South America 21st century rankings GFXGOAL
Tom Hindle

Lionel Messi, Neymar and the 25 best South American players of the 21st century so far - ranked

OpinionArgentinaBrazilL. MessiNeymarRonaldinhoVinicius JuniorL. SuarezE. CavaniA. SanchezFEATURESUruguayColombiaChile

Some of the finest players since the turn of the millennium have come from South America - but who have been the absolute best?

There have been one or two decent players from South America over the years. Diego Maradona, Pele and Lionel Messi are the standouts, of course, but a glance over any given list of the best footballers ever would show a South American-heavy contingent.

And that is no different in recent years. While Messi has been in a long-term battle with Cristiano Ronaldo to be crowned the GOAT, he is far from the only South American to have made a major contribution to winning the biggest prizes the game has to offer - be it for club or country.

But how would you rank the best South American players of the 21st century so far? With the first 25 years almost over, GOAL has broken down our top 25...

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