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…
Getty Images Sport25Edinson Cavani
After initially emerging in Italy with Palermo and Napoli, Edinson Cavani became a stalwart of a number of successful Paris Saint-Germain sides in the 2010s, winning six Ligue 1 titles on his way to becoming the club's all-time top goal-scorer with 200 strikes to his name – a number that has since been bettered by Kylian Mbappe.
Throw in the 2011 Copa America and his 58 national team goals for Uruguay, and you have a great of the modern game. And while his spells at Manchester United and Valencia didn't quite go to plan, 'El Matador' continues to add to his legend at Boca Juniors, where he averages almost a goal every other game for the Argentine giants.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport24Alexis Sanchez
It is easy to forget just how good Alexis Sanchez was for both Chile and Arsenal during the mid-2010s. The forward, who initially made a name for himself at Udinese before moving to Barcelona and then north London, carried a poor Gunners side to two FA Cups, and scored 30 goals in the 2016-17 season.
Perhaps his best moment, however, was when he netted a Panenka penalty to win his country the Copa America in 2015. Chile has never had such a talent to rely upon, and while Sanchez's two-year stint with Manchester United was a failure, there is no doubt regarding the impact he made on the game when at his very best.
AFP23Diego Forlan
Regarded as one of Manchester United's biggest transfer flops at the start of the 21st century, it says a lot of Diego Forlan's character that he was able to put his underwhelming spell at Old Trafford behind him and become one of world football's most lethal forwards during the second half of the 2000s.
He twice won the European Golden Shoe after finishing as top scorer in La Liga, first with Villarreal and then Atletico Madrid, with whom he also won the 2010 Europa League after scoring twice in the final to beat Fulham.
At international level, Forlan was named Player of the Tournament at the 2010 World Cup after finishing as joint-top scorer in South Africa, before going on to win the Copa America with Uruguay a year later. Quite simply, one of the most underrated players of his generation.
AFP22Radamel Falcao
There was a period in the 2010s where Radamel Falcao had a decent claim to be the most lethal goal-scorer in world football. 'El Tigre' is likely to end his career having averaged a goal every other game at club level, and that is only because he has slowed down as time and injuries have taken their toll on his body.
Having emerged as a fearsome forward at River Plate, Falcao went on to be a menace for both Porto (72 goals in 87 games) and Atletico Madrid (70 in 91) as he won back-to-back Europa League titles, one with each club. He would go on to form a fearsome partnership with a teenage Kylian Mbappe as Monaco won Ligue 1 and reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2017, and while loan spells at Manchester United and Chelsea didn't work out, his legend in Europe remains strong.
He also holds the record for most goals in a Colombia shirt with 36, and recently became the first player from the country to total 350 goals in their career.
