The Soccer 100
The Soccer 100 by The Athletic is a comprehensive exploration of soccer’s greatest players, published by HarperCollins Publishers on November 18, 2025. This 784-page edition delves into the legacies of 100 iconic figures in the sport, spanning from the pre-World War II era to contemporary stars like Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi. The book highlights not only their statistics and achievements but also the unique stories that define their careers and contributions to the game.
Readers will discover a rich tapestry of narratives that illuminate the lives of these athletes, including intriguing anecdotes and lesser-known facts. The Soccer 100 presents a blend of history and reference, offering insights into the sport’s evolution and the personalities that shaped it. Through extensive research and interviews, the authors provide vivid portraits of each player, addressing questions and mysteries that have lingered in the soccer community. This edition serves as both a tribute to the sport and a detailed guide for fans interested in the history of soccer and its most influential figures.
Official synopsis Publisher
A celebration of the beautiful game and its 100 greatest players, from the pre-World War II exploits of Dixie Dean to the modern-day genius of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi
These players left legacies, redefined the game with trademark skills, and grew into national icons. They have their stats–the goals, the wins, the trophies–but, more importantly, they have their stories.
One World Cup winner owned a nightclub that briefly transformed a corner of industrial Germany into one of the hippest places around. An Austrian forward’s death is still shrouded in mystery. A striker who might have become a telephone technician had he not been spotted playing soccer was eventually elected president of his country.
And there are unanswered questions. How did Pelé’s Brazil shirt from the 1958 World Cup quarterfinal go missing in a Welsh school? Which goalkeeper was so good that one opponent considered scoring against him akin to “winning a trophy”?
Through extensive research and interviews, The Athletic soccer staff, led by Oliver Kay and James Horncastle, discovered angles and tales that shine a new light on the sport’s most compelling characters.
They faced an impossible riddle, too: Of the thousands of players to hit the pitch, who is the best? Their efforts to find the answer took the foremost sports newsroom on a journey, and what emerges is more than a ranking. Through all-new, vivid portraits of each athlete, The Soccer 100 is a tribute to the greatest players to have ever graced the most popular sport on the planet.
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