The Greatest Soccer Players of All Time Ranked by Height

The beauty of soccer is its universality.

This sport is “the only religion without atheists,” in the words of legendary Uruguayan scribe Eduardo Galeano. Everyone can believe wholeheartedly because they’ve seen someone who looks just like them succeed. The ultimate meritocracy has been conquered by players of every race, class and physical stature.

The view that bigger is better falls down upon even the lightest scrutiny of the game’s greatest players. In fact, some studies have shown that you can be too tall for your own good, with those who tower over referees more likely to get penalized as a consequence of the ‘Napoleon complex.’

In truth, those at either end of the extreme naturally aren’t the most eye-catching, but the spread of sporting talent between the peak and trough of human height is astounding.

5'1"

Elton

Career: 2004–2021
Position: Attacking Midfielder
National team: Brazil
Notable clubs: Corinthians, Al Nassr, Al Fateh
Notable honors: x1 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, x1 Saudi Pro League

The nickname “Élton Maradoninha” never quite stuck but “Élton Arábia” has. The former Corinthians midfielder only mustered a smattering of appearances for one of Brazil’s traditional giants before he carved out a respectable career for himself in the Saudi Kingdom, long before the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema came along.

5'2"

Fanny Walden

we've seen a grainy photo of ourr great pre-War outside right, Fanny Walden. Here he is in living colour for the first time ever. Born 1888, he played for us from 1913-1924. Best outside right we had til Sonny Walters in the Push and Run team and Terry Medwin. pic.twitter.com/sq6pW5fB6c
— Harry 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@Postecogniac) April 10, 2026

Career: 1905–1927
Position: Winger
National team: England
Notable clubs: Northampton Town, Tottenham Hotspur
Notable honors: x1 FA Cup

The early 20th century was a different time. Planes were a new thing, ‘Fanny’ was a common name, and people were demonstrably shorter. However, the average height at the time Frederick ‘Fanny’ Walden made his debut for England in 1914 was still 5'5".

The story goes that Walden’s first day as a senior professional for Northampton Town was delayed after an unwitting gateman directed the slight figure in front of him to the boys’ entrance. Despite his diminutive frame, the jet-heeled right winger emerged as a key figure for Tottenham Hotspur on either side of the First World War, racking up more than 200 league appearances for a side which would lift the FA Cup in 1921.

Honorable mentions: Jackie Crawford

5'3"

Sebastian Giovinco

Career: 2006–2022
Position: Striker
National team: Italy
Notable clubs: Juventus, Toronto FC
Notable honors: x2 Serie A, x1 MLS Cup

Spells with Empoli and Parma had proven Sebastian Giovinco, the man blessed with arguably the best nickname in soccer history, to be a Serie A forward of considerable talent. Antonio Conte briefly had faith in the Atomic Ant, yet the insatiable Italian’s quest for excellence would drive him to recruit Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente and drive Giovinco onto the bench.

When Toronto FC came calling in 2015, he simply couldn’t refuse. “My proposal had arrived, and there was a lot of money,” the Italy international (at a time when the country actually qualified for World Cups) bluntly recalled. “The train passes only once.”

Giovinco had a first class ticket bought for him and rewarded that faith with some of the most prolific seasons MLS has ever seen; he ended his career with an average of one goal or assist every 89 minutes in the competition.

5'4"

Omar Sivori

Career: 1954–1969
Position: Winger
National team: Argentina, Italy
Notable clubs: River Plate, Juventus, Napoli
Notable honors: x1 South American Championship, x3 Serie A, x3 Argentine Primera División

The former Juventus president Gianni Agnelli wonderfully captured the devilish pleasure that the club’s combustible Argentine inspired: “Sivori is a bad habit.”

Squat, short and laughably left footed, Omar Sivori was no athlete. Especially not compared to the regal figure of John Charles, his statesman like 6'2" Welsh strike partner in Turin. That was alright. He was instead a brilliant soccer player.

The 1961 Ballon d’Or winner bewitched defenders and spectators alike with an intoxicating weaving of his hips which was described at the time as “drunken dribbling.” Cursed with a temper which set all the wrong disciplinary records, the enduring charm of Sivori’s play—and his stack of titles at Juve—saw all that overshadowed.

Honorable mentions: Jimmy Johnstone

5'5"

Diego Maradona

Career: 1976–1997
Position: Attacking Midfielder
National team: Argentina
Notable clubs: Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli
Notable honors: x1 World Cup, x2 Serie A

Diego Maradona’s modest stature is a fundamental part of his myth.

The former editor of Argentina’s seminal soccer magazine El Gráfico once set out his vision for the definitive embodiment of the soul of the national sport: “A pibe [urchin child] with a dirty face, a mane of hair rebelling against the comb; with intelligent, roving, trickster and persuasive eyes and a sparkling gaze that seem to hint at a picaresque laugh that does not quite manage to form on his mouth, full of small teeth that might be worn down through eating yesterday’s bread.

“His trousers are a few roughly sewn patches; his vest with Argentinian stripes, with a very low neck and with many holes eaten out by the invisible mice of use ... His knees covered with the scabs of wounds disinfected by fate; barefoot or with shoes whose holes in the toes suggest they have been made through too much shooting. His stance must be characteristic; it must seem as if he is dribbling with a rag ball.”

That was penned in 1928. Thirty-two years before Maradona was born, 49 years before he first appeared for Argentina. Yet, it serves as an unerring description of the beloved 1986 World Cup winner.

There is simply no chance that Maradona would be so deeply cherished had he been of standard proportions. For starters, he wouldn’t have needed to use his hand to beat Peter Shilton to that ball. Many players would consider Maradona’s dimensions to be a deterrent to greatness. For El Diego, it was a form of destiny.

5'6"

Romario

Career: 1985–2009
Position: Striker
National team: Brazil
Notable clubs: Vasco da Gama, PSV, Barcelona
Notable honors: x1 World Cup, x2 Copa América, x1 La Liga, x3 Eredivisie

Given his generous interpretation of what should count towards his official goal tally, some may question how reliable Romário’s self-reported account of his height really is.

Whatever measuring tape trickery the Brazil international could conjure up, it would have been nothing compared to his ingenuity at the sharp end of the pitch. Roberto Baggio was not alone in hailing the former Barcelona star of the 1990s as “a master of art in the penalty area.”

5'7"

Lionel Messi

The music ends. Immortality doesn’t. pic.twitter.com/dgUQLOkymB
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) July 20, 2026

Career: 2004–
Position: Winger/Attacking Midfielder
National team: Argentina
Notable clubs: Barcelona, PSG, Inter Miami
Notable honors: x1 World Cup, x2 Copa América, x4 Champions League, x10 La Liga, x2 Ligue 1, x1 MLS Cup

When Lionel Messi joined his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys at six years old, he was four foot and the ball came up to his knee. By the time he turned 10, he had only grown two inches, prompting fears of a vertically-challenged future.

A consultation with Dr. Diego Schwarzstein found that a growth hormone deficiency would likely leave Messi as a five-foot-tall fully grown adult. Injection treatment into both legs was prescribed and the spindly tree sap shot up to 4'10" by the time he turned 12. But this came at a cost.

In monetary terms, that expense would stand at about $1,000 per month. In terms of commitment, Newell’s Old Boys’ refusal to cover these costs forced the Messis to seek a new club for their kid. A tape showing little Leo scoring, dribbling and juggling various household objects eventually caught the eye of Barcelona, who funded the treatment and got themselves perhaps the greatest player of all time in the process.

Honorable mentions: Garrincha, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández

5'8"

Pele

Pelé weaving around. — Pelé was an impressive headerer of the ball despite his modest stature. | IMAGO/Ferdi Hartung

Career: 1956–1977
Position: Striker
National team: Brazil
Notable clubs: Santos, New York Cosmos
Notable honors: x3 World Cup, x2 Copa Libertadores, x6 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

It can be easy for the modern viewer to snidely consign Pelé’s achievements to the context of a bygone era. Even Cristiano Ronaldo has scoffed that when he scores one thousand goals, they will all be “on video.” Yet, the very fact that there are so many layers of legend about one 5'8" Brazilian striker from the 1960s which still persist to this day is a triumph in itself for Pelé. Myths aren’t made up for just anyone.

While the available footage of the World Cup’s only three-time champion is nowhere near as extensive as Ronaldo’s collection of stepovers, there is enough to show the teenage phenom turned talismanic leader perform every piece of skill which his legendary successors had supposedly invented.

“Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory,” the great American artist Andy Warhol once mused, “instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.”

Honorable mentions: Ferenc Puskás, Zico, Kevin Keegan

5'9"

Gerd Muller

Career: 1963–1981
Position: Striker
National team: West Germany
Notable clubs: Bayern Munich
Notable honors: x1 World Cup, x1 Euros, x3 European Cup, x4 Bundesliga

In many obvious aspects, there is no obviously staggering quality of Gerd Müller which leaps out. Despite being called “kleines, dickes Müller” (“short, fat Müller”) by his first Bayern Munich manager, Zlatko Čajkovski, he was 5'9" with an average build. There were no grand statements, and he shunned the spotlight he was afforded. Yet, the legendary career which that spotlight afforded him was built upon an almost unrivaled talent for the hardest thing in the sport: scoring goals.

Müller simply put the ball in the back of the net more than any other player in his generation—and most others. The serial champion for club and country was so prolific it disguised his considerably well-rounded game.

Rather than being in the right place at the right time, Bayern Munich’s all-time top scorer was in the right place all the time. That ability to judge where a ball would drop was innate: “Something inside tells me, ‘Gerd, go this way, Gerd, go that way.’ And the ball is coming and I score.”

Honorable mentions: George Best, Eusébio, Lothar Matthaüs

5'10"

Johan Cruyff

Career: 1964–1984
Position: Wherever he wanted
National team: Netherlands
Notable clubs: Ajax, Barcelona, Feyenoord
Notable honors: x3 European Cup, x1 La Liga, x9 Eredivisie

Johan Cruyff’s fundamental sporting values stemmed from a typically revolutionary view of physical prowess, or rather, its lack of importance. Average height with a slight build, the regular smoker who would hide on cross-country runs was no modern athlete. Yet, he played the game with his mind, all twists, jinks and darts, a master of angles to the point that he was christened ‘Pythagoras in boots.’

“You play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you.”
Johan Cruyff

This staunch belief carried across to his managerial career. At Barcelona, the club’s ramshackle academy used to take X-rays of young boys’ wrists to see if they would grow beyond 1.8 meters (about 5'11") before even considering their application.

Cruyff, who wouldn’t have passed this medieval process himself, had it scrapped upon his return to the club as a manager. Over the subsequent years, Barcelona’s academy would go on to produce Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Messi, who would barely have met the threshold if they had all stood on each others’ shoulders.

Honorable mentions: Alfredo Di Stéfano, Michel Platini, Sandor Kocsis

5'11"

Franz Beckenbauer

Career: 1964–1983
Position: Sweeper
National team: West Germany
Notable clubs: Bayern Munich, New York Cosmos
Notable honors: x1 World Cup, x1 Euros, x3 European Cup, x5 Bundesliga

A great example of how deceptive good posture can be, Franz Beckenbauer strode around the pitch with a bolt in his spine and his chest puffed out, exuding a staggering sense of command which belied a frame below six foot. This carried both on and off the pitch.

“When he walked into the room,” Beckenbauer’s compatriot Uli Hoeneß once gushed, “it was like the light came on.”

6'0"

Ronaldo Nazario

Career: 1993–2011
Position: Striker
National team: Brazil
Notable clubs: PSV, Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid, Milan
Notable honors: x2 World Cup, x2 Copa América, x2 La Liga

“Ronaldo is special,” Sir Bobby Robson, the manager who put his job on the line to sign the Brazilian as a teenager for Barcelona in 1996, reflected years later. “He’s got the physique of a middleweight boxer, good shoulders, good biceps, good body, fantastic legs.”

“The best Ronaldo ever,” in the words of José Mourinho, who worked with the Brazilian forward and a certain Cristiano, took advantage of his physical gifts to put together one of the brightest peaks any player has ever enjoyed. Across his first 200 senior clubs appearances, Ronaldo scored 179 goals for four different teams in as many countries while lifting eight trophies. “That was the most difficult marking job I’ve done in my life,” Tenerife’s César Gómez breathlessly reflected after facing Ronaldo during this period. “I feel like I’ve just played five games.”

Tragically, that same body would repeatedly break down, with multiple serious knee injuries dampening his star power.

Honorable mentions: Ronaldinho, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Luis Suárez

6'1"

Zinedine Zidane

Career: 1989–2006
Position: Attacking Midfielder
National team: France
Notable clubs: Bordeaux, Juventus, Real Madrid
Notable honors: x1 World Cup, x1 Euros, x1 Champions League, x2 Serie A, x1 La Liga

“I suppose the toughest player I played against would have been Zidane,” Roy Keane, a character not innately disposed to dish out praise, has said on numerous occasions. “Honestly, people still to this day don’t realize how big he was.

“When I played against him—I’m quite a small guy, I’m 5'10"—the technical advice I’d get from my friends in Ireland would be, ‘Just kick him.’”

“I used to say,” Keane sighed, “‘He can deal with that.’”

Honorable mentions: Kaká, George Weah, Gunnar Nordahl

6'2"

Cristiano Ronaldo

Career: 2003–
Position: Winger/Striker
National team: Portugal
Notable clubs: Sporting, Man Utd, Real Madrid, Juventus
Notable honors: x1 Euros, x5 Champions League, x3 Premier League, x2 La Liga, x2 Serie A, x5 Ballon d’Or

“I hope Ronaldo will make [Portuguese people] forget about Eusébio and Luís Figo,” Cristiano’s first Sporting CP coach Lázsló Bölöni declared on national radio when his spaghetti-haired winger was only 20. Shortly after the broadcast’s conclusion, he received a scolding from his lawyer, a proud Benfica fan, who questioned his client’s sanity. Bölöni’s lawyer would later retract his argument.

For all his abundance of talent and success, Ronaldo’s unrelenting quest for improvement is his greatest strength and weakness. Those nights he would sneak into Sporting’s gym to get in an extra session and the 3 a.m. ice baths he forced his Real Madrid teammates to sit through after returning from a Champions League away game unquestionably paved the way for his outrageous career. Yet, it is that same insatiable drive to forge his own legacy which has left a sour image for so many.

Something as prosaic of Ronaldo’s height captures both sides of this charmed curse. The forward with a prodigious leap is constantly trying to make himself bigger than he is, with countless team photos catching him on his tip toes. Even the official records have been glossed over: every card Ronaldo had on the popular FIFA video game listed him at 6'1". Until FIFA 19 was released and the 33-year-old had enjoyed a miraculous growth spurt to 6'2".

Honorable mentions: Marco van Basten, Thierry Henry, Lev Yashin

6'3"

Ruud Gullit

Career: 1979–1998
Position: Central Midfielder
National team: Netherlands
Notable clubs: Feyenoord, PSV, Milan, Chelsea
Notable honors: x1 Euros, x2 European Cup, x3 Serie A, x3 Eredivisie, x1 Ballon d’Or

For a figure blessed with such grace and guile, there was a hulking undercurrent of intensity to Ruud Gullit’s game. The thud of his dreadlocks crashing against the ball after making contact with one of his many signature headers was the sort of sound that defenders would hear while alone in bed at night.

After winning the 1987 Ballon d’Or, Gullit was instrumental in Milan’s consecutive European Cup triumphs, dominating the breadth and width of the pitch for a side whose pressing transformed the way every team now plays the sport.

6'4"

Socrates

Career: 1973–1989
Position: Central Midfielder
National team: Brazil
Notable clubs: Botafogo, Corinthians, Fiorentina
Notable honors: x3 Campeonato Paulista

Sócrates used to call himself an “anti-athlete.” His friends tended to lean on “Magrao”—The Big Skinny—so unique was his towering build.

The Brazil international was a beguiling blend of contradictions; the qualified doctor who smoked two packs a day, the staunch advocate for democracy during the height of the nation’s brutal military dictatorship, a big man with a good touch. Such was his prowess at back-heeling the ball, the great Pelé used to joke that his compatriot was better with his back to goal than most players when they had the benefit of looking at where they were playing the ball.

Dr. Sócrates’s most memorable moment was Brazil’s triumphant defeat to Italy at the 1982 World Cup, but he was a champion for so many people in so many other ways.

Honorable mentions: Gianluigi Buffon, Manuel Neuer

6'5"

Erling Haaland

Career: 2015–
Position: Striker
National team: Norway
Notable clubs: RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, Man City
Notable honors: Champions League, x2 Premier League

When Erling Haaland was conducting his Manchester City medical in 2022, he was told that he stands at 195.2 cm (6'5"). “Oh wow, I’ve grown,” he exclaimed, “almost one centimeter.”

Back in his teenage years, the Viking goal plunderer was no stranger to sharp bursts in height. “This year I’ve only grown five centimeters,” he lamented in 2017. “Last year I grew 11–12 centimeters.” The son of a former Norway men’s international soccer player and a national heptathlon champion was always going to have a genetic head start. But Alf-Inge Haaland and Gry Marita Braut could scarcely have envisaged the unrelenting goalscoring terminator they would cook up.

With so much of his career still ahead of him, Haaland has already ticked off most of soccer’s bucket list, capturing the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup all in that debut season with City. The proud Norwegian has even led his nation to its best-ever World Cup finish, scoring as many tournament goals in North America as the entire country managed collectively across the previous 96 years (seven).

Honorable mentions: Zlatan Ibrahimović, Petr Čech

6'6"

Edwin van der Sar

Career: 1990–2011
Position: Goalkeeper
National team: Netherlands
Notable clubs: Ajax, Juventus, Fulham, Man Utd
Notable honors: x2 Champions League, x4 Premier League, x4 Eredivisie

For a goalkeeper in a position which is so regularly defined by height, it was Edwin van der Sar’s ability with his feet—both on and off the ball—which singled him out as one of the greatest goalkeepers of any era. Van der Sar's first season as a regular at Ajax fittingly came in the year after goalkeepers were first banned from picking up a pass from a teammate with their hands. While many shot-stoppers spent the early 1990s nervily stumbling around their laces, Van der Sar led Ajax to consecutive Champions League finals.

Even once passing the ball had become a standard requisite for a goalkeeper, Van der Sar still thrived at the highest level, enjoying a glorious autumn to his career with Sir Alex Ferguson’s third and final great Manchester United team.

6'7"

Thibaut Courtois

Career: 2009–
Position: Goalkeeper
National team: Belgium
Notable clubs: Genk, Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid
Notable honors: x2 Champions League, x4 La Liga, x2 Premier League

The former Valencia and Real Madrid goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares saw a lot of different shot-stoppers don a pair of gloves over the years. But one stood above the rest, literally and metaphorically.

“Courtois is the Messi, Maradona or Cristiano of goalkeeping,” the Spanish custodian gushed in 2024 after another deceptively routine masterclass from the big Belgian.

“He is much better than the rest, and he is there every day. We’ve got used to seeing important saves... quick shots in the top corner. In another goalkeeper, we would highlight that and here we’ve got used to it being normal with Courtois. For me, that’s his greatness. He is, without doubt, the best goalkeeper I have ever seen.”

6'8"

Jan Koller

Career: 1994–2011
Position: Striker
National team: Czech Republic
Notable clubs: Sparta Prague, Borussia Dortmund
Notable honors: x1 Bundesliga, x2 Belgian First Division, x1 Czech First League

“You could say my career had an unusual trajectory,” Jan Koller would later reflect.

The striker nicknamed the ‘Human Lighthouse’ is a beacon of hope for all late bloomers. Koller was still working on a farm repairing tractors before making his senior professional debut at the age of 21.

The Czech forward broke through at Sparta Prague—even if his banged-up old Škoda wasn’t allowed into the first-team parking lot because it was, in the eyes of the attendant, “such an ugly car.” Koller’s best years came at Borussia Dortmund, where he averaged a respectable return of roughly one goal every other game, including one in the 2002 UEFA Cup final.

By the end of a unique career which would take him to eight clubs in six different countries, Koller retired as the all-time top scorer for the Czech national team.

6'9"

Vanja Ivesa

Vanja Iveša catching the ball. — Vanja Iveša became a fan favorite in Türkiye. | Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Career: 1995–2021
Position: Goalkeeper
Nationality: Croatia
Notable clubs: Pula, Eskişehirspor, Elazığspor

Vanja Iveša had life pretty good in the Turkish top flight with Eskişehirspor. The hulking Croatian found a home on the banks of the Porsuk River, developing a deep connection with the supporter base of a club he helped win promotion and then led into the Europa League. “I know the fans love me, and I love them back just as much.”

It was impossible to overlook his unique build but he tried to not let that define him. “My extreme height brings certain advantages,” he once explained to Fanatik. “I try to capitalize on them, especially with high balls. However, there are disadvantages as well, and I am working hard to overcome them.”

Iveša’s manager Rıza Çalımbay only saw positives. In 2010, amid a shortage of attacking thrust, there was even speculation he would be used up front. “If circumstances require it, I’ll score goals too,” the willing club servant promised. He would never find the back of the net, but the Eastern European behemoth did spend the final seconds of the 2009–10 season charging around the top of the pitch after coming on as a substitute in a game Eskişehirspor had already won.

To ram home Iveša’s loyalty, he agreed to terminate his contract at the club in 2012 so that they would have another foreign player slot on the roster to sign Malian striker Ulysse Diallo, who then never even joined the club after some bungled paperwork.

6'10"

Kristof Van Hout

Career: 2006–2023
Position: Goalkeeper
Nationality: Belgium
Notable clubs: Kortrijk, Genk

For a player with such naturally eye-catching dimensions, Kristof Van Hout spent his career contentedly out of the spotlight. Only once during his near two decades in the sport was he the undisputed starter for a European team. And Van Hout immediately cashed in on that success for Kortrijk to sign as a backup for László Köteles at Genk.

The towering Belgian did, however, feature in every minute for Indian Super League side Odisha FC in 2014, coming up against the likes of Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pires and David Trezeguet during a brief boom for the sport in South Asia.

6'11"

Simon Bloch Jørgensen

Career: 2010–2022
Position: Goalkeeper
Nationality: Denmark
Notable clubs: B93, Accrington Stanley, Dulwich Hamlet

Simply making it as a professional at such a height is a triumph in and of itself, given the scarcity of players to have looked down on the clouds from 6'11". While Simon Bloch Jørgensen didn’t necessarily scale the greatest heights the sport had to offer during a career which peaked with a brief spell as backup goalkeeper for Accrington Stanley in League Two, it’s a standard of soccer few mere mortals could ever aspire to.

Despite conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, Jørgensen’s sole appearance for Accrington was the scene for an EFL Cup upset in 2017 as Stanley knocked second-tier Preston North End out of the competition.

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