Build Your Greatest All-Time Football XI
Every football fan has their own answer. Here is a cross-league shortlist by position — now build your version and let the season simulator decide.
Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas, Manuel Neuer, Peter Schmeichel, Petr Čech
The last line of defence. A great keeper can steal 10-15 points a season on their own.
Defence
Paolo Maldini, Sergio Ramos, Philipp Lahm, Carles Puyol, Alessandro Nesta, Virgil van Dijk, Ashley Cole
Full-backs who lock down one end and attack the other. Centre-backs who organise, head, and hate conceding.
Midfield
Zinedine Zidane, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Andrea Pirlo, Luka Modrić, Lothar Matthäus, Steven Gerrard
You need the runner who covers every blade, and the passer who dictates the tempo. Get the balance wrong and the whole team suffers.
Attack
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappé, Ronaldo Nazário, Mohamed Salah
Wingers who beat a man and strikers who live for goals. The hardest positions to agree on because the talent pool is obscene.
Why this debate never ends
An all-time XI is never just a list. It is a pile of arguments: does a modern goal machine walk in ahead of a 90s legend who carried a worse side? Do you pick the defender with the medals or the one with the peak ability? Does your midfield need a destroyer or a playmaker?
38-0 turns those arguments into numbers. Build the XI you believe in, simulate the season, and see if your greatest ever team can actually back it up with a perfect 38-0 record.
Results are a game model, not an objective verdict. Read the methodology and limitations.