List of Famous Soccer Players

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Updated October 14, 2018 2,156 items

List of famous soccer players, with photos, bios, and other information when available. Who are the top soccer players in the world? This includes the most prominent soccer players, living and dead, both in America and abroad. This list of notable soccer players is ordered by their level of prominence, and can be sorted for various bits of information, such as where these historic soccer players were born and what their nationality is. The people on this list are from different countries, but what they all have in common is that they're all renowned soccer players.

List people include David Beckham, Lionel Messi and many additional people as well.

From reputable, prominent, and well known soccer players to the lesser known soccer players of today, these are some of the best professionals in the soccer player field. If you want to answer the questions, "Who are the most famous soccer players ever?" and "What are the names of famous soccer players?" then you're in the right place. {#nodes}
  • Ahmed Al-Muhammadi

    Ahmed Al-Muhammadi

    Ahmed Eissa Elmohamady Abdel Fattah (Arabic: أحمد المحمدي‎; born 9 September 1987) is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Premier League club Aston Villa and is the captain of the Egypt national team. Elmohamady moved to Premier League club Sunderland in 2010, initially on loan from Egyptian side ENPPI. He went on to make over 200 league appearances for both Sunderland and Hull City before joining Aston Villa during the Summer 2017 transfer window. Elmohamady was part of the Egyptian squads that won the 2008 and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
  • Ashley Cole
    Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English retired footballer who played as a left back, most recently for Championship club Derby County. Cole is considered by many critics and fellow professional players as one of the best defenders of his generation, and by some, for the better part of his career, as the best left back in the world. Born in Stepney, London, Cole began his youth career at Arsenal and made his full debut for the club in November 1999, going on to make 228 appearances and scoring nine goals for the North London club. With Arsenal he won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and was an integral member of "The Invincibles" team of the 2003–04 season, who went the entire league season undefeated. Cole also made an appearance in Arsenal's first UEFA Champions League final in 2006; the club lost 2–1 to Barcelona. In August 2006, after a protracted transfer saga, Cole completed a move to rival club Chelsea, with whom he won further honours, including the Premier League in the 2009–10 season, four FA Cups, one Football League Cup and one UEFA Champions League. He was released by Chelsea at the end of the 2013–14 season. With seven winners' medals, Cole has won the FA Cup more times than any other player in history, and is one of two players to have won the Double with two clubs, along with Nicolas Anelka.Cole was an England international from 2001 to 2014, playing at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups, as well as Euro 2004 and Euro 2012. He was voted England Player of the Year in 2010. When he retired from international football in 2014, he had won 107 caps, making him England's most capped full back.
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  • Cesc Fàbregas
    Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through La Masia, Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when he was signed by Premier League club Arsenal in September 2003. Following injuries to key midfielders in the early part of the 2004–05 season, he went on establish himself in the team. He broke several of the club's records in the process, earning a reputation as one of the best players in his position, and won the FA Cup in 2005. After a protracted transfer saga, Fàbregas left London on 15 August 2011 to return to Barcelona in a deal worth up to £35 million. During his three-year spell at the Camp Nou, Fàbregas played alongside Xavi and Andrés Iniesta and won a La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and two Spanish Super Cups. He returned to London in June 2014 to Arsenal's cross-town rivals Chelsea for £30 million.
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  • Agil Nabiyev

    Agil Nabiyev

    Agil Nabiyev (Azerbaijani: Aqil Nəbiyev; born 16 June 1982) is an Azerbaijani football manager and former player. He is the manager of Shuvalan.
  • Amy Rodriguez
    Amy Joy Rodriguez (born February 17, 1987) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Utah Royals FC in the National Women's Soccer League and is also a member of the United States women's national soccer team. She previously played for FC Kansas City, Boston Breakers and Philadelphia Independence of the WPS. She has played most of her games in the forward position and is known for her speed. She is called "A-Rod" by her teammates and soccer commentators.
  • Andrea Barzagli
    Andrea Barzagli (Italian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛːa barˈtsaʎʎi, -ˈdza-]; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A four-time member of the Serie A Team of the Year, Barzagli is regarded as one of the best and most consistent defenders of his generation.After playing for several smaller Italian clubs in the lower divisions of Italian football in his early career, he made his Serie A debut with Chievo in 2003, and eventually came to prominence while playing for Palermo. In 2008, he was signed by German side VfL Wolfsburg, where he remained for two and a half seasons, winning a Bundesliga title in 2009. In 2011, he returned to Italy, joining Juventus, where he later won eight consecutive Serie A titles between 2012 and 2019, among other trophies, including four consecutive Coppa Italia titles between 2015 and 2018. At international level, he represented the Italian national football team on 73 occasions between 2004 and 2017, taking part at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games where he obtained a bronze medal, at two FIFA World Cups (2006 and 2014), three UEFA European Championships (2008, 2012, and 2016), and at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where himself and the team also won bronze. He was most notably a member of the Italian 2006 World Cup winning squad, as well as a starting member of the Italian squad that reached the UEFA Euro 2012 final.
  • Andy Najar
    Andy Ariel Najar Rodríguez ( nə-HAR; Spanish: [naˈxaɾ]; born 16 March 1993) is a Honduran footballer who plays for Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League, and the Honduras national team.
  • Mido

    Mido

    Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid (Arabic: أحمد حسام حسين‎; born 23 February 1983), publicly known as Mido, is an Egyptian football manager, currently in charge of El Makkasa. He is also a television presenter and former footballer who played as a striker. Mido started his career with Zamalek in Egypt in 1999. He left the club for Gent of Belgium in 2000, where he won the Belgian Ebony Shoe. This led to a move to Dutch side Ajax in 2001, from where he joined Celta Vigo on loan in 2003. His next destination was Marseille in France and he left them for Italian side Roma in 2004. He joined English side Tottenham Hotspur on an 18-month loan in 2005 and eventually joined the club permanently in 2006. He left the club in 2007 to join Middlesbrough, from whom he joined Wigan Athletic, Zamalek, West Ham United and Ajax on loan. In 2011, he rejoined Zamalek, before joining Barnsley in 2012. He also played for Egypt 51 times, scoring 20 goals. Mido retired from football in June 2013.
  • Carlos Salcido
    Carlos Arnoldo Salcido Flores (American Spanish: [ˈkaɾlos aɾˈnoldo salˈsiðo ˈfloɾes]; born 2 April 1980) is a Mexican professional footballer. Salcido started his career as a left back, then converted to defensive midfielder, and now plays as a central defender. After emerging through Guadalajara's youth system, he went on to be a mainstay for PSV Eindhoven, acting as vice-captain for the Dutch team and was the first player from Mexico to be champion in the Eredivise. Salcido also played a season for Fulham before returning to Mexico with Tigres UANL. In 2014 he returned to Guadalajara, winning the league title with the club in 2017. Internationally, Salcido competed with the Mexico national team in three World Cups: 2006, 2010, 2014 and three Gold Cups: 2005, 2007, 2011, He was a member of Mexico's team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He made his first national team appearance at the age of 24 in 2004. In 2014, after the World Cup in Brazil, Salcido officially retired from the national team.
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  • Asamoah Gyan
    Asamoah Gyan ( ass-ə-MOH-ə JAHN; born 22 November 1985) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who last played as a striker for Kayserispor and is the former captain of the Ghanaian national team. He is currently a free agent.Gyan began his career in 2003 with Ghanaian Premier League club Liberty Professionals scoring ten goals in sixteen matches then spent three seasons with Serie A club Udinese via two seasons loan at Modena netting on fifteen occasions in 53 league matches and at Udinese where he scored 11 times in 39 league matches. In 2008, Gyan joined Ligue 1 club Rennes, netting fourteen times in forty-eight league matches during two seasons. In 2010, Gyan joined Premier League club Sunderland, breaking the club's transfer record and netting on ten occasions in thirty-four Premier League matches during two seasons.In 2011, Gyan joined Al Ain of the UAE Pro-League on loan and became the league's top-goalscorer, scoring 24 times in 27 matches. In the following season, Gyan permanently joined Al Ain and once again became the league's top-goalscorer while he helped Al Ain retain the UAE Pro-League title, scoring an impressive 28 goals in 32 matches. In the 2013–14 season, Gyan scored on 44 occasions in 40 matches with Al Ain.Gyan is the all-time leading goalscorer of the Ghana national team, with 51 goals. He represented Ghana at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. With 6 goals, he is the top African goalscorer in the history of the World Cup. Gyan has also represented Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympics and in seven Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017, helping them finish in third-place in 2008 and runner-up in 2010 and 2015.
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  • Ayanda Gcaba

    Ayanda Gcaba

    Ayanda Gcaba is a South African football defender who plays for Free State Stars and South Africa national football team.
  • Caroline Seger
    Sara Caroline Seger (born 19 March 1985) is a Swedish footballer who plays as a midfielder and club captain for FC Rosengård in the Damallsvenskan league. She is the current captain of the Swedish national football team.
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  • Avdija Vršajević

    Avdija Vršajević

    Avdija Vršajević is a Bosnian footballer who plays for HNK Hajduk Split.
  • Carlos Ruiz
    Carlos Humberto Ruiz Gutiérrez (born 15 September 1979), initially nicknamed El Pescadito ("The Little Fish") but gradually known as just Pescado or "Fish" (even by Spanish-speakers), is a retired Guatemalan footballer. A product of CSD Municipal's youth academy, Ruiz has played for five MLS clubs (Los Angeles Galaxy, FC Dallas, Toronto FC, Philadelphia Union, and D.C. United), scoring 88 goals in 182 MLS regular-season matches and 16 goals in the post-season, which is the record for the most post-season goals in MLS history. In 2002, he was named the MLS's Most Valuable Player of the season. He was a member of the Guatemalan national team from 1998 to 2016. He is regarded to be the greatest Guatemalan player of all time. He served as the national team captain, is the player with most caps, and is the all-time top scorer. He played in five World Cup qualification competitions, and in September 2016 he became the all-time top scorer in World Cup qualifiers, with 39 goals.
  • Carlos Bocanegra
    Carlos Manuel Bocanegra (born May 25, 1979) is an American sports executive and former professional soccer player. A two-time MLS Defender of the Year, Bocanegra also played professionally in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. He earned over 100 caps with the United States, serving as captain for six years. He is currently serving as technical director and vice president for Atlanta United.
  • Andrés Iniesta
    Andrés Iniesta Luján (born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Japanese club Vissel Kobe. He spent most of his career at Barcelona, where he served as the captain for three seasons. Iniesta came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, after an early migration from his birthplace, and impressed from an early age. He made his first-team debut aged 18 in 2002. He began playing regularly during the 2004–05 season and remained in the team until 2018. Iniesta was an integral part of the Barcelona sides that won two historic trebles in 2009 and 2015, and his 35 trophies, which includes nine La Ligas and four UEFA Champions League titles, make him the most decorated Spanish footballer of all time.Iniesta played for Spain at the Under-16, Under-19 and Under-21 levels before making his international debut in 2006. He helped Spain win Euro 2008, playing every game and being selected in the Team of the Tournament. Iniesta was also a key member of the victorious Spanish team at the 2010 World Cup; he scored the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands, for which he was named the Man of the Match, and was selected to the tournament's All-Star Team. At Euro 2012, Iniesta led Spain to their second consecutive continental crown, again being chosen as the Man of the Match of the final against Italy, and was named the Player of the Tournament. Iniesta is widely considered to be one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest midfielders of all time. Since 2009, he has been named in the FIFA World XI nine times and was chosen in the UEFA Team of the Year on six occasions. Iniesta won the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in 2012 and was named the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker in 2012 and 2013. He was runner-up to Lionel Messi for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or and achieved third place in 2012.
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  • Branislav Ivanović
    Branislav Ivanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранислав Ивановић, pronounced [brǎnislaʋ iʋânoʋitɕ, – ǐʋaː-]; born 22 February 1984) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays for Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Serbia national team. A versatile defender, Ivanović plays as a right back, although he can also play as a centre back. Ivanović began his career with hometown club FK Srem. In January 2004 he transferred to top division side OFK Beograd. Two years later, he moved to Russia to play for Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League, where he would spend two seasons, winning his first honour, the 2007 Russian Cup. In January 2008, Ivanović was signed by Premier League side Chelsea for a £9 million fee. He won nine major honours with Chelsea, including three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. Overall, he made 377 appearances and scored 34 goals, making him one of only five foreign players to appear in over 300 matches for the club and putting him behind only John Terry in terms of goals scored by a defender for Chelsea. Additionally, Ivanović was twice named in the PFA Team of the Year. He returned to Russia in February 2017, joining Zenit on a free transfer. Ivanović was first capped for Serbia in June 2005, and has since become the nation's most capped player earning 105 caps and scoring 13 goals. He represented the nation at their first international tournament as an independent country, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and was appointed captain of the national team in 2012. He was captain until just prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup where he also represented Serbia. In that competition he became the most capped player in the history of the Serbian national team, with 105 matches.
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  • Carlo Costly
    Carlo Yaír Costly Molina (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlo ˈkostli]; born 18 July 1982) is a Honduran footballer striker who is currently playing for C.D. Marathón. He was a member of the Honduran national football team until after the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Prior to coming to Europe, he played with Club Deportivo Platense where he was the top scorer of the Honduras Apertura in 2006–07.
  • Abdalla Juma

    Abdalla Juma

    Awsu Maulid is a Zanzibar footballer who plays for Zanzibar national football team.
  • Arturo Alvarez
    Arturo Alvarez may refer to: Arturo Álvarez (basketball), Spanish basketball coach Arturo Álvarez (footballer, born 1959), Mexican footballer Arturo Álvarez (footballer, born 1985), American-born Salvadoran footballer Arturo Álvarez (swimmer) (born 1919), Peruvian swimmer Arturo G. Álvarez, music producer, manager, A&R, and artist
  • Bryan Ruiz
    Bryan Jafet Ruiz González (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbɾajan ˈrwis]; born 18 August 1985) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays for Brazilian club Santos and captains the Costa Rica national team. A left-footed attacking midfielder, he can also play as a second striker.
  • Daniel Van Buyten
    Daniel Van Buyten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdaːnijɛl vɑm ˈbœytə(n)]; born 7 February 1978) is a Belgian former footballer who played as a centre back. Nicknamed "Big Dan", Van Buyten was known for his uncompromising style of play, exploiting both his physical strength and aerial ability. Beginning at Charleroi as a striker, Van Buyten's career took off when he converted to a centre back, playing for a series of top flight clubs, including Marseille, Manchester City, Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich. Throughout his career, Van Buyten was also a regular starter for the Belgium national team, amassing 83 caps in an international career that spanned 13 years and which included participation at two FIFA World Cup. Van Buyten became the first-ever Belgian winner of the UEFA Champions League when Bayern Munich claimed the European crown in 2013.
  • Asier Illarramendi
    Asier Illarramendi "Illarra" Andonegi (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈsjeɾ iʎaraˈmendi iˈʎara andoˈnexi]; born 8 March 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Real Sociedad and the Spain national team as a defensive midfielder. He developed at Real Sociedad, appearing in 56 competitive matches with the first team and helping them qualify for the Champions League in 2013. He then transferred to Real Madrid for €32.2 million, the most they had ever paid for a Spanish player, returning to his first club for half of that fee two years later. Illarramendi earned 31 caps for Spain from under-17 to under-23 level, winning the 2013 European Championship with the under-21 side. He made his senior debut in 2017.
  • Benjamin De Ceulaer
    Benjamin De Ceulaer (born 19 December 1983) is a Belgian footballer who played for Eendracht Termien in the Belgian Third Amateur Division as last, but had to stop in November 2018 because of injuries.
  • Chris Morgan
    Christopher Paul Morgan (born 9 November 1977) is an English former professional footballer and football coach. An "uncompromising" defender, he scored 24 goals in 491 league and cup appearances in a 16-year career in English football. He began his career at Barnsley, making his debut for the club in the Premier League in January 1998. Barnsley were relegated at the end of the season, and he would stay on at the club to make a total of 212 league and cup appearances across six seasons, scoring eight goals. He signed with Sheffield United in July 2003 and was soon appointed club captain. He was named as the club's Player of the Year in 2004 and helped the club to secure promotion out of the Championship in 2005–06, though United's stay in the Premier League lasted only one season. He went on to score 16 goals in 279 league and cup appearances in nine seasons at Bramall Lane. He was sent off six times each for Barnsley and Sheffield United, holding the club record for red cards at both clubs. He retired due to injury in July 2012, and went on to coach at Sheffield United, and served the club as caretaker-manager over two separate spells in 2013. He went on to join Chesterfield as first team coach in December 2015, and then joined Port Vale as a coach in March 2017.
  • Darren Carter

    Darren Carter

    Darren Anthony Carter (born 18 December 1983) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League club Solihull Moors. He is also manager of the club's youth academy. A former England under-19 and under-20 international, Carter began his career with Birmingham City, and came to prominence at the age of 18 when his penalty in the 2002 First Division play-off final clinched the club's promotion to the Premier League. He was loaned to Sunderland in winter 2004, before he was sold to West Bromwich Albion for £1.5 million in July 2005. In August 2007, he joined Preston North End for a fee of up to £1.25 million. Loaned to Millwall in the 2010–11 season, he later had to spend the 2011–12 season without a club after tearing a groin muscle during a trial match. He returned to action in the 2012–13 campaign with Cheltenham Town, and then spent two seasons with Northampton Town. He spent the next two seasons with Forest Green Rovers of the National League before joining Solihull Moors in 2017.
  • Celso Borges
    Celso Borges Mora (American Spanish: [ˈselso ˈβoɾxes]; born 27 May 1988) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for the Turkish Süper Lig club Göztepe and the Costa Rica national team.
  • Darijo Srna

    Darijo Srna

    Darijo Srna (pronounced [dâːrijo sř̩na]; born 1 May 1982) is a Croatian former professional footballer who is currently working as an assistant manager for Shakhtar Donetsk.He began his career at Hajduk Split, before moving to Shakhtar in 2003. He has won numerous trophies during his time at Shakhtar, including a UEFA Cup title in 2009, seven Ukrainian Premier League titles, five Ukrainian Cup titles and five Ukrainian Super Cup titles. Srna made his international debut for Croatia in November 2002. In 2009, then manager Slaven Bilić made him the captain of the national team, a position he would hold until 2016. After the tournament, the captain role was taken over by Luka Modric.Srna is the most capped player in the history of the Croatia national team with over 130 caps, having represented his country at the 2006 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, as well as at UEFA Euro 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. He is the most capped player in the history of Shakhtar. to the extent of being even referred to as the "Icon of Shakhtar". While with Shakhtar, Srna had offers from clubs like Chelsea and Bayern Munich, which he declined due to his loyalty to the club.
  • Andriy Shevchenko
    Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian politician, football manager and former professional footballer who played for Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea and the Ukraine national team as a striker. From February to July 2016, he was an assistant coach of the Ukraine national team, at the time led by Mykhailo Fomenko. On 15 July 2016, shortly after the nation's elimination from UEFA Euro 2016, Shevchenko was appointed Ukraine's head coach. Shevchenko is ranked as the fifth top goalscorer in all European competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 175 goals scored for Milan, Shevchenko is the second most prolific player in the history of the club, and is also the all-time top scorer of the Derby della Madonnina (the derby between Milan and their local rivals Internazionale) with 14 goals. Furthermore, he is the all-time top scorer for the Ukrainian national team with 48 goals. Shevchenko's career has been highlighted by many awards, the most prestigious of which was the Ballon d'Or in 2004 (becoming the third Ukrainian, after Oleh Blokhin and Igor Belanov, to receive it). He won the UEFA Champions League in 2003 with Milan, and he has also won various league and cup titles in Ukraine, Italy and England. He was also an UEFA Champions League runner-up in 2005 and 2008. He was named in the FIFA World XI for 2005. In his illustrious international career, the striker led Ukraine as captain to the quarter-finals in their first ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006, and also took part at UEFA Euro 2012. On 28 July 2012, Shevchenko announced that he was quitting football for politics. He was standing for election to the Ukrainian Parliament in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but his party failed to win parliamentary representation.
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  • Carlos Vela
    Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido (born 1 March 1989) is a Mexican professional footballer who captains and plays as a winger for Los Angeles FC and the Mexico national team. Vela started his career at Mexican club Guadalajara, where he caught the eye of various European clubs after finishing as the top scorer at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, eventually joining Premier League club Arsenal that year. After joining Arsenal, he had loan spells at Spanish clubs Salamanca and Osasuna, as well as fellow English club West Bromwich Albion, settling with Real Sociedad initially on loan and then permanently on 10 August 2012. He joined Los Angeles FC in January 2018. Vela made his debut with the senior Mexico national team in 2007 in a friendly match against Brazil, and scored his first goal for his country in a friendly against Guatemala. He participated in Mexico's CONCACAF Gold Cup victory in 2009, and participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Vela rejected all subsequent call-ups for more than three years, including friendlies, World Cup qualifiers, and various major tournaments including the 2014 FIFA World Cup, citing various reasons for his refusals. In November 2014, Vela made his return to the national team and participated in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup.
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