Top 10 Greatest Football Midfielders Of All Time

It is widely believed that whoever wins the midfield battle in a football game is sure to win the game on most occasions, and we definitely agree. After all, midfielders enjoy the possession of the ball more than anyone else and have the opportunity to create and destroy moves. They are the real workhorses of any side and create the transition from defence to attack. Without further ado, here are the top 10 best midfielders in football history. To begin, we have Frank Lampard, who will go down in football history as one of the greatest goalscoring midfielders of all time. Have you ever seen an all-time leading club goalscorer starting in midfield? Well, Lampard has achieved exactly that. The Chelsea midfielder has produced goalscoring numbers that some strikers would be proud of. In the 2009-10 season, Lampard scored 27 goals, a feat only achieved by Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United. During his time at Chelsea, Lampard won three Premier League titles and a Champions League. While his time with England may not have been that successful, he remains an inspiration for thousands of young players. Sir Bobby Charlton will go down as one of the greatest players in Manchester United's history, as well as one of the greatest midfielders in football history. Charlton was part of the English team that won the World Cup in 1966. In the red colours of Manchester, the Englishman won the European Cup in 1968. Like Lampard, Charlton also had a great eye for goal. He was the all-time leading goalscorer in United's history before Wayne Rooney broke the record in 2017. Based on his consistency, he won the Ballon d'Or in 1966. Continuing the English contingent of our list, Stephen Gerrard is a player that has carried Liverpool during their bad days. Imagine how he would look in the current Liverpool set-up. The current Aston Villa manager played in many different positions in midfield. It's safe to say he bossed every single one of them. Even though a Premier League title did elude him in the end, he did show his capabilities in the 2005 Champions League final against Milan. The Merseyside club, under Gerrard's leadership, came from three goals down to win their fifth Champions League title. If you want to see the art of executing precise long passes, you don't need to look further than Didi. The Brazilian is one of many jewels that were prominent in football history during the 1950s. Didi's finest moment came in the 1958 World Cup, when he was part of the Brazil side that became world champions. Considering the team had sensations like Pelé, it shows just how good Didi was to take the spotlight from them. Number 6. Frank Rijkaard Frank Rijkaard was all about fight and determination. The Dutch midfielder showed how vital he was to both Ajax and Milan's midfield during his prime years. The former Barcelona manager won three European Cups with Ajax and Milan, respectively. Even though the World Cup evaded him, he was part of the Dutch team that won the Euros in 1988. Even as a manager, he won the Champions League with Barcelona, showing the same tactical prowess that he was known for as a player. Into the top 5 now with Luka Modric. If you saw Luka Modric in his first season at Real Madrid, you wouldn't believe that he would become one of the greatest midfielders ever. Ever since his long-range goal against Manchester United in 2013, the Croatian has never looked back. His consistency and versatility have made him part of several successful Real Madrid sides. If we talk about the individual awards, he will always be remembered as the player who broke the Ballon d'Or dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018. Number 4. Lothar Matthäus Germany have had a rich history of iconic midfielders such as Effenberg, Ballack and Breitner. But the crown jewel of the German midfield has to be Lothar Matthäus. The iconic German was an exceptional presence in the middle of the pitch, breaking down attacks for fun and building attacks for his own team. He was also an exceptional leader, captaining the German side to World Cup glory in 1990, leading him to a Ballon d'Or victory later that year. Starting off the podium, we have Andres Iniesta. Andres Iniesta is probably one of those midfielders who definitely deserved a Ballon d'Or, but never got one. The little genius used to glide on the pitch and cut teams' defences for fun. The former Barcelona man is the only player in football history to secure the man-of-the-match performance in the World Cup final, Euro final and the Champions League final. In the colours of Barcelona, he won four Champions League titles and nine La Liga titles. With Spain, he was part of the team that won back-to-back Euros in 2008 and 2012. Most importantly, he scored the match-winning goal against the Netherlands to make Spain World Champions in 2010. After all, if you see a player get applauded by Real Madrid fans at the Bernabeu, you know that he's something special. Number 2. Xavi Xavi may go down as the greatest Spanish player of all time. Even though the debate with Iniesta is always there, you can't disregard his influence. The current Barcelona manager was deployed in a three-man midfield with Iniesta and Sergio Busquets. This midfield laid the foundation of arguably the greatest domestic and international teams. No wonder, since his retirement, Spain and Barcelona have never really been the same. And finally, at number 1, Zinedine Zidane If we talk about the best midfielders in football, Zinedine Zidane is probably the first name that comes to our mind. The former Real Madrid manager used to demolish teams based on his anticipation and passing. If you have seen his performance against Brazil in 2006, you would understand what we mean. Zidane's volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final is claimed as the greatest goal in the history of the competition. For France, Zidane was deployed as the advanced midfielder, with the handy duo of Patrick Vieira and Claude McAlealy doing the dirty work. This was our list of the best midfielders of all time. But of course, you may be furious about the one name we missed. Well, let us know in the comments how you would rank the 10 greatest midfielders of all time, and we'll see you in the next video. Thanks for watching.