Lionel Messi, Neymar and the 25 best South American players of the 21st century so far – ranked

There have been one or two decent players from South America over the years. Diego Maradona, Pele and Lionel Messi are the standouts, of course, but a glance over any given list of the best footballers ever would show a South American-heavy contingent.

And that is no different in recent years. While Messi has been in a long-term battle with Cristiano Ronaldo to be crowned the GOAT, he is far from the only South American to have made a major contribution to winning the biggest prizes the game has to offer – be it for club or country.

But how would you rank the best South American players of the 21st century so far? With the first 25 years almost over, GOAL has broken down our top 25…

• Getty Images Sport

  25Edinson Cavani

  After initially emerging in Italy with Palermo and Napoli, Edinson Cavani became a stalwart of a number of successful Paris Saint-Germain sides in the 2010s, winning six Ligue 1 titles on his way to becoming the club’s all-time top goal-scorer with 200 strikes to his name – a number that has since been bettered by Kylian Mbappe.

  Throw in the 2011 Copa America and his 58 national team goals for Uruguay, and you have a great of the modern game. And while his spells at Manchester United and Valencia didn’t quite go to plan, ‘El Matador’ continues to add to his legend at Boca Juniors, where he averages almost a goal every other game for the Argentine giants.

  • Getty Images Sport

    24Alexis Sanchez

    It is easy to forget just how good Alexis Sanchez was for both Chile and Arsenal during the mid-2010s. The forward, who initially made a name for himself at Udinese before moving to Barcelona and then north London, carried a poor Gunners side to two FA Cups, and scored 30 goals in the 2016-17 season.

    Perhaps his best moment, however, was when he netted a Panenka penalty to win his country the Copa America in 2015. Chile has never had such a talent to rely upon, and while Sanchez’s two-year stint with Manchester United was a failure, there is no doubt regarding the impact he made on the game when at his very best.

    • AFP

      23Diego Forlan

      Regarded as one of Manchester United’s biggest transfer flops at the start of the 21st century, it says a lot of Diego Forlan’s character that he was able to put his underwhelming spell at Old Trafford behind him and become one of world football’s most lethal forwards during the second half of the 2000s.

      He twice won the European Golden Shoe after finishing as top scorer in La Liga, first with Villarreal and then Atletico Madrid, with whom he also won the 2010 Europa League after scoring twice in the final to beat Fulham.

      At international level, Forlan was named Player of the Tournament at the 2010 World Cup after finishing as joint-top scorer in South Africa, before going on to win the Copa America with Uruguay a year later. Quite simply, one of the most underrated players of his generation.

    • AFP

      22Radamel Falcao

      There was a period in the 2010s where Radamel Falcao had a decent claim to be the most lethal goal-scorer in world football. ‘El Tigre’ is likely to end his career having averaged a goal every other game at club level, and that is only because he has slowed down as time and injuries have taken their toll on his body.

      Having emerged as a fearsome forward at River Plate, Falcao went on to be a menace for both Porto (72 goals in 87 games) and Atletico Madrid (70 in 91) as he won back-to-back Europa League titles, one with each club. He would go on to form a fearsome partnership with a teenage Kylian Mbappe as Monaco won Ligue 1 and reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2017, and while loan spells at Manchester United and Chelsea didn’t work out, his legend in Europe remains strong.

      He also holds the record for most goals in a Colombia shirt with 36, and recently became the first player from the country to total 350 goals in their career.

    • Getty Images Sport

      21Javier Mascherano

      One of the more versatile players of his generation, Javier Mascherano went from being a hard-nosed defensive midfielder for Liverpool to a skilled centre-back at Barcelona as he forged an almost impenetrable partnership with Gerard Pique at Camp Nou. The Argentine won 19 trophies during his time with the Blaugrana, including five La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues, while he beat Messi and others to the club’s Player of the Season prize in 2013-14.

      While he finished on the losing side in one World Cup and four Copa America finals for Argentina, Mascherano did win two Olympic gold medals for his country and made an incredible 147 appearances across 15 years.

    • Getty

      20Carlos Tevez

      Tevez won everywhere he went, finding success with Manchester United, Manchester City, Juventus and Boca Juniors, having initially broken through at the Argentine giants. But perhaps his best trait was his versatility, a player who willingly sacrificed his goalscoring instincts to make room for others – not least Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.

      He ended up being something of a controversial figure, swapping United for City – and helping the Cityzens win their first-ever Premier League title in 2011-12. There were problems at the Etihad, too, including a transfer request and refusing to come on as a substitute in the Champions League, but ultimately his 291 career goals speak for themselves.
    • Getty Images

      19Hernan Crespo

      Argentina had their fair share of decent forwards throughout the early 2000s, and Crespo was among the finest. Although at his best for Parma in the late 1990s, the striker made valuable contributions for first Chelsea, then AC Milan, and later Inter to make for a loaded trophy cabinet.

      Although he wasn’t prolific by the time the 2000s rolled around, the Argentine was still good for at least 15 goals per season. His impact for the national team was significant, too, and he remains La Albiceleste’s fourth highest goalscorer of all time – an impressive feat given the quality of the other names on the list.

    • Getty

      18Javier Zanetti

      Across a 23-year career, Zanetti – a disciplined right-back – established himself as a serial winner. He bagged 16 trophies for Inter, including five Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia triumphs, and one Champions League.

      More than anything, though, it is Zanetti’s loyalty that stood out. The full-back could have left Inter on numerous occasions, but chose instead to stick around – even if it meant accepting a reduced role in his later years at the club. Only Gianluigi Buffon and Paolo Maldini have made more Serie A appearances. Throw in the fact that he captained some of the more successful sides in football history, and you have a true legend of the game.
    • Imago

      17Vinicius Jr

      There is no real limit to how high Vinicius might climb on this list over the coming years. He’s already one of the best wingers on the planet, a three-time Champions League winner, and is currently the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or.

      But more than anything, Vinicius is box office. While individual expression is sometimes lacking in the modern game, the Real Madrid man has managed to combine goals with entertainment. Like Neymar and Ronaldinho before him, Vinicius plays off the cuff, and is good enough to get away with it.

      The Brazilian is arguably the best in the world already – and his journey is far from over.

    • Getty

      16Angel Di Maria

      Very good for Real Madrid and even better for PSG, Di Maria is one of the more talented wide players of the last 20 years. He won everything there is to win for Los Blancos, and finally achieved international glory for Argentina with the 2022 World Cup.

      At the time, it felt like perhaps the second-most significant capturing of a medal. Messi may have needed the win to certify his GOAT status, but Di Maria might just have deserved it more. He was never going to be among the world’s best, but he was a winger who would willingly sacrifice personal statistics – or alter his game – for the good of the team. That was all vindicated by a second major international trophy, when he rounded off his Albiceleste career with a Copa America.
    • Getty

      15Casemiro

      It has been unfortunately lost in his recent career struggles just how good Casemiro was for Real Madrid. Nominally a No.6, the Brazilian could do a bit of everything on his day, equally comfortable putting in a crunching tackle as picking a pass in the final third.

      That Madrid midfield – Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro – is widely regarded as one of the best of all time – and for good reason. Kroos was the passmaster, Modric the box-to-box maestro. But none of it could have worked without Casemiro doing all of the bits in between – and offering a healthy amount of individual inspiration, too.

      Other top class defensive midfielders have followed – Fabinho, Rodri, Bruno Guimaraes. And all of them have borrowed at least something from Casemiro’s game.

    • Getty

      14Juan Roman Riquelme

      It is a real shame Riquelme could never quite do it in Europe, especially given just how successful he was for Boca Juniors. But peruse an old tape of the silky midfielder for Argentina, and it is clear exactly how good he was. He remains, to this day, a tough footballer to quantify. Certainly, Riquelme’s individual quality was almost-unparallelled, but his lack of trophies at the top level can certainly be called into question. Still, it is a rare breed of centre-midfielder that just needs to be enjoyed for what he was. Never a scorer or assister, Riquelme just made the game look so, so easy.

      Truly wonderful to watch, and a three-time winner of the Copa Libertadores, Riquelme lives long in the memory of football purists.

      • 

        13Rivaldo

        If this list expanded to the late 1990s, Rivaldo would have a legitimate case to be among the top five. But his best years were split between two decades. Indeed, the Brazilian’s two Ballon d’Or wins came before 2000, when he was tearing it up for Barcelona.

        Still, he made an immense impact into the 21st century, and played a crucial role for Brazil at the 2002 World Cup – involved in both goals in the Selecao’s 2-0 win in the final.

        Even in his latter days as a footballer, bouncing around Greece and eastern Europe, Rivaldo showed flashes of quality. Yet because he played alongside O Fenomeno, he remains slightly underrated in the modern conscience – a real shame for a footballer of his quality.

      • Getty

        12Alisson

        How do you measure success as a goalkeeper? It’s an admittedly hard thing to gauge, but for Alisson, it might be reasonably simple. He helped turned Liverpool from top four hopefuls into Premier League winners.

        Context, as ever, is important here. Liverpool lost the 2018 Champions League final due, in large part, to significant blunders by then-goalkeeper Loris Karius. The Reds’ response was to bring in Alisson, who, 12 months later, made some vital stops to prevent a late Spurs fightback, as Jurgen Klopp’s men won the trophy that alluded them the year before.

        Skilled with his feet and scarily good in one-on-ones, the Brazilian will go down as one of South America’s best ever goalkeepers, and he is still performing at the top level under new manager Arne Slot.
      • Getty Images

        11Marcelo

        Marcelo was a pretty good defensive full-back. But that doesn’t really matter. The appeal in his game was the outrageous passes, ridiculous first touch, and eye for the spectacular.

        Most players with Marcelo’s skill are wingers, or even forwards. Instead, he operated from deeper lying areas, and could influence games with a clever piece of skill or long-range ping. Over the course of his career, the Brazilian routinely broke the internet with an array of fancy flicks and ridiculous first touches.

        Throw in six La Liga titles, two Copa Del Rey triumphs and five Champions League crowns, and Marcelo is among the best left-backs to ever play the game.

      • Getty Images

        10Roberto Carlos

        Before Marcelo, there was Roberto Carlos. For the late 1990s, he was an excellent two-way full-back who could do a bit of everything.

        Attacking full-backs certainly existed before him, but few could motor up and down the wing like the powerful Carlos, who was a stalwart for Los Blancos for over 10 years. He contributed in the final third like few full-backs ever, scoring 71 goals in his 11 years in Madrid. His role in that World Cup-winning team for Brazil simply cannot be understated, either.

        These days, he is best remembered for his “banana shot” free-kick, but he was so much more.
      • Getty

        9Ronaldo

        O Fenomeno, it is said, could have been the best of all time had knee injuries not robbed him of his career.

        As a striker, he had everything: pace, power, skill, flair, the ability to finish with both feet. Brazil have been looking for a striker like him for years since his retirement, and have been left frustrated. He was a talent like no other.

        But like a few others on this list, his best years came in the late 1990s. Still, he famously proved that even with one of his knees not working, he could be among the best in the world.

        He really should have been finished by the time he showed up at the 2002 World Cup. Instead, he won the Golden Boot, and Ballon d’Or that year. One of the best comebacks in sporting history.

      • Getty

        8Sergio Aguero

        Aguero could perhaps be on this list by merit of his 2012 Premier League-winning goal alone – the famous smash into the back of the net from an acute angle that gave Man City their first title. While that is the one everyone remembers, the fact he netted 426 others for club and country is what really gets him so high on this list.

        Aguero is, in some ways, unfortunate. He was phased out of the City side by Pep Guardiola, who moved away from the idea of having a central striker, even when Aguero was still in his prime. And shortly after he left, the Spanish coach brought in Erling Haaland, the taller, stronger, quicker version of the Argentine.

        Still, his all-round quality cannot be understated. Man City simply would not be the powerhouse they are today without his contributions, which saw him net 260 times and win 15 trophies across a decade.
      • Getty Images

        7Thiago Silva

        One of the most decorated centre-backs of all time, Thiago Silva was an immense presence for first Milan then PSG in the 2010s. A captain of both teams, and later Chelsea, Silva was dominant as a defensive presence, and smart on the ball too.

        It was clear from early on that Silva would be a top player. He was a regular starter for Milan as soon as he arrived at the club, and developed into a world class defender within a few years. He was vindicated with a Serie A title in 2012, before moving to PSG for a then world record fee for a centre-back.

        He was even better in Paris, winning seven Ligue 1 titles, and becoming the club’s longest-serving captain. And at Chelsea he did something he never could in France or Italy – winning the 2021 Champions League final.

      • Getty Images

        6Cafu

        Cafu’s best years might have come in the 1990s for Sao Paolo and Roma, but he was still an immense presence for Carlo Ancelotti at AC Milan.

        The Brazilian was part of one of the best backlines in football history, serving alongside the likes of Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta for a Milan side that dominated Serie A for a few years – and claimed the 2003 Champions League title.

        A two-time European Cup winner, and captain of Brazil’s World Cup-winning side, legendary full-back Cafu remains a blueprint for youngsters trying to master the position.
      • Getty Images

        5Luis Suarez

        Suarez has found success wherever he has played. Dominant for Liverpool, even better for Barcelona, and perhaps the key to Inter Miami’s MLS Cup hopes, the Uruguayan is a serial winner and unstoppable goalscorer.

        On the pitch, there is nothing Suarez can’t do. Capable of finishing with either foot, a clever dribbler, and in possession of enough individual quality to make magic happen, Suarez was simply unplayable during his prime. His 2013-14 campaign for Liverpool – one in which he set a then-Premier League goalscoring record by finding the net 31 times – remains one of the great individual seasons in English top-flight history.

        Scrappy – at times too scrappy – Suarez is perhaps the best striker of his generation.

      • AFP

        4Kaka

        It is, admittedly, something of a shame that Kaka left Milan when he did. The 2007 Ballon d’Or holder and two-time Champions League winner had so much more to give in Italy.

        But that could do little to taint his reputation in Milan. The silky No.10 redefined what the position could be. Bigger and stronger than most traditional players in his position – then defined by its diminutive tricksters – Kaka used his physicality and immense individual skill to run games in attacking areas.

        And he wasn’t bad for Real Madrid, either, winning La Liga and a Copa del Rey. The real appeal, though, was watching this lanky attacker move like someone six inches shorter. His goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford remains one of the great pieces of individual inspiration in recent football history.
      • Getty Images

        3Neymar

        Oh, what could have been. Neymar is among the most talented players to ever kick a football, and when he’s on song, there are few better. But an ill-advised move to PSG and relentless injuries robbed him of the honours that a player of his immense talent truly deserves.

        Yes, Neymar has his critics. He goes down too easily. His nonchalant attitude to the concept of “professionalism” can be called into question. But to love Neymar is to accept all of the absurdity, and simply take in a ridiculous talent who can really do just about anything with the ball at his feet.

        And perhaps there’s some beauty in the “what if” here. Certainly the most talented in the world at his best, Neymar could even be in the top five ever. Instead, by his own making, he is just outside of the greats. A great shame.

      • Getty

        2Ronaldinho

        The man who once brought the Santiago Bernabeu to his feet, Ronaldinho was simply unbelievable to watch. He will earn few points for longevity, but on skill alone cracks the top three.

        Like a few others on this list, Ronaldinho gets some points for the way he played the game, and the persona that came with it. Yes, he could do everything with a football, and yes, he did enough to win the 2006 Ballon d’Or. But his at times self-destructive individualism is all part of the appeal. There is a real beauty in being this good without necessarily having to try all the time.

        Ronaldinho remains, in fact, the ultimate highlight reel player. No one comes near No.1 though.
      • (C)Getty Images

        1Lionel Messi

        Eight Ballon d’Or wins. Every trophy in the book. A captain of his club and country. A whopping 843 goals and 375 assists (and counting). Does anything else really need saying?

        That Messi and Ronaldo were compared for so long is somewhat baffling. The Portuguese felt like a perfectly-engineered footballing machine, a player who forced every last ounce of quality out of himself. Messi, to this day, makes everything look so, so, so easy. At his best – in his prime years at Barcelona – he beat teams single-handedly. There were the virtuosic goals, impossible assists, and countless body feints that left defenders sprawling around him.

        Even now, at Inter Miami, with his legs failing and pace lacking, Messi can take over any game. Simply, the GOAT.