played in Europe also works against him.
12. Neymar
11. Gianluigi Buffon
10. John Cruyff
9. Andrei Iniesta
8. Gerd-Müller
7. Luca Modric
Is Luka Modric the seventh best footballer in history? Since joining the Spanish giants from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, the Croatian midfielder has been very impressive at Real Madrid, but his ranking above Gelder Müller, Andre Iniesta and John Cruyff is still surprising.
6. Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho came in sixth and, based on sheer talent, felt right. The Brazilian is arguably the most skilled football player we've ever seen.
5.C Luo
Cristiano Ronaldo would certainly not be happy to see himself in fifth place, behind his former boss Zidane and brazilian star Ronaldo of the same name.
4. Zinedin-Zidane
3. Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
1. Diego Maradona
In the fan rankings, the late Maradona topped the charts, surpassing his compatriot Lionel Messi, the eternal legend.