FIFA 100

The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London, England, as part of the celebrations commemorating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international governing body of football.^[1]^[2]

The figure 100 does not refer number of players nominated in the list, which is actually 125. Pelé was asked by FIFA to select 50 active players and 50 retired players from a shortlist of 300, but found it too difficult to limit himself and therefore picked 50 current and 75 former players.^[1]^[3] The list contains 123 men and two women (Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm).

More information Player, Nationality ...

Players appearing in the FIFA 100 list
Player	Nationality	Position	Status (in 2004)	Born	Died
Gabriel Batistuta	Argentina	Forward	Active	1969	—
Hernán Crespo	Argentina	Forward	Active	1975	—
Alfredo Di Stéfano	Argentina^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Forward	Retired	1926	2014
Mario Kempes	Argentina	Forward	Retired	1954	—
Diego Maradona	Argentina	Midfielder	Retired	1960	2020
Daniel Passarella	Argentina	Defender	Retired	1953	—
Javier Saviola	Argentina	Forward	Active	1981	—
Omar Sívori	Argentina^{[lower-alpha 2]}	Forward	Retired	1935	2005
Juan Sebastián Verón	Argentina	Midfielder	Active	1975	—
Javier Zanetti	Argentina	Defender/Midfielder	Active	1973	—
Jan Ceulemans	Belgium	Midfielder	Retired	1957	—
Jean-Marie Pfaff	Belgium	Goalkeeper	Retired	1953	—
Franky Van der Elst	Belgium	Midfielder	Retired	1961	—
Carlos Alberto	Brazil	Defender	Retired	1944	2016
Cafu	Brazil	Defender	Active	1970	—
Falcão	Brazil	Midfielder	Retired	1953	—
Júnior	Brazil	Midfielder	Retired	1954	—
Pelé	Brazil	Forward	Retired	1940	2022
Rivaldo	Brazil	Midfielder	Active	1972	—
Rivellino	Brazil	Midfielder	Retired	1946	—
Roberto Carlos	Brazil	Defender	Active	1973	—
Romário	Brazil	Forward	Active	1966	—
Ronaldinho	Brazil	Midfielder/Forward	Active	1980	—
Ronaldo	Brazil	Forward	Active	1976	—
Djalma Santos	Brazil	Defender	Retired	1929	2013
Nílton Santos	Brazil	Defender	Retired	1925	2013
Sócrates	Brazil	Midfielder	Retired	1954	2011
Zico	Brazil	Midfielder/Forward	Retired	1953	—
Hristo Stoichkov	Bulgaria	Forward	Retired	1966	—
Roger Milla	Cameroon	Forward	Retired	1952	—
Elías Figueroa	Chile	Defender	Retired	1946	—
Iván Zamorano	Chile	Forward	Retired	1967	—
Carlos Valderrama	Colombia	Midfielder	Retired	1961	—
Davor Šuker	Croatia^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Forward	Retired	1968	—
Josef Masopust	Czech Republic^{[lower-alpha 4]}	Midfielder	Retired	1931	2015
Pavel Nedvěd	Czech Republic	Midfielder	Active	1972	—
Brian Laudrup	Denmark	Forward	Retired	1969	—
Michael Laudrup	Denmark	Midfielder	Retired	1964	—
Peter Schmeichel	Denmark	Goalkeeper	Retired	1963	—
Gordon Banks	England	Goalkeeper	Retired	1937	2019
David Beckham	England	Midfielder	Active	1975	—
Bobby Charlton	England	Midfielder	Retired	1937	2023
Kevin Keegan	England	Forward	Retired	1951	—
Gary Lineker	England	Forward	Retired	1960	—
Michael Owen	England	Forward	Active	1979	—
Alan Shearer	England	Forward	Active	1970	—
Eric Cantona	France	Forward	Retired	1966	—
Marcel Desailly	France	Defender	Active	1968	—
Didier Deschamps	France	Midfielder	Retired	1968	—
Just Fontaine	France	Forward	Retired	1933	2023
Thierry Henry	France	Forward	Active	1977	—
Raymond Kopa	France	Forward	Retired	1931	2017
Jean-Pierre Papin	France	Forward	Retired	1963	—
Robert Pires	France	Midfielder	Active	1973	—
Michel Platini	France^{[lower-alpha 5]}	Forward	Retired	1955	—
Lilian Thuram	France	Defender	Active	1972	—
Marius Trésor	France	Defender	Retired	1950	—
David Trezeguet	France	Forward	Active	1977	—
Patrick Vieira	France	Midfielder	Active	1976	—
Zinedine Zidane	France	Midfielder	Active	1972	—
Michael Ballack	Germany	Midfielder	Active	1976	—
Franz Beckenbauer	Germany^{[lower-alpha 6]}	Defender	Retired	1945	2024
Paul Breitner	Germany^{[lower-alpha 6]}	Midfielder/Defender	Retired	1951	—
Oliver Kahn	Germany	Goalkeeper	Active	1969	—
Jürgen Klinsmann	Germany^{[lower-alpha 7]}	Forward	Retired	1964	—
Sepp Maier	Germany^{[lower-alpha 6]}	Goalkeeper	Retired	1944	—
Lothar Matthäus	Germany^{[lower-alpha 7]}	Midfielder/Defender	Retired	1961	—
Gerd Müller	Germany^{[lower-alpha 6]}	Forward	Retired	1945	2021
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	Germany^{[lower-alpha 6]}	Forward	Retired	1955	—
Uwe Seeler	Germany^{[lower-alpha 6]}	Forward	Retired	1936	2022
Abedi Pele	Ghana	Forward	Retired	1964	—
Ferenc Puskás	Hungary^{[lower-alpha 8]}	Forward	Retired	1927	2006
Roberto Baggio	Italy	Forward/Midfielder	Active	1967	—
Franco Baresi	Italy	Defender	Retired	1960	—
Giuseppe Bergomi	Italy	Defender	Retired	1963	—
Giampiero Boniperti	Italy	Forward	Retired	1928	2021
Gianluigi Buffon	Italy	Goalkeeper	Active	1978	—
Alessandro Del Piero	Italy	Forward	Active	1974	—
Giacinto Facchetti	Italy	Defender	Retired	1942	2006
Paolo Maldini	Italy	Defender	Active	1968	—
Alessandro Nesta	Italy	Defender	Active	1976	—
Gianni Rivera	Italy	Defender	Retired	1943	—
Paolo Rossi	Italy	Forward	Retired	1956	2020
Francesco Totti	Italy	Forward/Midfielder	Active	1976	—
Christian Vieri	Italy	Forward	Active	1973	—
Dino Zoff	Italy	Goalkeeper	Retired	1942	—
Hidetoshi Nakata	Japan	Midfielder	Active	1977	—
George Weah	Liberia	Forward	Retired	1966	—
Hugo Sánchez	Mexico	Forward	Retired	1958	—
Marco van Basten	Netherlands	Forward	Retired	1964	—
Dennis Bergkamp	Netherlands	Forward	Active	1969	—
Johan Cruyff	Netherlands	Forward	Retired	1947	2016
Edgar Davids	Netherlands	Midfielder	Active	1973	—
Ruud Gullit	Netherlands	Midfielder	Retired	1962	—
René van de Kerkhof	Netherlands	Midfielder	Retired	1951	—
Willy van de Kerkhof	Netherlands	Midfielder	Retired	1951	—
Patrick Kluivert	Netherlands	Forward	Active	1976	—
Johan Neeskens	Netherlands	Midfielder	Retired	1951	—
Ruud van Nistelrooy	Netherlands	Forward	Active	1976	—
Rob Rensenbrink	Netherlands	Forward	Retired	1947	2020
Frank Rijkaard	Netherlands	Midfielder/Defender	Retired	1962	—
Clarence Seedorf	Netherlands	Midfielder	Active	1976	—
Jay-Jay Okocha	Nigeria	Midfielder	Active	1973	—
George Best	Northern Ireland	Midfielder	Retired	1946	2005
Romerito	Paraguay	Forward	Retired	1960	—
Teófilo Cubillas	Peru	Forward	Retired	1949	—
Zbigniew Boniek	Poland	Midfielder	Retired	1956	—
Eusébio	Portugal	Forward	Retired	1942	2014
Luís Figo	Portugal	Midfielder	Active	1972	—
Rui Costa	Portugal	Midfielder	Active	1972	—
Roy Keane	Republic of Ireland	Midfielder	Active	1971	—
Gheorghe Hagi	Romania	Midfielder	Retired	1965	—
Rinat Dasayev	Russia^{[lower-alpha 9]}	Goalkeeper	Retired	1957	—
Kenny Dalglish	Scotland	Forward	Retired	1951	—
El Hadji Diouf	Senegal	Forward	Active	1981	—
Hong Myung-bo	South Korea	Defender	Active	1969	—
Emilio Butragueño	Spain	Forward	Retired	1963	—
Luis Enrique	Spain	Midfielder	Active	1970	—
Raúl	Spain	Forward	Active	1977	—
Rüştü Reçber	Turkey	Goalkeeper	Active	1973	—
Emre Belözoğlu	Turkey	Midfielder	Active	1980	—
Andriy Shevchenko	Ukraine	Forward	Active	1976	—
Michelle Akers	United States	Midfielder/Forward	Retired	1966	—
Mia Hamm	United States	Forward	Active	1972	—
Enzo Francescoli	Uruguay	Forward/Midfielder	Retired	1961	—

Close

More information Rank, Nationality ...

Footballers by nationality^[4]^[5]
Rank	Nationality	No.
1	Brazil	15
2	France	14
2	Italy	14
4	Netherlands	13
5	Argentina	10
5	Germany	10
7	England	7
8	Belgium	3
	Denmark
	Portugal
	Spain
12	Chile	2
	Czech Republic
	Turkey
	United States
16	Bulgaria	1
	Cameroon
	Colombia
	Croatia
	Ghana
	Hungary
	Japan
	Liberia
	Mexico
	Nigeria
	Northern Ireland
	Paraguay
	Peru
	Poland
	Republic of Ireland
	Romania
	Russia
	Scotland
	Senegal
	South Korea
	Ukraine
	Uruguay

Footballers by playing position
Position	No.
Goalkeeper	9
Defender	20
Midfielder	43
Forward	53

Footballers by birth decade
Decade	No.
1920s	5
1930s	7
1940s	15
1950s	22
1960s	35
1970s	37
1980s	4

Close

Writing in the Evening Standard, politician turned football pundit, David Mellor, felt the selections were politically motivated rather than being made on purely footballing grounds.^[6] He suggested the geographical spread of inclusions indicated the list came from then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter rather than Pelé himself. BBC columnist Tim Vickery expressed similar assertions.^[7]

Brazilian midfielder Gérson, who played alongside Pelé at the 1966 and 1970 FIFA World Cups, reacted to his omission by tearing up a copy of the list on a Brazilian television programme. Marco van Basten and Uwe Seeler refused to take part in the project on a point of principle.^[3]

Born in Argentina, De Stéfano played for both Spain and Argentina
Born in Argentina, Sívori played for both Italy and Argentina
Born in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, then part of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia, Šuker played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia
Masopust played for Czechoslovakia
Born in France, Platini played for both Kuwait and France
Played for the West Germany national team
Played for both the West Germany and Germany national teams
Born in Hungary, Puskás played for Spain and Hungary
Dasayev played for the Soviet Union

[1]
"Fifa names greatest list". BBC News. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
[2]
"FIFA Names Top 100 players" (Press release). Oceania Football Confederation. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
[3]
Davies, Christopher (4 March 2004). "Pele open to ridicule over top hundred". The Daily Telegraph. p. 42. Retrieved 10 February 2008 – via Newspapers.com.
[4]
"Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 26 June 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
[5]
"The Fifa 100". The Guardian. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
[6]
Mellor, David (5 March 2004). "Sing up for Ken, a true Blues man". Evening Standard Ltd. p. 77.
[7]
Vickery, Tim (8 March 2004). "Pele pays price for popularity". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2007.

[4] Born in Argentina, De Stéfano played for both Spain and Argentina

[5] Born in Argentina, Sívori played for both Italy and Argentina

[6] Born in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, then part of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia, Šuker played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia

[7] Masopust played for Czechoslovakia

[8] Born in France, Platini played for both Kuwait and France

[WG-9] Played for the West Germany national team

[WGG-10] Played for both the West Germany and Germany national teams

[11] Born in Hungary, Puskás played for Spain and Hungary

[12] Dasayev played for the Soviet Union

[BBCAnnouncement-1] [1]
"Fifa names greatest list". BBC News. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.

[OFCPressRelease-2] [2]
"FIFA Names Top 100 players" (Press release). Oceania Football Confederation. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.

[Telegraph-3] [3]
Davies, Christopher (4 March 2004). "Pele open to ridicule over top hundred". The Daily Telegraph. p. 42. Retrieved 10 February 2008 – via Newspapers.com.

[ListBBC-13] [4]
"Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 26 June 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.

[ListGuardian-14] [5]
"The Fifa 100". The Guardian. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.

[15] [6]
Mellor, David (5 March 2004). "Sing up for Ken, a true Blues man". Evening Standard Ltd. p. 77.

[16] [7]
Vickery, Tim (8 March 2004). "Pele pays price for popularity". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2007.

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FIFA 100

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