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40. Kenny Dalglish
How many times has a club sold their best player abroad, only for him to win the Ballon d'Or, and replaced that man with their greatest-ever player?
As well as scoring a joint-record 30 Scotland goals in a record 102 Scotland caps, he became the first player to net 100 goals in both the Scottish and English leagues, and formed a formidable partnership with the emerging Ian Rush at Liverpool, often as the provider. “I had no preference between scoring and creating - it didn’t matter as long as it ended in a goal,” he explained.
Dalglish would win eight league titles at Anfield, and two more European Cups, finishing second only to Michel Platini in the 1983 Ballon d’Or. “When Kenny shines, the whole team is illuminated,” Paisley said. No Liverpool player has ever shone brighter than Sir Kenneth Dalglish.
Career highlight: Equally adept as a provider and a scorer of goals, Dalglish’s calm chipped effort to win the 1978 European Cup Final against Bruges demonstrated there was no more composed finisher in the game.
39. Michael Laudrup
A playmaker of seamless silkiness, Laudrup remains the greatest Danish player of all time. A stalwart of Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team that won four successive league titles for Barcelona, he then went full Luis Figo, joining Real Madrid and immediately halting that run.
Andres Iniesta called him “the best player in history” - no wonder Swansea hired him.
Career highlight: Lifting Barcelona’s first European Cup, at Wembley in 1992.
38. John Charles
In 1997, Il Buon Gigante – the Gentle Giant – pipped both Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini to the title of Juventus fans’ greatest-ever foreign player. A world-record £65,000 signing from Leeds in 1957, Charles scored 108 goals in 155 matches for Juve. He also won two league titles in Italy, while demonstrating that big men (he was 6ft 2in and 14 stone) could indeed possess a sublime touch.
Danny Blanchflower reckoned Charles, who also represented Wales at the 1958 World Cup, was the “most instinctive player I ever saw”.
Career highlight: Charles served notice of his extraordinary versatility at Leeds when, after being converted from an outstanding centre-half into a centre-forward during the 1952/53 season, he went on to score 42 goals in 1953/54.
37. Roberto Baggio
A No.10 who scored and created with equal glee. One of the biggest stars of not one but two World Cups, the Divine Ponytail bagged a solo goal for the ages against Czechoslovakia in 1990, then spearheaded Italy’s run to the final in 1994. Admittedly, that didn’t end well.
Career highlight: Winning the 1993 Ballon d’Or, during his days with Juventus.
36. Luka Modric
Once an actual goat herder in his youth, Modric’s supreme passing skills were pivotal to herding Cristiano Ronaldo and Co to Champions League glory at Real Madrid. He’s now bagged the trophy six times, a joint record for the post European Cup era.
Career highlight: Breaking the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly on the Ballon d’Or, after guiding Croatia to a first World Cup final in 2018.
35. Mattias Sindelar
Nicknamed the Mozart of Football, Sindelar was one of the world’s greatest stars in the 1930s, leading the magnificent Austrian national Wunderteam. The forward made his political views known too, wildly celebrating a goal against Germany in 1938, right after Austria had been annexed. He died mysteriously a year later.
Career highlight: Sindelar captained Austria as they reached the 1934 World Cup semi-finals, where they were controversially beaten by the hosts Italy.
34. Luis Suarez
No, not him. This Luis Suarez never bit anyone, although he did play for Barcelona. Nicknamed ‘the Architect’, he was a midfielder of rare vision and remained the only Spaniard to have won the Ballon d’Or up until Rodri's win. Then he joined Inter for a world record fee in 1961 and won back-to-back European Cups.
Career highlight: The summer of 1964, when Suarez followed the European Cup by winning the Euros with Spain.
33. Valentino Mazzola
The 1949 Superga air crash wiped out the legendary Grande Torino side, of which Mazzola was the finest. In seven years, he helped them win five championships and set a record for the most goals scored in a Serie A season, which still stands today.
Career highlight: Using his prodigious heading ability, he netted 29 goals from central midfield in 1946-47, eight more than the league’s next highest scorer.
32. Bobby Moore
A footballing centre-half long before the concept was fashionable, to this day he remains the yardstick against which all England defenders are measured. After serenely bringing football home in 1966, he finished second in the 1970 Ballon d’Or after that tackle on Pele.
Career highlight: Collecting the World Cup from Her Majesty the Queen (having wiped his hands first on the velvet tablecloth, naturally).
31. Raymond Kopa
Born as Raymond Kopaszewski, the son of Polish immigrants became a French hero at Reims, but lost the European Cup final to Real Madrid. If you can’t beat them, join them - the playmaker headed to the Bernabeu and won the trophy three times, one of them against Reims.
Career highlight: The first Frenchman to win the European Cup, Little Napoleon then won the Ballon d’Or in 1958.
