5 greatest right-footed players of all time

#3 Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff (pic cred: The New Yorker)

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

Pele celebrates for Brazil (cred: The Irish Times)

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

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United - Premier League

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.