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Best midfielders of all time
The 25 greatest midfielders in football history, ranked by a composite of career goals, assists and appearances.
| # | Player | Position | Citizenship | Status | Career goals | Assists | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Neymar | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil | Santos FC | 366 | 227 | 611 |
| 2 |  Alex | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil | Retired | 278 | 223 | 654 |
| 3 |  Frank Lampard | Midfield - Central Midfield | England | Retired | 273 | 176 | 906 |
| 4 |  Marco Reus | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany | Los Angeles Galaxy | 248 | 175 | 667 |
| 5 |  Mike Wunderlich | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany | Retired | 270 | 130 | 630 |
| 6 |  Nenê | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil Spain | Esporte Clube Juventude | 254 | 149 | 959 |
| 7 |  Rivaldo | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil Spain | Retired | 274 | 104 | 632 |
| 8 |  Marcelinho Paraíba | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil | Retired | 244 | 124 | 766 |
| 9 |  Ryan Giggs | Midfield - Left Midfield | Wales | Retired | 168 | 269 | 963 |
| 10 |  Kevin De Bruyne | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Belgium | SSC Napoli | 156 | 261 | 653 |
| 11 |  Darwin Quintero | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Colombia Mexico | Deportivo Pereira | 199 | 165 | 700 |
| 12 |  Rodrigo Tabata | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Qatar Brazil | Al-Kharaitiyat SC | 232 | 93 | 685 |
| 13 |  Steven Gerrard | Midfield - Central Midfield | England | Retired | 191 | 170 | 749 |
| 14 |  Andrej Kramaric | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Croatia | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | 233 | 88 | 512 |
| 15 |  Kaká | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil Italy | Retired | 191 | 163 | 614 |
| 16 |  Youri Djorkaeff | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | France Armenia | Retired | 227 | 83 | 676 |
| 17 |  Bruno Fernandes | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Portugal | Manchester United | 187 | 154 | 595 |
| 18 |  Diego | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil Italy | Retired | 182 | 157 | 852 |
| 19 |  Steffen Hofmann | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany | Retired | 158 | 209 | 644 |
| 20 |  Henrikh Mkhitaryan | Midfield - Central Midfield | Armenia | Inter Milan | 181 | 153 | 727 |
| 21 |  Hans Vanaken | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Belgium | Club Brugge KV | 188 | 139 | 697 |
| 22 |  Michael Liendl | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Austria | Retired | 153 | 202 | 664 |
| 23 |  Jádson | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil Italy | Retired | 164 | 165 | 759 |
| 24 |  Dimitri Payet | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | France Réunion | Without Club | 149 | 195 | 743 |
| 25 |  Andrey Tikhonov | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Russia | Retired | 183 | 127 | 605 |
| 26 |  Thiago Neves | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil | Retired | 189 | 110 | 651 |
| 27 |  Konstantin Vassiljev | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Estonia | Retired | 170 | 141 | 696 |
| 28 |  Balázs Dzsudzsák | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Hungary | Debreceni VSC | 145 | 192 | 631 |
| 29 |  Yasuhito Endo | Midfield - Central Midfield | Japan | Retired | 139 | 195 | 969 |
| 30 |  David Beckham | Midfield - Central Midfield | England | Retired | 127 | 225 | 724 |
| 31 |  Lior Refaelov | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Israel Belgium | Retired | 175 | 124 | 737 |
| 32 |  Oscar | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil Italy | São Paulo Futebol Clube | 136 | 203 | 556 |
| 33 |  Cesc Fàbregas | Midfield - Central Midfield | Spain | Retired | 125 | 216 | 739 |
| 34 |  Rafael van der Vaart | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Netherlands Spain | Retired | 175 | 120 | 546 |
| 35 |  Kevin Volland | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany | TSV 1860 Munich | 174 | 119 | 569 |
| 36 |  Hakan Yakin | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Switzerland Türkiye | Retired | 188 | 89 | 540 |
| 37 |  Giorgian de Arrascaeta | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Uruguay Italy | CR Flamengo | 157 | 146 | 583 |
| 38 |  Xavi | Midfield - Central Midfield | Spain | Retired | 112 | 216 | 933 |
| 39 |  Mesut Özil | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany | Retired | 114 | 219 | 645 |
| 40 |  Santi Cazorla | Midfield - Central Midfield | Spain | Real Oviedo | 144 | 155 | 749 |
| 41 |  Tjaronn Chery | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Suriname Netherlands | NEC Nijmegen | 158 | 129 | 646 |
| 42 |  David Silva | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Spain | Retired | 124 | 193 | 771 |
| 43 |  Robert Pirès | Midfield - Left Midfield | France Portugal | Retired | 166 | 110 | 725 |
| 44 |  Juan Mata | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Spain | Without Club | 143 | 154 | 674 |
| 45 |  Kris Commons | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Scotland England | Retired | 159 | 124 | 531 |
| 46 |  Moritz Stoppelkamp | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen | 160 | 117 | 619 |
| 47 |  Hany Mukhtar | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany Sudan | Nashville SC | 156 | 129 | 445 |
| 48 |  Talisca | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil | Fenerbahce | 197 | 45 | 424 |
| 49 |  Pavel Nedved | Midfield - Left Midfield | Czech Republic Italy | Retired | 154 | 124 | 660 |
| 50 |  Andrés D'Alessandro | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Argentina Brazil | Retired | 143 | 140 | 847 |
How the ranking works
We rank each player by a composite score: career_goals × 4 + career_assists × 2 + career_matches × 0.05. This rewards finishers, creative players and longevity in equal measure — without depending on subjective awards or trophies. The list filters by position keyword so wingers, full-backs and centre-backs each get their own ranking.