Who is the best player in Copa América history?

The oldest continental football championship has been lit up by legends from Pelé to Maradona to Messi — the full sweep of South American genius. Who stands as the greatest Copa player ever?

Lionel Messi

Finally ended Argentina's Copa drought in 2021, winning Golden Boot and Golden Ball, then retained the title in 2024 — the definitive modern Copa player and arguably the greatest ever.

1/14

Diego Maradona

Led Argentina with genius and intensity across multiple Copa América tournaments, his supernatural dribbling and vision making him the tournament's most feared presence in the 1980s.

2/14

Pelé

Won the 1959 Copa América as a teenage prodigy and remained the symbol of Brazilian football superiority throughout one of the tournament's most celebrated golden eras.

3/14

Zizinho

Widely regarded as Brazil's greatest Copa performer of the pre-Pelé era, a creative inside-forward who dominated South American football in the 1940s and 50s.

4/14

Gabriel Batistuta

Argentina's legendary striker scored prolifically across multiple Copa Américas and led his nation to victories in 1991 and 1993 with ruthless, powerful finishing.

5/14

Romário

Brazil's sharp, instinctive striker was a Copa América force throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, consistently topping the scoring charts with his predatory penalty-box genius.

6/14

Ronaldo R9

Unstoppable in Brazil's 1997 Copa win — his pace, power, and close control made him untouchable, among the most dazzling individual Copa performances ever witnessed.

7/14

Carlos Valderrama

Colombia's iconic playmaker with the unmistakable afro orchestrated his nation's finest Copa América performances in the early 1990s with magical passing and cool command of tempo.

8/14

Ronaldinho

Brazil's flamboyant magician lit up multiple Copa editions with improvised skill, nutmegs, and jaw-dropping trick goals — consistently the most entertaining player on the pitch.

9/14

Juan Román Riquelme

Argentina's mercurial number 10 was the Copa's most gifted playmaker of the 2000s, mesmerizing crowds with his languid, intelligent play and inch-perfect distribution.

10/14

Alexis Sánchez

Led Chile to back-to-back Copa titles in 2015 and 2016, delivering decisive performances and the decisive penalty in the 2015 final shootout against Argentina.

11/14

Teófilo Cubillas

Peru's all-time great was a creative force in Copa América throughout the 1970s, earning multiple Player of the Tournament honours with his elegant, penetrating play.

12/14

Neymar

Brazil's star won the 2019 Copa on home soil and has been consistently electrifying in the modern tournament, his individual brilliance making him impossible to plan against.

13/14

Ángel Di María

Scored the decisive extra-time goal in the 2021 Copa final against Brazil, delivering the most important goal in Argentina's recent football history in a tournament-defining moment.

14/14