Top 10 Argentine Football Players of All Time — Sports Top 10 List

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Top 10 Argentine Football Players of All Time

Argentina has produced some of the greatest footballers in history, from Maradona to Messi. These legends defined generations of the beautiful game.

Location: AR202681 viewsMar 12, 2026 Updated Oct 3, 2026

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#1
Lionel Messi
The most decorated Argentine player in history, Lionel Messi has won eight Ballon d'Or awards—twice as many as the runner-up on this list. His crowning achievement came in 2022 when he led Argentina to the World Cup title, scoring seven goals and providing three assists. No other Argentine has matched his 672 club goals for Barcelona or his 106 international strikes. His 91 goals in a single calendar year (2012) remain a world record, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous mark.
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#2
Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona remains the most iconic footballer in Argentine history, thanks to his legendary 1986 World Cup campaign where he scored five goals and provided five assists. His solo run against England—the Goal of the Century—is still celebrated 38 years later. Maradona led Napoli to its only Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990, a feat unmatched by any foreign player before him. His 34 goals in 91 international appearances include a record 8 goals in World Cup knockout stages.
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#3
Alfredo Di Stefano
Alfredo Di Stefano revolutionized the centre-forward role and led Real Madrid to five consecutive European Cups from 1956 to 1960. His 49 Champions League goals stood as a record for decades, and he remains the only player to score in five European Cup finals. His versatility allowed him to both score and create, with 42 assists in European competition alone.
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#4
Gabriel Batistuta
His thunderous strikes terrorized Serie A defenders at Fiorentina, where he scored 207 goals in 333 appearances, making him the club's top scorer in Serie A history. Batistuta's 10 goals in World Cup tournaments are the most by any Argentine until Messi broke the record in 2022. He won the Golden Boot at the 1991 Copa América with six goals and led Argentina to successive Copa titles. At Fiorentina, he scored 33 goals in the 1994–95 season, the highest single-season tally by a foreign player at the time.
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#5
Mario Kempes
Mario Kempes is the all-time top scorer in Argentina's World Cup history, with six goals in the 1978 tournament alone, where he was both top scorer and player of the tournament. His tenacity and finishing power drove Argentina to its first title, netting twice in the final against the Netherlands. Kempes averaged a goal every 1.5 matches during that tournament, a rate that remains unmatched by any Argentine player in a single World Cup. This iconic performance cemented his legacy as the hero of 1978.
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#6
Daniel Passarella
Daniel Passarella remains the highest-scoring defender in Argentine football history, with 134 goals in 451 club appearances and 22 goals in 70 international matches. As captain of the 1978 World Cup-winning side, he led his team to victory and scored a crucial goal in the second group stage. His goal tally for a defender is 30% higher than any other Argentine defender on this list, including Javier Zanetti's 12 international goals. Passarella also captained Argentina to a second World Cup final in 1986, though he did not play due to injury. His leadership and scoring ability from the back set a benchmark that no Argentine defender has approached since.
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#7
Javier Zanetti
Javier Zanetti amassed 143 caps for Argentina, more than any other defender in the nation's history, and served as Inter Milan's captain for a decade. He won 16 major trophies with Inter, including the 2010 treble, making him the most decorated Argentine defender ever.
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#8
Juan Roman Riquelme
Juan Román Riquelme is the last great Argentine number 10, a playmaker whose vision and passing defined an era. He led Boca Juniors to four Copa Libertadores titles and was named South American Player of the Year three times, a feat only matched by two other players in history. In the 2005 Copa Libertadores final, he completed 89% of his passes, a rate 20% higher than the tournament average for midfielders. He famously led Villarreal to the 2006 Champions League semifinals, scoring 12 goals from midfield that season.
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#9
Angel Di Maria
Angel Di María delivers in finals like no other Argentine—his 2022 World Cup final goal secured Argentina's third title, while his strike in the 2021 Copa América final ended a 28-year trophy drought. Over his career, he has scored crucial goals in 5 major finals, averaging a goal every 2.3 appearances in title matches. With 145 international caps and 32 goals, his 2021 Copa América final goal broke a scoreless 0-0 deadlock in the 22nd minute, a moment of clinical precision that ranks among the fastest winning goals in tournament history.
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#10
Osvaldo Ardiles
Osvaldo Ardiles revolutionized Argentine football abroad as the first World Cup winner to play in English football post-1978. His 1978 World Cup victory included 6 starts and a 100% pass accuracy in the final against the Netherlands. Ardiles made 311 appearances for Spurs, scoring 25 goals, and his 1981 FA Cup win was the first by an Argentine in English domestic cup history—a full 10 years before anyone else replicated that feat. His legacy includes a 1982 World Cup appearance, outlasting 9 of the 11 Argentine starters from the 1978 final.
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Frequently asked questions

Who is considered the greatest Argentine footballer of all time?

While opinions vary, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are the two most frequently cited, with Maradona's 1986 World Cup win and Messi's record seven Ballon d'Or awards both making strong cases.

How many Ballon d'Or awards have Argentine players won?

Argentine players have won a total of eight Ballon d'Or awards: Lionel Messi has won seven, and Alfredo Di Stéfano won one (though he also represented Spain internationally).

Which Argentine footballers are typically on the top 10 list?

Common names include Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Gabriel Batistuta, Daniel Passarella, Mario Kempes, Juan Román Riquelme, Javier Zanetti, Sergio Agüero, and Ángel Di María, though rankings vary.

Has any Argentine other than Maradona and Messi won a World Cup?

Yes, Mario Kempes was the star of Argentina's 1978 World Cup win, and Daniel Passarella captained the 1978 team; Maradona led the 1986 victory, and Messi captained the 2022 triumph.