10 most entertaining football players of all time
Not for nothing is football known as the beautiful game. Beyond the goals, wins, losses, ecstasy, and agony, lies the sheer joy that the intangible aesthetics of football engenders in millions of followers around the world and helps maintain the game's status as the most popular sport in the world.
In football's storied history, many players have graced the stage and won countless hearts with their prowess to entertain and provide magic on the field. Hence, creating a list of only the ten best entertainers will inevitably leave many fan favourites out.
Ten most entertaining football players of all time:
While conceiving this countdown, we have tried to focus on players who entertain mostly with their skills and sometimes with their antics as well. Owing to a careful balancing of both attributes, someone like a supremely-talented Mario Balotelli misses out on this list for too much of the latter.
Ultimately, we have tried to compile a list of the ten players who have enthralled with their dexterity and audacity and made us remember why we fell in love with football in the first place. The list has been ranked in ascending order.
So, without further ado, let's get started.
#10 Rene Higuita
We have gone for the most entertaining goalkeeper of all time with our first selection. His nickname, El Loco (the madman), tells you enough about the custodian's personality and the audacity he brought to a football pitch.
His scorpion kick, in which he saved a goal-bound shot by using his legs in a backflip (it can only be felt in its full glory when seen), is a legendary move. But Rene Higuita was also a great goalkeeper and a pioneering sweeper-keeper ranked highly in many lists of all-time South American greats.
The Colombian, who won many honours with Atletico Nacional, also graced the FIFA World Cup stage.
#9 Dennis Bergkamp
The original Picasso of football, Dennis Bergkamp was an artist through and through and lit up Highbury (Arsenal's previous home stadium) with his touches, flicks and passes. He was also a scorer of great goals and often linked up with his teammates to devastating and breathtaking effect.
An Arsenal legend, Dennis Bergkamp won a lot of silverware with the club (he was not so lucky with the Netherlands), but most importantly, he won the hearts of legions of fans.