The best midfielders of all time: Who make the grade alongside Zidane, Modric, Iniesta?

Strikers often attract the headlines in football, with those in the final third of the field doing arguably the hardest job of them all - putting the ball in the back of the net.

No great teams win silverware without a reliable goalkeeper, meanwhile, with some believing that the spot between the sticks is the most important part of any side.

Defenders also perform incredibly important jobs and rarely receive the glory, while any mistakes in that area of the field are highlighted due to their importance.

Midfielders are often overlooked, but those in the middle perform incredibly important jobs, driving the team forward and performing both attacking and defensive roles - it is the ultimate position.

Here, Sports Mole provides a countdown of the 10 greatest midfielders ever to grace this wonderful sport, and it was a very difficult task to put together due to the competition for spots.

As a result, some of the best have had to be overlooked, but there are so many incredible players in the following list that will go down as all-time legends in the sport.

10: Bobby Charlton

Possibly the greatest player ever to hail from the British Isles, Charlton remains part of the select few men that have ever claimed World Cup glory in an England shirt, playing an integral part in the Three Lions’ 1966 success.

That year, Charlton’s achievements were acknowledged as he won the Ballon d’Or, but he was just as successful at club level, winning the European Cup with Manchester United, making him just one of nine players ever to win all three honours.

Charlton also won three league titles with the Red Devils, and survived the fatal 1958 Munich Air Disaster, which almost robbed English football of one of its greatest ever players and finest gentlemen.

9: Toni Kroos

It is tough to find a midfielder with an honours list as extensive as Kroos, and the German great played a central role in all of his successes at both club and international level, bossing midfields all over Europe for a decade-and-a-half with his precision and composed passing game.

As an established member of the Bayern Munich team in the early 2010s, Kroos won two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League, before making the move to Real Madrid, where he enjoyed unparalleled levels of success, adding another five UCL winners medals to his collection, and four La Liga crowns.

However, Kroos’s crowning moment in football has to be becoming World Champion with Germany in 2014, playing all 120 minutes in Rio de Janeiro as Die Mannschaft beat Argentina 1-0 to win the World Cup for a fourth time.

8: Lothar Matthaus

A midfielder who could do it all, Matthaus remains possibly the greatest German player of all time, due to his versatility, passing range, eye for goal and tenacious, box-to-box style of play.

Famed for leading West Germany to World Cup glory as captain in 1990, Matthaus’s performance in Italy that summer resulted in him winning the Ballon d’Or, 10 years after he became a continental champion at Euro 80.

Unsurprisingly, for a player of his ability, Matthaus also enjoyed huge success at club level, winning six titles in two spells at Bayern Munich, as well as the Scudetto and the UEFA Cup at Inter Milan, during a very competitive era in Italian football.

7: Michel Platini

Possibly the most joyous footballer to watch before Diego Maradona stole the limelight in 1986, French icon Platini was the undisputed best player in the world during the mid-1980s, winning three straight Ballon d’Ors between 1983 and 1985.

The first and latter of that trio came due to his sublime performances for Juventus, both domestically and in Europe, but his most notable achievement was undoubtedly winning Euro 84 on home soil with France, ending as the top scorer, and winning Player of the Tournament.

Despite being a midfielder, Platini’s eye for goal was extraordinary, netting nine goals in just five games at Euro 84, as well as finishing as Serie A top scorer three seasons in a row at Juventus, winning the title twice, and he also tasted European Cup success in 1985, during a dominant few years for the one they nicknamed ‘The King’.

6: Zico

Before Platini truly announced himself to the world, Zico was the man regarded as the world’s greatest player, especially being a central part of the legendary 1982 Brazil squad that is often regarded as the greatest team never to win the World Cup.

Being a non-European, Zico was not eligible for the Ballon d’Or during his day, but the Brazilian was named South American footballer of the year on three separate occasions, enjoying great success with Flamengo in his home country.

Zico was voted seventh in FIFA’s Player of the Century award in 1999 due to his extraordinary goalscoring exploits from midfield, and his technical ability, that often drew comparisons to Pele, including from the man himself.

5: Xavi

Widely regarded as the best passer of a ball ever to play the game, no all-time midfielder list would be complete without Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi, who was part of club and international sides that dominated football for half-a-decade.

Playing over 1,000 senior matches as a professional, Xavi's career at Barcelona alone spanned 17 years, where he won eight La Liga titles, and four Champions League crowns, often acting as chief playmaker for the Catalans.

Xavi is also noted for his extraordinary accomplishments with the Spain national team, as La Roja could not be stopped between 2008 and 2012, winning back-to-back European Championships and a first-ever World Cup in between, and were it not for the talents of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, he would have certainly won the Ballon d’Or at some point in his career.

4: Andrea Pirlo

A man who personifies effortless efficiency, doing so with more than a touch of class, is Italian legend Pirlo, who is out on his own as the greatest playmaker ever to hail from a country that has produced many.

A hugely important presence in midfield, Pirlo sometimes slipped under the radar behind more showy players, but every manager and player who worked alongside him has always stated how crucial he was, and his honours list paints that picture, as he won six Serie A titles, and two Champions Leagues during his time with AC Milan and Juventus.

However, it is Pirlo’s success at the 2006 World Cup that will forever endear him to the hearts of all Italians, as he was pivotal in the Azzurri’s fourth world title, most notably teeing up Fabio Grosso expertly for the famous winner against hosts Germany deep into extra time in the semi-final.

3: Luka Modric

Being one of the most gifted footballers of all time who almost guided his humble nation to World Cup glory in 2018 and almost losing count of the amount of major honours he has won means Croatian legend Modric deserves his place so high up on this list.

There was little fanfare when Modric moved to Real Madrid in 2012, but he since become one of the greatest players ever to pull on the famous white shirt, winning a staggering six Champions League titles with Los Blancos, as well as four league titles, but winning the Ballon d’Or during the Messi-Ronaldo era just showcases what a special talent Modric was, and still is to this day.

Modric’s longevity is something to marvel at too, as he is still going strong at the top of European football with AC Milan despite being on the cusp of 40, and if Croatia make the 2026 World Cup, expect to see the little magician running the show for the Vatreni in North America, hoping to improve further on their unlikely silver and bronze medals from the last two editions.

2: Andres Iniesta

Arguably the best (and eligible) player never to win the Ballon d’Or, Iniesta encapsulated everything that was perfect about Spanish football in the late-2000s and early-2010s, being central to the success enjoyed by La Roja and Barcelona.

After being named in the Team of the Tournament as Spain won Euro 2008, Iniesta left an even bigger mark on the 2010 World Cup success, scoring the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands, before being awarded Man of the Match in the Euro 2012 final victory over Italy, crowning a truly remarkable four-year period.

At club level, Iniesta won the La Liga title nine times, and the Champions League a further four times with Barcelona, across a 674-game spell with the Blaugrana, but while Lionel Messi was crucial in the majority of those honours, it was the Argentine that prevented the Spanish great from ever winning the Ballon d’Or across his illustrious career.

1: Zinedine Zidane

Plain and simple, the most elegant and technically gifted midfielder of all time, Zidane tops our list of the greatest midfielders ever to grace the game, not only for his extensive honours list, but for the sheer talent in his locker.

Whether it was his first touch, close control, passing vision, decision-making, or the ability to pop up with vital goals on the biggest occasions, Zidane was world-class at the lot, leading Juventus, Real Madrid, and his country France to great success throughout his career.

Zidane’s goal in the 2002 Champions League final remains one of the greatest ever scored in the competition, and illustrates the technical class he possessed, but the midfield maestro’s finest era came between 1998 and 2000, when he became a World and European champion with France, scoring twice in their World Cup final win over Brazil, which resulted in him taking home the Ballon d’Or.