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Right-footed players are the majority in the world of football. Most teams have more players who prefer to use their right foot than those who prefer their left. Despite being a bit of a minority, two left-footed players, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, are considered to be two of the greatest of all time.
Take those two away and the rest of the list is majorly dominated by right-footed players. Even today, most of the elite players in the world are right-footed players. So it is difficult for them to stand out among the crowd and it takes something special for them to be distinguished.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the best right-footed players of all time.
#5 Andres Iniesta
While names like Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Maldini and even Gerd Muller are difficult to overlook, Andres Iniesta deserves to be on this list a little bit more. Iniesta was poetry in motion on the football pitch.
Arguably the most complete central midfielder of his generation, Iniesta was the midfield lynchpin for Spain and Barcelona during their dominant days. The diminutive midfielder was the perfect foil for Xavi.
He could run rings around defenders thanks to his incredible dribbling ability teeming with deft touches and body feints. Iniesta was part of the dominant Spain side that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In fact, he scored Spain's winner in the final against the Netherlands.
Iniesta also played a starring role in Spain's triumph at the Euros in 2008 and 2012. He was a vital cog in Pep Guardiola's Barcelona side that won two Champions League titles and a continental treble.
It is nearly impossible to shake Iniesta off the ball. His intelligence, agility, vision, balance and technical ability made him a world-class player. Iniesta is often referred to as the greatest player to have never won the Ballon d'Or. He finished second in 2010 and third in 2012.
In his illustrious club career, Iniesta has won nine La Liga titles, four Champions League titles, six Copa Del Reys, six Supercopa de Espana and three FIFA Club World Cups.
#4 Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane is perhaps the most elegant footballer of all time. The Frenchman won the Ballon d'Or in 1998 after winning the World Cup with France that year. He scored two goals in the final against odds-on favourite Brazil and was just 26-years-old at the time as he became a national icon.
Zidane made football look too easy at times. He was a playmaker who stood out for his vision, elegance and technical ability. In addition to winning the Ballon d'Or in 1998, Zidane was also named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000, and 2003.
Save for his bizarre headbutt on Marco Materazzi which earned him a red card in the 2006 World Cup final, Zidane relished the big occasions. Real Madrid made him the most expensive footballer at the time when they signed him in 2001 for a staggering €77 million.
He won two Serie A titles, one La Liga title, one Champions League title, one World Cup and one European championship in his career.
#3 Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff is nothing short of a revolutionary to the beautiful game. No player in the history of the sport has had as much of an impact and influence as Cruyff has had over the game. He brought the 'total football' philosophy to the Netherlands national team, Barcelona and Ajax and also had a stellar individual playing career.
Cruyff won three Ballon d'Or awards in his career namely in 1971, 1973 and 1974. He was phenomenal for Ajax and was their most important player as they won three European Championships and eight league titles in total. He had a stint in between at Barcelona where he won the La Liga title and the Copa Del Rey.
Cruyff is responsible for La Masia as we know it today and had a stellar career as a manager as well. He was a creative playmaker who had incredible vision and the ability to pick killer passes. The fluid football that his teams were used to playing benefitted from having a mastermind like Cruyff in the side.
He would drop deep to carry the ball forward and orchestrate play in the attacking half. Cruyff was an innovator and his agility, speed, acceleration and spatial awareness made him a uniquely world-class individual. He was also part of the best ever side to never win a World Cup as the Netherlands finished runners-up to West Germany in 1974 at the end of an exhilarating run.
#2 Pele
Brazilian legend Pele is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time. He won the World Cup three times, in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He is one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of the game and is the only player to have scored more than 1200 goals in his senior career.
Even as a teenager, Pele had no problems rising to the occasion. At 17, he became the youngest scorer at a World Cup. He scored twice as Brazil beat Sweden in the final of the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Pele's involvement in the 1962 World Cup was limited to just one game due to injury. But he more than made up for it eight years later as he led an utterly dominant Brazilian side to World Cup glory. He won the Golden Ball for the best player at the competition.
Pele also had a stellar club career for Santos and New York Cosmos. He scored 643 goals in 659 appearances for Santos before leaving them for New York Cosmos after 18 years of service.
Pele is credited with connecting the phrase 'The Beautiful Game' with football thanks to his proclivity for scoring spectacular goals and mesmerizing trickery.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
No right-footed player in the history of the game has remained at the very top for as long as Cristiano Ronaldo has. He is the highest scorer in men's international football. Ronaldo is also the highest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League.
At 36-years-old, he continues to be phenomenal and has an unmatched ability to come up clutch when his teams need him most. Ronaldo broke onto the scene as a mercurial young winger at Sporting Lisbon. Sir Alex Ferguson saw the talented youngster and had him signed up at Manchester United shortly after.
Over the course of the next few years, Ronaldo would transform from a young tricky winger who is capable of moments of magic into one of the best in the business. He won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008. But it is at Real Madrid that Ronaldo truly established himself as one of the greatest of all time.
He scored an almost unbelievable 450 goals in 438 appearances for Real Madrid across all competitions. In his senior club career, Ronaldo has scored 683 goals and provided 230 assists in 906 appearances across all competitions.
The Portuguese international can strike thunderous shots with either foot. His burst of pace, movement, intelligence, agility and aerial ability are unrivalled. He won La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey and four Champions Leagues with Real Madrid.
At Manchester United, he won three Premier League titles, one Champions League title, one FA Cup and two League Cups. He also won the Scudetto twice with Juventus.
Ronaldo is 36-years-old right now but he continues to be one of the best players on the planet. He is arguably the greatest right-footed player of all time as well and has won a whopping five Ballon d'Ors.
