Top 10 Football Players From Argentina

Argentina has a rich football culture. The country is one of the most successful football nations in the world. The South American juggernaut has won three FIFA World Cups, the third-most by any nation. Argentina has a South American record sixteen Copa América titles, winning the last two tournaments in 2021 and 2024. They are the reigning world and Copa América champions. La Albiceleste is the second country to win three successive international tournaments. 

They sandwiched the 2022 Qatar World Cup with the 2021 and 2024 Copa triumphs. Spain is the only other country to win three international tournaments in a row. Argentina boasts a long list of incredible footballers throughout their storied history, but to have two of the greatest players of all time is as astounding as it is impressive. SportsBoom ranked the top 10 greatest Argentina footballers of all time.
 

Who are the 10 Greatest Footballers in Argentina History?

Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are two of the greatest-ever football players in the sport’s history. They inspired Argentina to memorable FIFA World Cup titles in 1986 and 2022, respectively. Maradona did not win a Copa América title. Messi won back-to-back South American Football Championships, while captaining Argentina to a third World Cup win. 

Messi is the most-capped player, scoring 109 goals for his country. He is the most decorated football player in history, winning every European and international competition. Maradona, for so long rated the second greatest football player after Pele, is not the best Argentinian player of all time. 

Messi holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or awards, winning eight in his career, three more than Cristiano Ronaldo in second place. Maradona did not win the Golden Ball, because it was only awarded to European-based players. In 2016, France Football magazine published an internationalised re-evaluation of the list of winners. 

Twelve of the thirty-nine awards were retrospectively awarded to South American players. Maradona was awarded Ballon d’Ors for 1986 and 1990, the two years he led Argentina to World Cup finals, winning one. Mario Kempes was awarded a retrospective Golden Ball for his 1978 season. France Football honoured Messi and Maradona by naming them in the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020. No Argentinian player made the second and third teams. 

Kempes is often regarded as one of the top three players in Argentina’s history. But Ángel di María gets the nod ahead of Kempes. Despite not winning a Ballon d’Or, Di Maria is third on our list of greats. He has five international tournament wins, including an Olympic Gold Medal and a junior age-group World Cup. 

After Messi, Di María is the second-most decorated Argentina footballer of all time. The rest of the list has some of the best players of their generation. There is no goalkeeper on the top 10 list of best Argentina players. There are two defenders and defensive midfielders among the talented strikers and playmakers. 

10. Javier Zanetti | 143 Caps, 5 Goals 

Javier Zanetti, despite not winning any international tournaments, was one of the best defenders of his generation. He is the fourth-most capped Argentina player. Zanetti won every trophy on offer in Europe. He is an Internazionale legend, playing 615 times for the Milan club on his way to being the most-capped foreign player in Serie A history.

He won five Serie A championships and the 1997/98 UEFA Cup, the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League, and the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup. Zanetti collected multiple domestic trophies in Italy, including four Coppa Italia and four Supercoppa Italiana titles. He won a Pan American Games Gold Medal in 1995, followed by an Olympic Silver Medal, with Argentina in 1996.

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9. Juan Román Riquelme | 51 Caps, 17 Goals

Juan Román Riquelme is remembered for his playmaking ability as a number 10. He was one of the most talented players of his generation. Riquelme won the South American Youth Championship and FIFA Under-20 World Cup with Argentina in 1997. Success at the 1998 Under-21 Toulon Tournament followed. 

Riquelme was part of the 2008 team that included Messi, Di María, Agüero, and Javier Mascherano. He won five Argentine Primera División championships, three Copa Libertadores, the Copa Argentina, the Recopa Sudamericana, and the Intercontinental Cup at Boca Juniors. Riquelme added the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup with La Liga club Villarreal. 

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8. Gabriel Batistuta | 78 Caps, 56 Goals 

One of Argentina’s finest strikers, Gabriel Batistuta won back-to-back Copa América championships in 1991 and 1993, and two Copa Golden Boots in 1993 and 1995. He added more international honours with his country, winning the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup and the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions in 1993. Batistuta won league titles in Argentina and Italy with River Plate and Roma.

Known as Batigol for his scoring prowess, he won a Scudetto and Supercoppa Italiana with Roma and a Copa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana with Fiorentina. He famously won a Serie B title after Fiorentina were relegated from Serie A. He is Fiorentina’s highest-ever scorer, and he has a life-size statue erected in his honour in Florence. 

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7. Sergio Agüero | 101 Caps, 41 Goals

Sergio Agüero is remembered for his last-gasp title-winning goal for Manchester City. He won two international honours, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal and the 2021 South American Championship. He was a World Cup runner-up in 2014. Agüero won five English Premier League championships, an FA Cup and six EFL League Cups with City. 

Agüero was a lethal striker, winning one Premier League Golden Boot, and the 2007 FIFA under-20 World Cup Golden Boot and Golden Shoe. He won two Under-20 World Cup titles in 2005 and 2007, and an Olympic Gold Medal in 2008. At Atlético Madrid, he won the 2008/09 UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. 

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6. Daniel Passarella | 70 Caps, 22 Goals 

Despite controversies throughout his career, Daniel Passarella is regarded as Argentina’s greatest defender and one of the best in history. Passarella was a prolific goalscoring defender, netting 134 goals in 451 matches. He had the record for most goals by a defender until Ronald Koeman passed his tally.

Passarella is one of twenty-one footballers – the only Argentinian – to win two World Cups. He famously became the first Argentina player to lift the World Cup when he captained the hosts to their first title in 1978. Eight years later, Passarella was part of Maradona’s victorious squad that won the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. El Gran Capitán did not, however, play any matches at the tournament due to illness and a controversial falling out with Maradona. 

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5. Mario Kempes | 43 Caps, 20 Goals

Mario Kempes cemented his legacy in the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina. Kempes inspired La Albiceleste to their first World Cup title on home soil, with two goals in the final against one of the greatest Netherlands teams. Kempes won the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball. He is one of only three players, including Paolo Rossi and Garrincha, to achieve this feat at a World Cup.

 France Football retrospectively awarded Kempes the 1978 le nouveau palmarès (the new winners) Ballon d’Or. He was also voted South American Footballer of the Year in 1978. He only won five major honours, including one league title with River Plate in 1981. Kempes moved to Spain, signing for Valencia. At Valencia, he won the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup. 

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4. Javier Mascherano | 147 Caps, 3 Goals

Javier Mascherano was one of the most versatile, most decorated footballers of his era. A tough-tackling defensive midfielder, Mascherano switched seamlessly to central defence and fullback when called upon. He won twenty-three major honours, and league titles in Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. Mascherano won two Olympic Gold Medals in 2004 and 2008, and a CONMEBOL pre-Olympic Tournament in 2004. 

Mascherano won five La Liga championships, two UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and two FIFA Club World Cups at Barcelona. He added five Copa del Rey and three Supercopa de España titles to his trophy cabinet. Mascherano missed senior international honours, however, losing the 2014 FIFA World Cup final to Germany, and he was a four-time Copa América runner-up. 

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3. Ángel di María | 145 Caps, 31 Goals

Ángel di María is the second-most decorated Argentinian footballer after Messi and the third-most capped Argentina player. He played for Benfica, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, five of Europe’s biggest clubs. Di María won league titles in Portugal, Spain, and France, including a Champions League title with Madrid. 

The Rosario-born attacking midfielder won every trophy in France and Spain, and three of the four domestic competitions in Portugal. Di María won every domestic French competition four or more times with PSG. He has won two FIFA World Cup titles (at junior and senior level), an Olympic gold medal, two Copa América titles, and one CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions to cement his legacy as an all-time great of the game. 

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2. Diego Maradona | 91 Caps, 34 Goals

Diego Maradona was one of the most controversial sportsmen of all time. His self-proclaimed “Hand of God” goal against England. He scored the “goal of the century” moments later. He was an unstoppable force as Argentina won the 1986 World Cup. Maradona was jointly awarded FIFA’s Player of the Twentieth Century with Pelé. 

He won the Argentine Primera División with Boca Juniors in 1981. He moved to Barcelona, winning the Copa del Rey and Copa de la Liga. Maradona singlehandedly led Napoli to a first-ever Serie A title in 1986/87. Napoli completed an unprecedented double the same year, winning the Coppa Italia. 

He followed this with the 1988/89 UEFA Cup and another title in 1989/90. The Supercoppa Italiana in 1990 completed the Italian domestic treble. He inspired Argentina to another World Cup final in 1990, but they lost 1-0 to Germany. In 1993, he claimed the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions, his last trophy. 

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