Classic Players
At World Football Classics, we celebrate the Classics of the game. The players featured here are recognised as world classic players — each having completed a full professional career and left an enduring mark on football history. Listings are curated by WFC and sorted by era of professional debut. Each name links to their Wikipedia profile for reference.
Note: Honouring great careers does not imply formal affiliation or endorsement.
Premier League Classics
1980s Debuts 7
1990s Debuts 17
- Ryan Giggs
- Patrick Berger
- David Beckham
- Gary Neville
- Sol Campbell
- Patrick Vieira
- Robbie Fowler
- Paul Scholes
- Thierry Henry
- Frank Lampard
- Rio Ferdinand
- Michael Owen
- Steven Gerrard
- John Terry
- Didier Drogba
- Ashley Cole
- Petr Čech
2000s Debuts 6
La Liga Classics
1970s Debuts 1
1980s Debuts 4
1990s Debuts 17
- Roberto Carlos
- Rivaldo
- Gaizka Mendieta
- Clarence Seedorf
- Ronaldo Nazário
- Raúl
- Míchel Salgado
- Guti
- David Albelda
- Diego Forlán
- Deco
- Samuel Eto'o
- Xavi Hernández
- Ronaldinho
- Iker Casillas
- Carles Puyol
- Xabi Alonso
2000s Debuts 2
Bundesliga Classics
1950s Debuts 1
1960s Debuts 4
1970s Debuts 4
1980s Debuts 7
- Rudi Völler
- Andreas Brehme
- Jürgen Klinsmann
- Thomas Hässler
- Matthias Sammer
- Oliver Kahn
- Stefan Effenberg
1990s Debuts 2
2000s Debuts 2
Serie A Classics
1970s Debuts 3
1980s Debuts 6
1990s Debuts 11
World Cup Classics
1950s Debuts 3
1960s Debuts 2
1970s Debuts 4
1980s Debuts 2
1990s Debuts 8
- Cafu
- Fabio Cannavaro
- Ronaldo Nazário
- Gianluigi Buffon
- Ronaldinho
- Miroslav Klose
- Xavi Hernández
- Iker Casillas
2000s Debuts 1
European Classics
1950s Debuts 2
1960s Debuts 2
1970s Debuts 1
1980s Debuts 5
1990s Debuts 1
2010s Debuts 1
African Classics
1970s Debuts 3
1980s Debuts 3
1990s Debuts 9
- Jay-Jay Okocha
- Nwankwo Kanu
- Rigobert Song
- Benni McCarthy
- Ahmed Hassan
- Samuel Eto'o
- Didier Drogba
- El Hadji Diouf
- Kolo Touré
2000s Debuts 5
Asian Classics
1960s Debuts 1
1970s Debuts 2
1980s Debuts 2
1990s Debuts 8
- Hong Myung-bo
- Mehdi Mahdavikia
- Hidetoshi Nakata
- Sun Jihai
- Yuji Nakazawa
- Shunsuke Nakamura
- Tim Cahill
- Ali Karimi
2000s Debuts 3
South American Classics
1950s Debuts 2
1960s Debuts 2
1970s Debuts 5
1980s Debuts 5
1990s Debuts 6
North & Central American Classics
1970s Debuts 1
1980s Debuts 3
1990s Debuts 7
- Brad Friedel
- Cuauhtémoc Blanco
- Paolo Wanchope
- Claudio Reyna
- Rafael Márquez
- Tim Howard
- Landon Donovan
2000s Debuts 4