The 10 Best Central Midfielders in Football History

Ranking the best central midfielders ever is not an easy task. Nostalgia often hinders the ratings process. Individual and team success can be more of an accurate barometer to gauge the greatness of players from all eras. Countless players with multiple international and club honours do not make SportsBoom’s list of great central midfielders.

All the players are modern greats. There was no reason to rate players most people have never seen play. YouTube highlights videos can cloud judgments and do a disservice to players from a bygone era. SportsBoom explored the football databases and compiled our list of best central midfielders ever. Let the debates begin. 

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Andrés Iniesta: The Ultimate Big Match Player and Trophy Collector

Andrés Iniesta won 37 major trophies at international and club level. Only Lionel Messi, the highest scorer in La Liga history, and Dani Alves have won more silverware than their former Barcelona team-mate. Few footballers win every trophy on offer, but Iniesta did. The midfield maestro won one FIFA World Cup and two UEFA European Championships with Spain. Steven Gerrard is the only footballer to win Player of the Match in every European and English cup-final competition. 

However, Gerrard never won the two ultimate prizes. Moreover, Iniesta is the only footballer to win Player of the Match in a World Cup, European Championship, and Champions League final. He scored the winning goal in the World Cup final. Has there ever been a better ‘big match’ player? Iniesta’s former club and country midfield partner, Xavi Hernández, also won the 2010 World Cup and 2008 and 2012 EUROs with La Roja. Iniesta is the best central midfielder ever. 

Hernández and Luka Modrić are the only other midfielders to win thirty trophies or more. Modrić, however, never won the World Cup. He was a runner-up with Croatia in Russia in 2018 and finished third in Qatar in 2022. Modrić is, however, the midfielder with the most Champions League titles, winning six with Real Madrid. Modrić shares the equal-most FIFA Club World Cup wins with Iniesta, who won four titles at Barcelona. 
 

Image for Luka Modrić 

Patrick Viera, Zinedine Zidane, and Lothar Matthäus won an international World Cup and EUROs double for France and Germany, respectively. Zidane and Matthäus added the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards to their trophy cabinets. Modrić, Kevin De Bruyne, and Clarence Seedorf are the only featured players not to win an international tournament, but they all won every club trophy.

Michel Platini is one of the best central midfielders of all time. Platini won three successive Ballon d‘Or awards from 1983 to 1985. Zidane, Matthäus, and Modrić are the only other central midfielders to win the FIFA Golden Ball Award. Platini led France to the 1984 UEFA European Championship, top-scoring with nine goals in five games, and the 1985 CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions. 

He scored the only goal when Juventus beat Liverpool to win the 1985 European Cup. These achievements cemented his legacy as one of the best players to grace a football field. Platini only won eleven major honours, the fewest of the players on our top 10 list of best central midfielders in history. 

He scored 338 goals, the most by any central midfielder. Matthäus is the second-highest-scoring central midfielder. The former German captain scored 227 goals. De Bruyne is the third-highest-scorer, netting 177 times. De Bruyne, one of the best midfielders in the Premier League in 2024 despite being injured for most of the season, is the only active player to make our top 10 list, the others have retired.

1. Andrés Iniesta

SportsBoom has voted Andrés Iniesta as the best central midfielder ever. He won it all. He was voted second in the 2010 Ballon d’Or, third in the 2012, and awarded the 2012 UEFA Best Player in Europe. He was the 2012 UEFA EURO Player of the Tournament, the 2009 Spanish Footballer of the Year, and the 2011/12 La Liga Player of the Year. The Spaniard won the 2010 FIFA World Cup, EURO 2008 and 2012. 

He won the 2001 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Iniesta formed one of the greatest midfield-three with Xavi Hernández and Sergio Busquets at Barcelona. He won nine La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, three FIFA Club World Cups, and three UEFA Super Cups. Iniesta added three Copa del Rey triumphs to seven Spanish Super Cups.

2. Xavi Hernández

Xavi gets the nod ahead of Zinedine Zidane. Xavi finished third three times in the Ballon d’Or (2009, 2010, 20111). He was voted the 2005 Spanish Footballer of the Year and 2007/08 La Liga Player of the Year. Hernández won the 2010 FIFA World Cup, EURO 2008 and 2012.

He won the 1999 FIFA Under-20 World Cup before claiming a Sydney 2000 Olympic Silver Medal with Spain. He won eight La Liga titles, four Champions League, two FIFA Club World Cup crowns, and three UEFA Super Cups. Xavi won three Copa del Rey trophies and six Spanish Super Cup winners medals.

3. Zinedine Zidane

Zidane dominated world football from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. More an artist than a footballer, Zidane won three FIFA Best Men's Player awards, more than any other central midfielder. After leading France to World Cup glory, he won the 1998 Ballon d'Or. He was voted UEFA Best Men’s Player in 2000 and EURO 2000 Player of the Tournament.

Zizou was twice voted France Player of the Year and once voted Serie A Player of the Year in 2000. Surprisingly, Zidane only won one Champions League but scored a sensational winning goal for Real Madrid in the 1998 European Cup final. Zidane added EURO 2000 to his France ‘98 triumph.

One of his best tournament campaigns ended in disaster. In 2006 World Cup final, and in his last match before retirement, the France legend headbutted Marco Materazzi. He was sent off in disgrace. France lost on penalties to Italy; however, Zidane won the 2006 Golden Ball, EURO 2000 Player of the tournament. Zidane won league titles at Juventus and Madrid.

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4. Michel Platini

Platini won three successive FIFA Ballon d’Or awards (1983, 1984, 1985). He was twice France Player of the Year and Serie A Player of the Year three times. He was the 1984 European Championship top-scorer, winning Player of the Tournament. He was suspended for ethics violations and banned from football until 2023.

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5. Andrea Pirlo

Pirlo was the midfield conductor for Italy, AC Milan, and Juventus. His career coincided with Iniesta, Xavi, Zidane, Luka Modrić, Clarence Seedorf, and Patrick Viera: The ‘golden Age’ of midfield maestros. He won the 2006 Bronze Ball after a Player of the Match final display versus France, leading Italy to 2006 FIFA World Cup glory. 

Pirlo was voted Italian Footballer of the Year three years running, from 2012 to 2014. The ‘Regista’ boasts a 2000 UEFA European Under-20 Championship title and a 2004 Olympic Bronze Medal. Pirlo added one FIFA Club World Cup to his six Serie A titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and one Copa Italia. 

6. Luka Modrić

For so long during his illustrious career, Modrić went under the radar because he played for a star-studded Real Madrid side led by Cristiano Ronaldo. Modrić came into his own after Ronaldo left Spain. His best season came in 2018. He won the 2018 Best FIFA Men’s Player, the 2018 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, the 2018 Ballon d’Or, and the 2018 UEFA Best Player in Europe. He led Croatia to the World Cup final and won the Champions League in his best-ever season. 

His form did not fall off. Modrić won the 2022 World Cup Bronze Ball, but Croatia finished third. He has been voted Croatia Footballer of the Year twelve times. In Croatia, he won three SuperSport HNL titles. A trophyless time at in the English Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur gave way to riches of silverware at Madrid. 

Modrić won six Champions League and four La Liga titles, four FIFA Club World Cups and four UEFA Super Cups. He added two Copa del Rey wins to five Spanish Super Cup triumphs. Another La Liga and Champions League title in 2023/24 shows his hunger for silverware is stronger than ever. He is still one of the best midfielders in La Liga.

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7. Lothar Matthäus

Lothar Matthäus is still the most-capped German footballer, with 150 caps. After leading Germany to 1990 World Cup glory, he won the Silver Ball before being awarded the Ballon d'Or. FIFA World Player of the Year followed in 1991. The two-time German Footballer of the Year has the distinction of winning the international World Cup and the 1980 European Championship.

He won seven Bundesliga championships with Bayern Munich and a Serie A title at Inter Milan. Matthäus, however, never won the UEFA Champions League. He won two UEFA Cup titles, with Munich and Inter, with several German domestic cups and a Major League Soccer title. Matthäus is one of the greatest players of the twentieth century. He scored 227 goals and provided 80 assists. He is the definition of box-to-box midfielder, and one of the greatest central midfielders of all time.

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8. Patrick Viera

Viera is an Arsenal, Inter Milan, and France legend. He is always in the conversation for the best English Premier League midfielder. He won the international double of 1998 World Cup, EURO 2000. He was named France Footballer of the Year after the 2001 Confederations Cup victory. He won five Serie A and three Premier League titles, five Italian Cups and five FA Cup trophies.

9. Clarence Seedorf

Seedorf did not win a Ballon d’Or or any individual European awards. He was one of the most versatile midfielders of the 90s and mid-2000s. The Dutchman never won an international tournament with the Netherlands. He won league titles in three countries: two Serie A in Italy, two Dutch Eredivisie titles, and a Spanish La Liga title. He won one Champions League, which led to a FIFA Club World Cup, and one Copa Italia. 

Image for Clarence Seedorf