We've all wondered about how footballers from the past would fare against their modern-day counterparts.
For years it was a quandary that would remain unsolved, but nowadays, with the help of EA Sports' FIFA series and Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer, we can find out.
Both games bring back football heroes from days gone by - 'Icons' in FIFA and 'Legends' in PES - allowing us to live out dream team fantasies.
With FIFA 20 and PES 2020 set to be released in September, Goal takes a look at the Icons and Legends who will feature in each game.
- Who are the FIFA 20 Icons?
- FIFA 20 Icon Goalkeepers
- FIFA 20 Icon Defenders
- FIFA 20 Icon Midfielders
- FIFA 20 Icon Forwards
- Who are the PES 2020 Legends?
- PES 2020 Legend Goalkeepers
- PES 2020 Legend Defenders
- PES 2020 Legend Midfielders
- PES 2020 Legend Forwards
Who are the FIFA 20 Icons?
FIFA 20 will feature a number of new Icons, the most notable of which is arguably Zinedine Zidane, who will grace the cover of the Ultimate edition.
Joining Zidane as a new Icon in the EA Sports game is Italy hero Andrea Pirlo and former Netherlands stalward Ronald Koeman.
Carlos Alberto, who won the World Cup in 1970 with Brazil, is another new face and gamers will be able to reunite him with his old team-mate Pele.
Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is included for the first time, as is ex-Arsenal forward Ian Wright.
The new Icons join an array of stars from bygone eras, including various World Cup and Champions League winners.
You can see the full list of confirmed Icons that will be included in FIFA 20 below.
*Indicates new addition for FIFA 20
FIFA 20 Icon Goalkeepers
| Player | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Lev Yashin | GK | Russia |
| Peter Schmeichel | GK | Denmark |
| Edwin van der Sar | GK | Netherlands |
| Jens Lehmann | GK | Germany |
FIFA 20 Icon Defenders
| Player | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Ronald Koeman* | DF | Netherlands |
| Carlos Alberto* | DF | Brazil |
| Gianluca Zambrotta* | DF | Italy |
| Paolo Maldini | DF | Italy |
| Franco Baresi | DF | Italy |
| Paolo Cannavaro | DF | Italy |
| Bobby Moore | DF | England |
| Alessandro Nesta | DF | Italy |
| Carles Puyol | DF | Spain |
| Javier Zanetti | DF | Argentina |
| Laurent Blanc | DF | France |
| Roberto Carlos | DF | Brazil |
| Marcel Desailly | DF | France |
| Fernando Hierro | DF | Spain |
| Rio Ferdinand | DF | England |
| Sol Campbell | DF | England |
FIFA 20 Icon Midfielders
| Player | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Zinedine Zidane* | MF | France |
| Andrea Pirlo* | MF | Italy |
| Pep Guardiola* | MF | Spain |
| Michael Essien* | MF | Ghana |
| John Barnes* | MF | England |
| Ruud Gullit | MF | Netherlands |
| Lothar Matthaus | MF | Germany |
| Ryan Giggs | MF | Wales |
| Michael Ballack | MF | Germany |
| Socrates | MF | Brazil |
| Steven Gerrard | MF | England |
| Gheorghe Hagi | MF | Romania |
| Michael Laudrup | MF | Denmark |
| Pavel Nedved | MF | Czech Republic |
| Paul Scholes | MF | England |
| Clarence Seedorf | MF | Netherlands |
| Patrick Vieira | MF | France |
| Rui Costa | MF | Portugal |
| Deco | MF | Portugal |
| Roy Keane | MF | Republic of Ireland |
| Frank Lampard | MF | England |
| Jari Litmanen | MF | Finland |
| Claude Makelele | MF | France |
| Jay-Jay Okocha | MF | Nigeria |
| Marc Overmars | MF | Netherlands |
| Emmanuel Petit | MF | France |
| Robert Pires | MF | France |
| Frank Rijkaard | MF | Netherlands |
| Juan Sebastian Veron | MF | Argentina |
| Gennaro Gattuso | MF | Italy |
| Hidetoshi Nakata | MF | Japan |
FIFA 20 Icon Forwards
| Player | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Didier Drogba* | FW | Ivory Coast |
| Ian Wright* | FW | England |
| Garrincha* | FW | Brazil |
| Ian Rush* | FW | Wales |
| Hugo Sanchez* | FW | Mexico |
| Kenny Dalglish* | FW | Scotland |
| Pele | FW | Brazil |
| Diego Maradona | FW | Argentina |
| Ronaldo | FW | Brazil |
| Johan Cruyff | FW | Netherlands |
| Roberto Baggio | FW | Italy |
| Ronaldinho | FW | Brazil |
| George Best | FW | Northern Ireland |
| Eusebio | FW | Portugal |
| Rivaldo | FW | Brazil |
| Thierry Henry | FW | France |
| Marco van Basten | FW | Netherlands |
| Dennis Bergkamp | FW | Netherlands |
| Emilio Butragueno | FW | Spain |
| Alessandro Del Piero | FW | Italy |
| Raul | FW | Spain |
| Miroslav Klose | FW | Germany |
| Patrick Kluivert | FW | Netherlands |
| Gary Lineker | FW | England |
| Luis Figo | FW | Portugal |
| Michael Owen | FW | England |
| Alan Shearer | FW | England |
| Andriy Shevchenko | FW | Ukraine |
| Hristo Stoichkov | FW | Bulgaria |
| David Trezeguet | FW | France |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | FW | Netherlands |
| Hernan Crespo | FW | Argentina |
| Luis Hernandez | FW | Mexico |
| Filippo Inzaghi | FW | Italy |
| Henrik Larsson | FW | Sweden |
| Christian Vieri | FW | Italy |
| Gianfranco Zola | FW | Italy |
EA Sports FIFA
Who are the PES 2020 Legends
PES has many of the same players who are Icons in FIFA and that will continue to be the case in PES 2020.
For example, the likes of Diego Maradona, Paolo Maldini and Lothar Matthaus are among the players to feature in both games.
However, due to different agreements, PES boasts a number of exclusive inclusions, such as England legend David Beckham, ex Arsenal attacker Andrei Arshavin and former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.
You can see the list of Legends in PES below. Note that the list is subject to change.
*Indicates new addition for PES 2020
PES 2020 Legend Goalkeepers
| Player | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Abbiati | GK | Italy |
| Dida | GK | Brazil |
| Francesco Toldo | GK | Italy |
| Oliver Kahn | GK | Germany |
PES 2020 Legend Defenders
| Player | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Franco Baresi | DF | Italy |
| Sol Campbell | DF | England |
| Diego Lugano | DF | Uruguay |
| Ricardo Rocha | DF | Brazil |
| Javier Zanetti | DF | Argentina |
| Walter Samuel | DF | Argentina |
| Paolo Maldini | DF | Italy |
| Cafu | DF | Brazil |
| Roberto Carlos | DF | Brazil |
PES 2020 Legend Midfielders
| Player | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Hidetoshi Nakata | MF | Japan |
| Park Ji-Sung | MF | South Korea |
| Robert Pires | MF | France |
| Gilberto Silva | MF | Brazil |
| Freddie Ljungberg | MF | Sweden |
| Emmanuel Petit | MF | France |
| Denilson | MF | Brazil |
| Rai | MF | Brazil |
| Ludovic Giuly | MF | France |
| Zico | MF | Brazil |
| Paul Scholes | MF | England |
| Dejan Stankovic | MF | Serbia |
| Esteban Cambiasso | MF | Argentina |
| Steven Gerrard | MF | England |
| Steve McManaman | MF | England |
| David Beckham | MF | England |
| David Beckham (2018) | MF | England |
| Pavel Nedved | MF | Czech Republic |
| Patrick Vieira | MF | France |
| Luis Figo | MF | Portugal |
| Lothar Matthaus | MF | Germany |
PES 2020 Legend Forwards
| Player | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Andrei Arshavin* | FW | Russia |
| Francesco Totti | FW | Italy |
| Daniele Massaro | FW | Italy |
| Gabriel Batistuta | FW | Argentina |
| Patrick Kluivert | FW | Netherlands |
| Adriano | FW | Brazil |
| Alvaro Recoba | FW | Uruguay |
| Youri Djourkaeff | FW | France |
| Ronaldinho | FW | Brazil |
| Michael Owen | FW | England |
| Ian Rush | FW | Wales |
| Robbie Fowler | FW | England |
| Kevin Keegan | FW | England |
| Kenny Dalglish | FW | Scotland |
| Diego Maradona | FW | Argentina |
| Romario | FW | Brazil |
| Ruud Gullit | FW | Netherlands |
| Alessandro Del Piero | FW | Italy |
| Marcelo Salas | FW | Chile |
| Johan Cruyff | FW | Netherlands |
| Ivan Zamorano | FW | Chile |
| Bebeto | FW | Brazil |