Top 10 best Brazilian soccer players of all time

The most successful national team of all time and with numerous incredible squads throughout the decades, Brazil is no stranger to success on the soccer field. 

Away from the national team, plenty of Brazilians have been the heart of Europe's biggest teams, and there is no shortage of individual honors either.

Here is our list of the top 10 Brazilian players of all time.

10. Zico

Dubbed the greatest Brazilian never to win the World Cup, Zico was part of some incredible national teams in the late 1970s and '80s.

He was accurate as a passer and finisher and became renowned for his ability in dead-ball situations. He has 240 career goals, and one estimate had 101 of those from direct free-kicks.

Zico scored 48 times in 71 games for Brazil and is considered one of the country’s greatest playmakers.

9. Neymar

The most expensive transfer ever, Neymar only just sneaks into the top 10; such is the quality in Brazil.

The striker won two La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey trophies, and a Champions League with Barcelona before his record-smashing $224.5 million move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

With PSG, he won four French titles and three French Cups. After six seasons in France, Neymar joined the Saudi Pro League in 2023.

With Barca he scored 105 times in 186 games, and that ratio improved at PSG, where he netted 118 in 173 games. 

Neymar became Brazil's all-time leading goalscorer in 2023, and the 32-year-old has 79 goals in 128 matches.

8. Socrates

Socrates was a self-confessed antiathlete who drank and smoked heavily, contributing to his death in 2011 at age 57, but such was his talent that he will always make lists like these.

He was the brains behind the Brazil team of the 1980s, which were considered among the greatest of all time. While players like Zico had all the flair, Socrates was the center of intelligence, linking midfield to attack and orchestrating play.

7. Kaka

Brazil have been spoiled with talent in the attacking midfield position, and Kaka is no exception. The 2007 Ballon d’Or winner was part of the Brazil squad that won the 2002 World Cup, but he only really came into his prime in the years after, with most of his success at club level.

With AC Milan, he won a league/cup double in 2003-04 before going on to lift the Champions League three years later.

Kaka remains just one of nine players to win the World Cup, the Champions League, and a Ballon d’Or.

6. Cafu

The most capped player by the Brazilian national team and one of the most respected defenders in the game, Cafu was a leader on the pitch and one of the greatest fullbacks ever.

He is the only player in history to appear in three World Cup finals in a row (1994, 1998, and 2002), and he captained Brazil when it won in 2002.

At club level, his most prominent spell came at AC Milan, where he won a Serie A title, a Supercoppa Italiana, and the 2007 Champions League.

5. Romario

Romario was one of the most prolific strikers of his generation and known for his incredible goal-scoring ability.

During his time in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, he scored 98 goals in just 110 league games. After moving to Barcelona, he scored 34 goals in only 46 La Liga games. He spent most of his remaining seasons in Brazil.

Romario was the player of the tournament when Brazil won the 1994 World Cup and scored 55 times in just 70 games for the national team.

4. Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho’s huge smile and incredible street football skills made him an icon of the game in the early 2000s.

Along with Rivaldo and Ronaldo, he made up Brazil’s thrilling front three at the 2002 World Cup and won the 2005 Ballon d’Or.

The most successful part of his club career came at Barcelona, where he won two league titles and the 2005-06 Champions League. 

He became the second Barcelona player, after Diego Maradona, to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans in the Santiago Bernabeu after two incredible solo goals in El Clasico.  

3. Rivaldo

Rivaldo was part of the World Cup-winning team in 2002, in which he scored in five of Brazil’s seven games. The 1999 Ballon d’Or winner is also known for one of the greatest hat tricks of all time.

A bending free kick, a 25-yard rocket, and a last-minute bicycle kick from the edge of the box helped beat Valencia 3-2 and secure 2002 Champions League football for Barcelona.

Rivaldo won league titles in Brazil, Spain, Greece, and Uzbekistan. He captured the Champions League with AC Milan in 2003.

2. Pele

According to FIFA, Pele is the greatest goalscorer of all time with 1,281 goals in 1,363 games when including friendlies. Depending on which major source you cite, he has either 762 or 775 from competitive fixtures for club and country — it is still an incredible  total.

The majority of these came in his 18-year tenure with Brazilian club Santos, where he won 25 major trophies and became a club legend.

At a national level, Pele holds the record for being the youngest-ever scorer for Brazil (aged 16 years and 259 days) and was their longtime all-time leading goalscorer, with 77 goals in 92 games. He is a three-time World Cup winner and undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever grace the game.

1. Ronaldo

A two-time Ballon d’Or winner and three-time World Player of the Year, Ronaldo earns the top spot. 

Nicknamed The Phenomenal One, he was the greatest player in the world in the late 1990s, and his career would’ve been even better had it not been curtailed by recurring knee injuries.

At club level, he won silverware in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Brazil, but his most famous performances came in a national jersey.

He was the youngest member of the 1994 squad to win the World Cup as a 17-year-old. Ronaldo was named player of the tournament as he led Brazil to another final in 1998, only to miss the loss through illness.

He returned in the 2002 World Cup to score two goals in the final and cement his legacy. He scored 62 goals in 98 games for Brazil and is its third-highest goalscorer of all time.

Updated by Rick Seto

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