# The 15 Best Short Footballers of All Time

> None of them reached 175 centimetres, and between them they own most of football's biggest prizes. Who made small look unstoppable?

*By YPB Team · Published July 22, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-15-best-short-footballers-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Lionel Messi** — score 1000/1000
   At 1.70 m, the low centre of gravity behind the most decorated career in football.
2. **Diego Maradona** — score 813/1000
   1.65 m of gravity-defying balance who carried Argentina to the 1986 World Cup.
3. **Sebastián Giovinco** — score 665/1000
   1.64 m, the Atomic Ant who terrorised MLS defences with Toronto FC.
4. **N'Golo Kanté** — score 665/1000
   1.68 m covering more grass than any midfielder of his era, with a World Cup and two league titles.
5. **Xavi** — score 596/1000
   1.70 m and the metronome of Barcelona and Spain's tiki-taka dynasty.
6. **Romário** — score 517/1000
   1.67 m of penalty-box menace with over 700 career goals and a 1994 World Cup.
7. **Andrés Iniesta** — score 517/1000
   1.71 m, scorer of the 2010 World Cup final winner and master of the tight space.
8. **Lorenzo Insigne** — score 423/1000
   1.63 m, Napoli's darting winger and a Euro 2020 champion with Italy.
9. **Pelé** — score 310/1000
   Around 1.73 m and still the only three-time World Cup winner.
10. **David Silva** — score 310/1000
   1.70 m, Manchester City's quiet architect of four Premier League titles.
11. **Luka Modrić** — score 310/1000
   At 1.72 m he was rejected as too small by Hajduk Split — then won six Champions Leagues and a Ballon d'Or.
12. **Garrincha** — score 310/1000
   1.69 m with bent legs and the most feared dribble of the 1958 and 1962 World Cups.
13. **Roberto Carlos** — score 310/1000
   1.68 m with a thunderbolt left foot and three Champions Leagues at Real Madrid.
14. **Wesley Sneijder** — score 310/1000
   1.70 m, the playmaker of Inter's 2010 treble and a World Cup finalist that same year.
15. **Marco Verratti** — score 172/1000
   1.65 m of press-proof midfield craft for PSG and Euro-winning Italy.

Tags: football, players, legends