The top 50 greatest athletes of all time - Ronaldo and Messi miss out on top 10 (2024)

Muhammad Ali, Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo and Tiger Woods are just some of the names in the conversation about the greatest athlete of all time. With so many disciplines and eras to weigh up, the question of sport's overall GOAT will always prove an impossible one, but that doesn't make it any less fun for fans to discuss.

Now, as much as we could try to nail our colours to the mast by naming our pick for the athlete to end all athletes, no doubt you'll agree that this is a matter best decided upon by the supporters. After all, collating together fan opinions is perhaps the fairest way for the complications of different sports and periods to be traversed and diluted down into one big expression of people's views.

And that's where thetoptens.com comes in because their interactive list on the "Greatest Athletes of All Time," is arguably the perfect way for fans to settle the GOAT debate once and for all.

Physical excellence

Setting out the premise, the vote's description clarifies: "For the purpose of this list, athletic greatness is defined as possessing a variety of attributes that contribute to athletic prowess. These include speed, quickness, endurance, power and hand-eye coordination. That is why this list does not include specialized athletes such as marathon runners or bicyclists.

"While it is clear that Lance Armstrong is a master in his field, he has not proven that he could compete in other sports where more is required than pumping his thighs for hours on end."

With sports lovers able to up-vote and down-vote contenders depending on their opinions, the resulting list that spans way beyond the website's titular top 10 makes for fascinating reading. As such, don't let us hold you up any longer because the list truly is something to behold, so be sure to check out the top 50 athletes in history down below according to the fans themselves:

Greatest athletes image gallery

Montana was a quarterback who played the majority of his career for the San Francisco 49ers, before spending a year with the Kansas City Chiefs to see out his long and storied career. The American has a long list of achievements and honours to his name with the most impressive surrounding the Super Bowl which is a worldwide phenomenon. Montana contributed to four separate successes in the tournament, being named MVP on three of those occasions.

9 Pele (Football)

The Brazilian is still widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time and ranks the highest among his professional peers within this list, above the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. Pele, unfortunately, passed away in late 2022, but will always be remembered for his contributions to the game with an unmatched goal record and many trophies in the cabinet.

Incredibly, Jackson excelled in not only one sport at an elite level but two. His short career in American Football saw him represent the Los Angeles Raiders from 1987 to 1990 as a running back as he won many individual awards within the sport. Alongside his career in the NFL, Jackson was a revelation in the world of Baseball in which he spent an eight-year professional career and even played in an All-Stars game in 1990 before retiring in 1994.

7 Jim Thorpe (Athletics, American Football, Baseball and Basketball)

Not only did Thorpe thrive in both Baseball and American Football in a similar vein to Bo Jackson, but he also won two Olympic gold medals in Athletics. These titles were taken away from him initially due to a violation of rules before taking part in the Olympic Games before they were then restored to him three decades after his death. Thorpe began his Baseball career in 1913 and continued this until 1919 while also kicking off his American Football career in 1915 which ended in 1928.

6 Babe Ruth (Baseball)

More than likely the most well-known Baseball player of all time is a man who sadly passed away in 1948, which is now 75 years ago and just goes to show the impact he had during his time in the sport. Ruth's career in Major League Baseball lasted almost two decades and in that time he won the World Series on a staggering seven different occasions. With many other career honours under his belt, the icon of the sport was inducted into the Baseball Hame of Fame in 1936 shortly after he brought his career to a close.

5 Michael Phelps (Swimming)

The most decorated Olympian of all time is the former swimmer, who won a total of 28 medals during his career. 23 of those medals were gold which just goes to show how prolific a performer he was at his best. Add to this a total of 27 gold medals in the World Championships and there was no competition within the sport of Swimming when Phelps was around. He cleaned up almost all medals in sight before bowing out in 2016.

4 Usain Bolt (Athletics)

Bolt is looked upon as the greatest sprinter ever witnessed, with the Jamaican becoming a big name in the world of Olympics in Beijing in 2008 before going on to impress in the next two versions of the Olympic Games also. Across the three tournaments, Bolt won eight gold medals with the only one he missed out on being the 4 x 100 metre relay as his team was disqualified. The 37-year-old still holds the world record for the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 x100 metres relay to this day.

3 Wayne Gretzky (Ice hockey)

Hockey Hall of Famer, Gretzky, may be a slight surprise to come in at third in an all-time athletes list, but he did have an incredible career in his chosen field. That chosen field was Ice Hockey, in which he spent almost a decade with the Edmonton Oilers before spending time with the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers to see out his playing days. His iconic number 99 shirt was retired across the entire sport upon his retirement in tribute to the Canadian.

2 Muhammad Ali (Boxing)

With no real competition, Ali is regarded as the greatest Boxer of all time as the man famous for saying: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," finishes second on this list. Ali won 56 of his 61 professional fights, with 36 being via knockout. With only five losses to his name, he is one of the most successful men to have ever graced the sport to this day. The light-heavyweight also won an Olympic gold medal among his many career achievements.

1 Michael Jordan (Basketball)

The honour of being named the greatest athlete ever in this list is the former Chicago Bulls icon. Jordan is almost unanimously voted as the greatest Basketball player of all time with his accomplishments speak for themselves, with six NBA CHampionships among the best of them. His CV is littered with personal accolades, but his six NBA Finals MVP awards to coincide with the six times he won the competition go a long way to tell you of the star Jordan was, not only in his sport, but on a global scale.