Football's Greatest Goals: The Best Goals of All Time
The 5 Greatest Football Goals of All time (2023 Update)
A topic like this will almost unanimously be different for everybody but I feel my list is a respectable representation of great individual goals, team-centric goals, and goals scored in clutch moments.
Welcome to my top five goals of all time.
Maradona - scored one of the greatest goals of all time Vs England.
The world’s most popular sport has brought us some genuine iconic moments, and there are a few missing here of course - Van Basten, Carls Alberto, Troy Deeney, but my 5, is my 5, so here they are. The best 5 goals of all time.
5. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal v Galatasaray)
When you hear people describe a goal as a “screamer”, Aaron Ramsey’s goal against Galatasaray in the Champions League comes to mind.
Even six years on, the goal doesn’t make sense.
A half-volley on his weaker foot was able to capture both speed and accuracy to reach the top corner and comfortably beat the stretch of Fernando Muslera…. WHAT?
The fact that Ramsey’s goal wasn’t one of the 10 nominees of the FIFA Puskas Award is a shambles if I'm honest but it will remain one of my favourite goals ever and just a joy to replay countless times.
4. Jack Wilshere (Arsenal v Norwich)
I know those who haven’t read my articles and are starting with this one probably think I’m a terribly bias Arsenal fan, but I can assure you that's not the truth.
I’m a terribly bias Liverpool fan.
But on we go with Jack Wilshere’s stunning team goal versus Norwich in 2013.
Three men were involved, Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud, and Wilshere who finished off the move.
It's the type of goal you need to watch time after time after time to understand exactly what just happened.
Cazorla started the move bringing the ball forward and it was Giroud’s outside of the boot flick to Wilshere who reciprocated with a similar touch to Giroud who carved the Norwich defence open like a Christmas turkey with a deft touch to Wilshere who was left to finish off past a rudderless John Ruddy (I couldn’t help myself).
It’s my favourite team goal and it perfectly encapsulated Arsenal’s style under Arsene Wenger; beautiful, one-touch football that will almost certainly punish the opposition and that it did.
3. Diego Maradona (Argentina v England)
Which goal do you guys think I’m talking about… it’s obviously the unbelievable solo goal that secured Argentina’s passage to the semi-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
The sad thing is that Maradona's solo goal is overshadowed by "The Hand of God", one of the truly iconic moments in football but today I want to highlight Maradona's true greatness in his second goal.
Maradona started the move from inside his half, yes you heard that right. He then moved like the wind, strutting past countless England players (four of them before he entered the box) before rounding Peter Shilton and finishing past an empty net.
It’s been 35 years and counting since that goal and it’s still recognised as one of the greatest goals ever scored and the fact that it was against a great side like England in a World Cup quarter-final only further raises the legacy of both Maradona and the goal.
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao)
We go from Argentina to Argentina as Lionel Messi’s solo strike against Athletic Bilbao in the 2015 Copa Del Rey Final takes number two on my list.
Two words come to mind when Messi had the ball at his feet squared up against a Bilbao player just several yards into Bilbao’s half: attack mode.
He went straight at him and never looked back, he faced three players with the ball literally two yards away from the ball being out of play but in true Messi magic fashion, he fashioned a nutmeg to gain space and once he entered the Bilbao box on his left foot, we all knew what was coming.
Messi ended up with two goals and the man of the match award as Barcelona ran out 3-1 winners to claim a record 27th Copa Del Rey title.
Messi was runner-up in the FIFA Puskas Award, another laughable decision by the fans.
We now reach number one in my list and I want to give out some honourable mentions in what has been the toughest top five list I’ve done.
Thank you to Zinedine Zidane against Bayer Leverkusen, Olivier Giroud against Crystal Palace, and Ronaldinho against Real Madrid.
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona v Getafe)
As musician Drake said, “we going back to back”.
Lionel Messi’s goal against Getafe back in 2007 is the best goal of all time in my opinion.
Barcelona won the game 5-2 but do people remember anything in that game apart from Messi’s stunner?
What people do remember is a 19-year-old star picking the ball up in his half, expertly getting past two players before accelerating towards goal, beating player after player whilst dropping them like flies, rounding the keeper, and scoring from a tough angle.
Messi took just 10 seconds to cover 60 metres from taking the first touch inside his half before scoring, a move that took just 13 touches.
His goal is eerily similar to Maradona’s solo strike against England back in 1986 and one of the reasons the two legends are constantly compared.
A poll in 2019 showed that Messi’s goal was voted Barcelona’s best goal of all time, the top three of the poll were scored by the Argentinian.
Like I said before, this was a mightily difficult list to do with so many great goals scored in our beautiful game, I only wish I did it justice.
We end here but I’ll be back soon with another highly contentious top five list, it’s only right.
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