While good soccer players can be found in every country in the world, for some reason, some of the best players in recent history seem to come from countries in central and southern America. These are players that have forever changed the paradigm of the sport, and many of them have set soccer records that are unlikely to be broken any time soon.
Most of the names on this list are going to be instantly recognisable not just to avid soccer fans, but to anyone with even a passing interest in sports. Without much further ado, let’s look at the best soccer players that hail from south America.
Alfredo di Stefano
Alfredo di Stefano was making records long before players like Messi and Ronaldo came along. In fact, he’s believed to be the driving force behind Real Madrid’s series of victories at the European Cup which took place between the years 1955 and 1960. Di Stefano’s successes over the course of his career remained almost unparalleled for the last 50 years, partially because he was able to claim more than 200 goals despite only appearing in 300 games.
Pele
There aren’t many people that haven’t heard the name Pele. This famous athlete took the soccer world by storm, starting out as nothing more than a young teenager who also happened to take part in the 1958 World Cup. His career exploded from that point onward, and many experts have argued that he might just be the best soccer player of his generation. During his career, he was able to win three World Cups in total, and he currently still holds the historic record for scoring the most goals of all time.
Lionel Messi
If Pele is the best player of his time, then Messi is without a doubt the greatest player of the 21st century. There have been few other players in the game’s history that have exuded nearly as much pure talent as Messi, a man that has virtually remained unstoppable no matter who he has had to face down so far in his career, and one that remains a favourite for fans of the game as well as soccer betting, which offers similar odds as NFL Super Bowl odds.
Despite the fact that this Argentinian player is no doubt at the top of the list when it comes to sheer skill on the field, he has been unable to take his own home team to victory, and Argentina remains one of the weakest national sides in the professional sphere.
Diego Maradona
Another legend in the pro soccer world is Diego Maradona, and while he might not have as many goals as Pele or the raw skill of Messi, he stands out for pushing Argentina to the win at the 1968 World Cup more or less on his own. He pulled off similar feats over the course of a very successful career, and it’s a part of why he’s widely recognised as one of the best players of all time.
