Brazil’s 20 Greatest Footballers Of All Time Revealed, From Garrincha To The King Pele
No nation has contributed more beauty, skill, and joy to the beautiful game than Brazil, whose yellow and green shirts remain instantly recognisable across the entire world.
The Seleção have produced generation after generation of extraordinary talent, with players ranked here by their stats, trophies, and overall impact at both club and international level.
Rounding out the top ten is Jairzinho, nicknamed The Hurricane, who scored 249 goals across his career, with 186 of those coming in 416 appearances for his beloved Botafogo.
Jairzinho earned 81 national team caps, scoring 33 goals, before retiring in 1982 with a trophy cabinet that reflected one of Brazilian football’s most complete careers.
Kaka sits ninth on the list, having moved from São Paulo to AC Milan in 2003 and gone on to win Serie A, the Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the Ballon d’Or.
His historic £56m move to Real Madrid in June 2009, the same summer Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at the club, promised so much, but persistent knee problems prevented him from fulfilling his enormous potential in Spain.
Kaka eventually retired with 92 Brazil caps and 29 international goals to his name, cementing his place among the finest midfielders his country has ever produced.
Neymar Jr, the only active player in the top ten, has scored more international goals than Pele and boasts over 350 goals in more than 600 club appearances, winning the Champions League with Barcelona and multiple Ligue 1 titles with Paris Saint-Germain.
Zico, described by Gary Lineker as “unbelievable,” scored a staggering 529 goals in 724 Flamengo appearances and remains one of the most lethal forwards Brazil has ever seen, winning the Copa América in 1979.
Rivaldo played a pivotal role in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup triumph, scoring in each of the first five games and forming a devastating attacking partnership alongside Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
Romario, fifth on the list, won 70 caps and scored 55 goals for Brazil, lifted the 1994 World Cup, claimed three Eredivisie titles with PSV Eindhoven, and added a La Liga title with Barcelona.
Ronaldinho, fourth, scored 70 goals in just 145 Barcelona appearances, won two La Liga titles and the Champions League, and is still remembered for that extraordinary free kick that left David Seaman helpless.
The bronze medal position belongs to Garrincha, whose two-decade career included 238 appearances for Botafogo and whose brilliance in the 1958 and 1962 World Cups earned him a place in the sport’s eternal history.
Ronaldo, R9 himself, takes second place having scored 298 goals and registered 75 assists in 454 club appearances, winning two World Cups, two Copa Americas, and a collection of major domestic honours across Europe.
By retirement, the Itaguaí-born forward had made 98 senior international appearances, scoring 62 goals and averaging a goal involvement every 1.2 games across the entirety of his extraordinary career.
At number one, as surely nobody could doubt, stands the late great Pele, who scored a minimum of 680 club goals and racked up 77 goals in 92 appearances for the Brazilian national team.
He became the crucial figure in Brazil’s first World Cup triumph in 1958 at just 17 years of age, an achievement that announced to the world he was unlike any footballer seen before.
Pele would go on to win two further World Cups, though injury kept him largely sidelined during the 1962 campaign, and his legend has only grown with every passing generation of football fans.
His name and face remain known to every football supporter on the planet, regardless of whether they ever had the privilege of watching him play during his remarkable career.
No debate about Brazil’s greatest ever players can be had without Pele at its summit, the king of football and the undisputed standard by which every Brazilian who followed has been measured.