The Best Defenders in World Football

Discussing the best players in world football is a never-ending debate, often without any definitive answers because of tribalism and different opinions based on fact and fiction, trophies, or statistical data. 

The sport of football also has diverse types of defenders, and sometimes one position can be played in two separate ways. All centre halves (or central defenders) need to be tall, good in the air, and quick and strong. They must be calm under pressure, and in the modern game, be able to play out from the back. Most of all, centre halves need to have communication skills, which is why many great central defenders are often the captain of their clubs and countries.

Fullbacks, the right and left defenders opposite the centre halves, must also be quick and strong and be able to communicate across the line. However, in the modern game, fullbacks must have the ability to take on defenders like wingers. 

They need to possess accurate passing and crossing skills, but most of all, they need to create for the attacking forwards and score goals. At SportsBoom, we have listed the greatest defender of all time and the best defenders in world football in 2024. Let the debates begin!

Who is the Greatest Defender of All Time?

As mentioned earlier in the piece, debates in sports about ‘greatest and best of all time’ is subjective. Even the debate about the best player of all time is an endless cycle of arguments between tribal supporters and a click-bait-driven and often cynical media, who inflame these debates. When discussing best defenders of all time, one name is mentioned more than most: Paolo Cesare Maldini.

Paolo Maldini is considered one of the greatest players of all time, never mind best defender. Maldini played left-back and centre-back for AC Milan and Italy. Nicknamed "Il Capitano", Maldini chalked up 647 appearances for Milan in Serie A, which was a record until he was overtaken by Gianluigi Buffon in 2020. He holds the joint-record for most European Cup/UEFA Champions League final appearances (8) alongside Paco Gento.

Milan-born Maldini is one of the rare ‘one club’ players. He spent his entire 25-year career at his boyhood club, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009. He won 26 trophies with Milan: the European Cup/UEFA Champions League five times, seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Italian Super Cups, five European/UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup. 

He won the Best Defender trophy at the UEFA Club Football Awards at the age of 39, as well as the Serie A Defender of the Year Award in 2004. AC Milan retired his number 3 shirt after his retirement, a rare honour in football at any level. Aged 19, he made his debut for “Gli Azzurri” in 1988, and played for 14 years before retiring in 2002 with seven goals and 126 caps for Italy, another record at the time, surpassed only by Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon.

Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances as Italy's skipper (75), until he was again overtaken by Cannavaro and Buffon. He played in four FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships. He did not, however, win a tournament with Italy, losing in the finals of the 1994 USA World Cup and Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands. 

The Italian came second to George Weah for FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995, and third in the Ballon d'Or in 1994 and 2003. In 2002, Maldini was selected as a defender on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team. Pelé named him in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. 

Maldini held the record for most appearances in UEFA Club competitions, with 174, until he was overtaken by Iker Casillas in 2017. He is the record appearance holder for Milan with 902 appearances in all competitions, and is one of the few players to have made over 1,000 career appearances. In December 2012, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Defenders do not come much better than the Italian grand master. 

Who are the best defenders in World Football in 2024?

According to Football Critic – an analytical football website that uses data algorithms to determine and evaluate each player’s rank  – the top 10 best defenders in world football in 2024 come from seven European clubs across three of the continent’s ‘Big Five’ leagues: Germany’s Bundesliga, England’s Premier League, and Italy’s Serie A. No players from Spain’s La Liga or France’s Ligue 1 make the top 10 list. Football Critic updates their list every Monday throughout the season, and this is their findings. 

Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, and Arsenal have two players on the list, while Bologna, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, and Stuttgart have a single defender in the top 10 rankings. The defenders’ nationalities are varied, with only one player not of European origin: Kim Minjae from the Korea Republic. Germany has the most representatives (four). Portugal, France, Brazil, Korea, Switzerland, and Italy each have one ranked player. 

Nico Schlotterbeck is ranked top on FC’s top defenders in world football list, but it would be a stretch to say he is better than Rúben Dias or William Saliba. Virgil van Dijk and Kyle Walker, who are not on this list, are certainly better than all on this list but for Dias and Saliba, who were the standout Premier League defenders in 2023/24. But this list is merely data-driven and analytical, not the more often valued “eye test,” which is another thing altogether. 

The Premier League has better teams and better-quality players than the Bundesliga, but the German league leads the way with the highest-ranked and most players on FC’s list. FC’s list is surprising considering the names of the missing stars. However, this list is compiled through data, not team or individual success and awards. Ranking is not based on a player’s perceived achievements or ability, but rather their form across their last 20 matches. The perceived difficulty of different leagues and strength of opposition also influences ranking.