No place for Cristiano Ronaldo, Best and Eusebio in the best football XI of all time

George Best (in red)

Two of the most iconic players in the history of Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo and George Best, have been left out of the greatest XI in the history of football.

Well known journalists, managers and former players were asked to vote by the World Soccer magazine to make up the team of the XI most outstanding players in a 4-4-2 formation. Barcelona talisman and the biggest competitor of Ronaldo in current times, Lionel Messi is the only player who is playing football presently.

Nicknamed the Black Panther, Portuguese great Eusebio is also missing from the list.

Brazil forward Pele who has scored more than thousand goals in his career along with Messi were selected to lead the attack.

The midfield is composed of three time Ballon d’Or winner Johan Cruyff, Real Madrid legend and France World Cup hero Zinedine Zidane, Alfredo Di Stefano – who was regarded as the most complete player by many legends of the game for his ability to play in any positions of the field, and lastly the simply unstoppable but controversial Argentine, Diego Maradona.

The defence of the team is equally breathtaking with England’s only World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore partnering German defender Franz Beckenbauer in the centre of the defence. While two-time World Cup-winning Brazilian, Cafu, got selected in the right-back position. Versatile defender Paolo Maldini was chosen in the left-back spot..

Lev Yashin, voted the best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS, is the goalkeeper in the team.

The Greatest XI:

Goalkeeper: Lev Yashin – USSR (1950-1970)

Known as the “Black Spider” due to the distinctive all-black outfit he wore and the fact that it seemed as though he had eight arms to save almost everything, Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to have won the Ballon d’Or. He was a one team player and played for Dynamo Moscow for his entire 22-year-long club career.

Defence:

Right Back: Cafu – Brazil (1989-2008)

He is the most internationally capped Brazilian footballer. In a career that spans over 21 years Cafu played for big clubs such as AC Milan, Juventus and Roma. He was selected in the Brazil team for three World Cups and went on to win the trophy on two occasions in 1994 and 2002.

Centre Back: Bobby Moore – England (1958-1978)

Having played every minute of his 108 games as an England international, Bobby Moore won the World Cup in 1966. He captained West Ham for more than ten years and was widely regarded as the best defender of his time.