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Top 100 football defenders of all time

The top 100 football defenders of all time, ranked by everyone, one head-to-head pick at a time.

  1. Franz Beckenbauer West Germany · 1945–2024
  2. Paolo Maldini Italy · 1968–
  3. Roberto Carlos Brazil · 1973–
  4. Franco Baresi Italy · 1960–2026
  5. Bobby Moore England · 1941–1993
  6. Philipp Lahm Germany · 1983–
  7. Giacinto Facchetti Italy · 1942–2006
  8. Daniel Passarella Argentina · 1953–
  9. Sergio Ramos Spain · 1986–
  10. Carles Puyol Spain · 1978–
  11. Djalma Santos Brazil · 1929–2013
  12. Paul Breitner Germany · 1951–
  13. Gerard Piqué Spain · 1987–
  14. Dani Alves Brazil · 1983–
  15. John Terry England · 1980–
  16. Cafu Brazil · 1970–
  17. Marcelo Brazil · 1988–
  18. Gaetano Scirea Italy · 1953–1989
  19. Marcel Desailly France · 1968–
  20. Nílton Santos Brazil · 1925–2013
  21. Tony Adams England · 1966–
  22. Laurent Blanc France · 1965–
  23. Jérôme Boateng Germany · 1988–
  24. Lilian Thuram France · 1972–
  25. José Nasazzi Uruguay · 1901–1968
  26. Mats Hummels Germany · 1988–
  27. Giovanni van Bronckhorst Netherlands · 1975–
  28. Pepe Portugal · 1984–
  29. Gary Neville England · 1975–
  30. Nemanja Vidić Yugoslavia · 1981–
  31. Bixente Lizarazu France · 1969–
  32. Gareth Southgate England · 1970–
  33. Andrea Barzagli Italy · 1981–
  34. Fabio Cannavaro Italy · 1973–
  35. Elías Figueroa Chile · 1946–
  36. Frank de Boer Netherlands · 1970–
  37. Marc Cucurella Spain · 1998–
  38. Carlos Alberto Torres Brazil · 1944–2016
  39. Jamie Carragher England · 1978–
  40. Virgil van Dijk Netherlands · 1991–
  41. Lisandro Martínez Argentina · 1998–
  42. Christoph Metzelder Germany · 1980–
  43. Marius Trésor France · 1950–
  44. Raphaël Varane France · 1993–
  45. Yuri Zhirkov Russia · 1983–
  46. Ashley Cole England · 1980–
  47. Jonathan Tah Germany · 1996–
  48. Matthijs de Ligt Netherlands · 1999–
  49. Jakub Kiwior Poland · 2000–
  50. Giorgio Chiellini Italy · 1984–
  51. Antonio Rüdiger Germany · 1993–
  52. William Gallas France · 1977–
  53. Samuel Umtiti France · 1993–
  54. John Heitinga Netherlands · 1983–
  55. Emlyn Hughes England · 1947–2004
  56. Denzel Dumfries Netherlands · 1996–
  57. Nuno Mendes Portugal · 2002–
  58. Basile Boli France · 1967–
  59. Joël Matip Cameroon · 1991–
  60. Stephan Lichtsteiner Switzerland · 1984–
  61. Giuseppe Bergomi Italy · 1963–
  62. Míchel Salgado Spain · 1975–
  63. John Arne Riise Norway · 1980–
  64. Ronald Koeman Netherlands · 1963–
  65. Maicon Brazil · 1981–
  66. Jordi Alba Spain · 1989–
  67. Paulo Ferreira Portugal · 1979–
  68. Fabio Grosso Italy · 1977–
  69. Danny Rose England · 1990–
  70. Cristian Chivu Romania · 1980–
  71. Cristian Romero Argentina · 1998–
  72. Cosmin Contra Romania · 1975–
  73. Hong Myung-bo South Korea · 1969–
  74. Yochanan Vollach Israel · 1945–
  75. William Saliba France · 2001–
  76. Achraf Hakimi Morocco · 1998–
  77. Lúcio Brazil · 1978–
  78. Raúl Albiol Spain · 1985–
  79. Tony Popovic Australia · 1973–
  80. Claudio Gentile Italy · 1953–
  81. Niklas Süle Germany · 1995–
  82. Ezri Konsa England · 1997–
  83. Jonas Hector Germany · 1990–
  84. Levi Colwill England · 2003–
  85. Andreas Brehme Germany · 1960–2024
  86. Klaus Augenthaler Germany · 1957–
  87. Gianluca Pessotto Italy · 1970–
  88. Berti Vogts Germany · 1946–
  89. Adil Rami France · 1985–
  90. Tino Livramento England · 2002–
  91. Pau Cubarsí Spain · 2007–
  92. Joseph Yobo Nigeria · 1980–
  93. Chris Coleman Wales · 1970–
  94. Gonçalo Inácio Portugal · 2001–
  95. Sergei Ignashevich Russia · 1979–
  96. Shkodran Mustafi Germany · 1992–
  97. Sami Hyypiä Finland · 1973–
  98. Sepp Piontek Germany · 1940–2026
  99. Kevin Großkreutz Germany · 1988–
  100. Kolo Touré Ivory Coast · 1981–

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