Ranking the 10 greatest attackers in football history

#7 Ronaldo Nazario

Ronaldo Nazario had a knack of scoring goals from anywhere on the pitch.

Ronaldo Nazario was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and began his career at Cruzeiro in 1993. The Brazilian had successful stints at PSV, Barcelona and Inter Milan, making a name for himself as one of the top strikers playing in Europe during the 1990s.

He scored 125 goals for the three clubs, catching Real Madrid's eye, and was bought by Los Blancos in 2002 for a then record €46 million fee. Ronaldo gained immense fame and superstar status with the number of goals he scored, and in the way he did it. Nicknamed 'O Fenomeno' or 'The Phenomenon', he had a knack of rounding the keeper before scoring goals.

Ronaldo scored 295 goals in 453 club appearances, providing 99 assists along the way. He won two FIFA World Cups with Brazil and finished runner-up once. Likewise, Ronaldo won two Copa Americas with his nation and finished runner-up once.

The Brazilian also won two Ballon d'Or awards, making him arguably the greatest Brazilian since Pele and Garrincha.

Ronaldo is currently the president of Segunda Division club Real Valladolid.

His legacy with all his clubs and Brazil will live on forever.

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#6 Gerd Muller

Gerd Muller rallying his troops during a game for Bayern Munich.

Gerd Muller was born in Nordlingen, Germany, and began his career with local side 1861 Nordlingen in 1963. Muller scored an unbelievable 51 goals in 31 games that year, earning him a move to Bayern Munich. It was with the Bavarians that Muller scaled near-insurmountable heights.

Muller was nicknamed 'Der Bomber' or 'The Bomber' for his goalscoring prowess. He won the European Footballer of the Year (now Ballon d'Or) in 1970, followed by the UEFA European Championship (1972) and the World Cup (1974).

Muller scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and is the all-time top scorer in the league to this day.

He held the record for the most goals scored in a Bundesliga season until recently, when Robert Lewandowski (41) surpassed Muller's 40. Muller also held the record for all-time top scorer in the World Cup with 14 goals, one that stood for 32 years before being broken by Ronaldo Nazario.

He will go down in history as one of the greatest and most dynamic German strikers to play the game.

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#5 Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry, alongside Alan Shearer, was the first inductee into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Thierry Henry was a menace for defenders of any quality during his playing days. Henry's pace, power and intelligence helped him beat defenders at will. The Frenchman played with an audacity akin to that of Michael Jordan for the Chicago Bulls, and had an incredible appetite for scoring goals.

Henry is Arsenal's all-time top scorer with 228 goals. He is also France's top scorer with 51 goals. Surprisingly, and much to his credit, Henry is also France's top assist-provider.

The Frenchman has won an incredible four Premier League Golden Boots and finished in the Ballon d'Or top three twice, narrowly missing out on the win in 2003.

Among team honors, Henry has won two Premier League titles, incredibly going the entire 2003-04 season unbeaten en route to glory. Henry also won two FA Cups with the Gunners. Henry completed an incredible career trophy cabinet after winning the UEFA Champions League in 2009 with Barcelona.

Henry also won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 UEFA Euros with France, further cementing his legacy as the best French striker of all time.

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#4 Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona was known for his outworldly ball control.

The late Diego Armando Maradona was one of the best footballers to have ever lived on this planet. He was the joint recipient of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award along with Brazilian legend Pele.

Maradona's dribbling, vision, passing and ball control, combined with his short stature that gave him a low center of gravity, allowed him to manouvre better than most players. Due to his immense skill and ability to dribble past opponents like they were cones, Maradona was often singled-out by opposition players.

However, he nearly always found a way to get past them and score a goal as shown in this clip below.

Maradona ended his career with a total of 310 goals in 589 appearances for the clubs he represented. He also won two domestic league titles and five domestic cups during his club career. Maradona guided his national side to a triumph at the FIFA World Cup in 1986, helping him cement his legacy.

He was also known for his unique and flambuoyant warm-up drills.

Diego Maradona sadly passed away in November 2020 and will forever be remembered for the incredible spirit and energy he brought to the game.