A group of football fans compiled a list of the best footballer born every year from 1970 – 2002. Creating this list of top footballers was a challenge, with many football legends born in the same year. However, we selected the player most preferred by fans to make the cut. For each year, we’ve also included the closest runner-up at the bottom of the article. Check out the full list of iconic footballers and let us know—did we get it right, or would you suggest any changes?
1970’s
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Cafu |
| 1971 | Jari Litmanen |
| 1972 | Zinedine Zidane |
| 1973 | Roberto Carlos |
| 1974 | Alessandro Del Piero |
| 1975 | David Beckham |
| 1976 | Ronaldo |
| 1977 | Thierry Henry |
| 1978 | Gianluigi Buffon |
| 1979 | Andrea Pirlo |
1980’s
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 1980 | Xavi |
| 1981 | Iker Casillas |
| 1982 | Ricardo Kaká |
| 1983 | Philip Lahm |
| 1984 | Andrés Iniesta |
| 1985 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 1986 | Manuel Neuer |
| 1987 | Lionel Messi |
| 1988 | Robert Lewandowski |
| 1989 | Gareth Bale |
1990’s
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Toni Kroos |
| 1991 | Kevin De Bruyne |
| 1992 | Neymar |
| 1993 | Harry Kane |
| 1994 | Bruno Fernandes |
| 1995 | Ollie Watkins |
| 1996 | Rodri |
| 1997 | Lautaro Martínez |
| 1998 | Kylian Mbappé |
| 1999 | Declan Rice |
.2000’s
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Erling Haaland |
| 2001 | Bukayo Saka |
| 2002 | Nico Williams |
Changes
Following are some of the arguable changes that can be made for the above list.
| Year | Change |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Shearer -> Cafu |
| 1971 | Larsson -> Litmanen |
| 1973 | Giggs -> Roberto Carlos |
| 1974 | Scholes -> Del Piero |
| 1980 | Xavi -> Ronaldinho |
| 1981 | Ibrahimović -> Casillas |
| 1988 | Sanchez -> Busquets |
| 1990 | De Gea -> Kroos |
| 1994 | Bruno Fernandes -> Bernardo Silva |
| 1996 | Rodri -> Coman |
| 1999 | Declan Rice -> Rafael Leao |
| 2000 | Haaland -> Vinicius Junior |
| 2001 | Bukayo Saka -> William Saliba |
| 2002 | Nico Williams -> Eduardo Camavinga |
Comment below what other changes should be made from this list of best footballer born every year from 1970 to 2002 or you can contact us through these channels.
1988 – Sergio Busquets? Sanchez ?
What about Robert Lewandowski
I need this pic for my website can I use it
OK sure
May I use your photo as the main photo for my blog? Of course, I will cite the source. I have no commercial or publicity purposes. I simply want to share the Football Manager database with blog users in my country and use it together. The reason I chose this photo is because I think it matches my database. I work with all the players from 2005 to 2025, so that’s why.