Ranking the 10 greatest attackers in football history

#3 Pele

Pele won an unprecedented three FIFA World Cups with Brazil.

Pele was born in Brazil in 1940 and began his youth career at local club Bauru in 1953, before moving to Santos to kick-start his senior career aged 16 in 1956. He went on to become one of the most successful athletes of the 20th century.

Pele scored a scintillating 643 goals in 659 games for Santos, winning six Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A titles. He also picked up two Copa Libertadores titles, two Intercontinental Cups and 10 Campeonato Paulista titles with the Brazilian outfit.

Pele managed to win three World Cups with Brazil, for whom he scored 77 goals in 92 games, as well.

Pele is Brazil's all-time top scorer with his tally. His record of 1279 goals in 1363 games, including friendlies, is recognized as a Guinness World Record.

Since retiring in 1977, Pele has been a worldwide ambassador for football. In 1999, he was awarded an honorary Ballon d'Or owing to his services to the beautiful game.

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#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest Portuguese player ever.

Cristiano Ronaldo began his career playing for Sporting CP in Lisbon where he came through the youth ranks. A stunning display against Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United saw him move to England, as the Red Devils paid £12.24 million for him.

Following a successful spell with United, he moved to Real Madrid where the Portugal captain scaled great heights. Ronaldo won a stunning 15 trophies in a nine-year spell in Spain. That included four UEFA Champions League trophies, three of which came back-to-back between 2016-2018.

He is the top scorer in Champions League history with 140 total goals. He also won two La Liga titles during his stint at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ronaldo has also been a mainstay among the names at the top of lists of individual award winners. He has five Ballon d'Ors credited to his name, along with one FIFA World Player of the Year (2008) and two FIFA's The Best awards (2016, 2017).

Ronaldo has also won the UEFA Euro 2016 and the UEFA Nations League in 2019 with Portugal, ending a long wait for international honors. That added to his already illustrious list of accolades.

Ronaldo's current tally stands at 686 goals scored and 300 assists provided in 914 club games. He will look to keep bettering that as he leads the line for Ralf Rangnick's resurgent Red Devils this season.

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#1 Lionel Messi

The greatest ever to set foot on a football pitch - Lionel Messi.

Lionel Andres Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina, and played for few years of his youth in Argentina before moving to FC Barcelona in 2000. It was at Barcelona where he truly grew into a global icon and a superstar in the sporting world.

The Argentine won a mind-blowing 25 trophies during his time at the Camp Nou. Out of those, 10 were La Liga and four were UEFA Champions League titles. Messi also holds the record for the highest number of Ballon d'Or wins with seven, winning his latest one this year.

Messi 'completed' football this year, winning the Copa America with Argentina and ending his long-drawn wait for international honors.

Among his notable records, Messi is Barcelona's all-time top scorer with 672 goals in 786 games for the Catalan giants. He also has the most hat-tricks in La Liga with 36.

In 2012, Messi reached the peak of his career as he scored 91 goals that calendar year, breaking Gerd Muller's long standing record by six goals. The Argentine has also scored the most goals while playing for a single club with Barca.

Having moved to Paris Saint-Germain on a free, Messi will look to hit the ground running as the Parisians aim for European glory with the little master.