Today's stars travel to Russia hoping to seal a place among the greats, but many icons never get to taste that success. Here are some notable names
#10 Michel Platini | France
He was the star of the show with nine goals as France won Euro 84 on home soil, but was unable to follow it up at the World Cup two years later as they were forced to settle for third place.The attacking midfielder won league titles with Nancy (Ligue 2), Saint-Etienne and Juventus, going on to win three Ballons d’Or along the way.
#9 Paolo Maldini | Italy
He won it all at club level in a prestigious era at AC Milan, racking up seven Serie A and five European titles among many others. While he was a pivotal member of Italy sides that reached the finals of the 1994 World Cup and 2000 European Championship, he was never able to clinch success with the national team.
#8 Marco van Basten | Netherlands
The Dutchman scored one of the most famous goals of all-time with his incredible volley in the Euro 88 final against the Soviet Union but Netherlands’ World Cup campaign two years later did not go so well, as they crashed out at the second round. He did, however, conquer Europe, Italy and Netherlands at club level, packing many wonderful moments into a brief career.
#7 Zico | Brazil
It’s hard to believe that one of Brazil’s best ever players in one of the nation’s greatest ever sides could have failed to win the World Cup, but that was the case for former attacking midfielder Zico.The Flamengo hero featured in the competition three times with the Selecao but could not better a third place finish. Renowned for his goals and exceptional passes, Zico remains a world-renowned figure today.
#6 Eusebio | Portugal
The forward was the winner of the Ballon d'Or in 1965 and the talisman of a phenomenal Benfica side that won 11 Primeira Liga titles and the European Cup in 1962. He reached the scored a late penalty in the 1966 World Cup semi-final against England but Portugal could not spark a come-back against the eventual winners. He then converted another penalty as they beat the Soviet Union to third place.
#5 Ferenc Puskas | Hungary
In a legendary eight-year spell at Real Madrid, Puskas won three European cups and five league titles. He was an icon at national team level as the captain and star of a superb Hungary team and won the Golden Ball as they reached the 1954 World Cup final, losing to West Germany.
#4 Alfredo Di Stefano | Argentina, Colombia, Spain
Di Stefano was so good that he didn’t just win the Ballon d’Or, he won the Super Ballon d’Or – an award France Football created just for him. The Buenos Aires-born forward was a sensation and the talisman of a Real Madrid side that won five European Cups, including the 7-3 final win over Eintracht Frankfurt in front of a 127,000 crowd at Hampden Park. Furthermore, he didn’t just represent one international side, he got caps for Argentina, Colombia and Spain, but he never got his hands on the world title.
#3 Johan Cruyff | Netherlands
The revolutionary figure captained Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final and won the penalty which allowed them to take a two-minute lead against West Germany, but fell behind by half-time and could not recover.By then, Cruyff had already won the European Cup three times in a row with Ajax and his genius would spread far and wide as he and Michels went from the Dutch capital, to the World Cup and then Barcelona. Although the Dutch went on to reach the final four years later, losing to hosts Argentina in extra-time, Cruyff was absent from the tournament.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal
The 32-year-old trophy magnet has been the dominant force in Europe in recent years. He is targeting a third straight Champions League crown with Real Madrid and will then turn his attention to building on Portugal’s Euro 2016 victory by guiding his country to a first world title.
#1 Lionel Messi | Argentina
The missing piece of an otherwise impeccable career, many still argue that Messi must win the World Cup to be named the best player the global game has ever seen. For all his club success, the forward has not won an international title since the 2008 Olympics triumph. After successive near-misses in the Copa America and a World Cup final loss, he will be hoping to enhance his status this summer.
RMcity
167
Messi is great at Barcelona because the team plays at his pace but the national team is full of stars but they lack a style that can unifies them, Ronaldo is a true leader that can motivate his national team (eurocup) but they lack stars at the same level at this point. Germany, Brazil, France and Belgium are the best candidates to win the world cup
Anthonytengbeh
123
You mentioned players that didn't win balloon d'or, but you didn't mention George Weah of Liberia, who won it. If you are talking about best players, he will always be among them. Very unfair!
advocate_Tz
107
Mess and Cristiano Ronaldo are all Good Player but when they come to national level their teammates become dependent to them, at least Portuguese but Argentina has good players other than mess, but they aren't doing well.
Hulk4444
72
That run will continue for both Messi and Ronaldo bcoz neither Argentina nor Portugal is gonna win this World Cup. Spain is the one which is gonna win this time. Mark my words. Two legends struggling to get the World Cup. I feel sad for both but i hope that they get it at least once in their career. They both deserve it. Good luck to the Legends.
U.S.A1672910
67
A player doesn’t need a World Cup to be considered one of the best ever because the World Cup is a short tournament that comes every 4 years,and a lot depends if the player will even go to the World Cup like qualifying ,injures and also teammates-only way to judge players is on their total career over all -now if the World wants to have a separate category just on the World Cup that’s fine like best ever World Cup players that’s ok but let’s not act like winning the World Cup makes a player great because that’s not true -many World Cup winners actually have poor club over all careers -club level is where you see who’s the best players because the playing field is more level unlike the World Cup
CRonaldo_7
52
Look Messi and Ronaldo both gotta chance at this but I think that their teams need to be a little more self reliant instead of relying on the “stars” for not everything but a lot...
ChrisdeApple
49
no so good for the legends but that wont change their legecy
Alebiosu
35
Where is George Weah in this list, he won d world best player without winning d world cup. He is even better than many of those you mentioned. We are Africa