At present, players are continually assessed and ranked on who is the best footballer in the world today. Sometimes these ratings can change radically, even within the course of a single game. With so much data and statistics on players publicly available, the fan on the street can conjure up their beliefs and opinions on players. Managers and head coaches will argue that no amount of data will be a sufficient substitute for what they see with their own eyes.

At the same time, managers and supporters will have their favourite players. Players they feel they can trust and deliver. On the flip side, there are some who can be less popular. Then there is a third category. These are players who maybe don’t get the praise they deserve – players whose ability and skill has perhaps not been fully appreciated. So to explore that theme, here are the 10 most underrated players in football history.

Ranking Factors

• Public and fan perception of the player
• Honours won and any individual awards

10

Jordan Henderson

England, Sunderland, Liverpool, Ajax, Brentford

Few players have had as much passive aggressiveness thrown their way as much as Jordan Henderson. While nobody is suggesting he has been a better player than Steven Gerrard, Henderson did what Gerrard could not. That is, lead Liverpool to the Premier League title.

Under Henderson’s captaincy, Liverpool won their first English title in 30 long years. That added to the Champions League and the FIFA World Club Cup, Henderson lifted every club honour there was to win. He also popped up with vital goals for England in the knock-out stages of Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022. Henderson always had leadership qualities, but he could play too.

Related

‘Jurgen Klopp Made me Feel Unwanted at Liverpool – I’d Played 304 Games For Him’

Jurgen Klopp parted ways with one of his Liverpool stars in bittersweet circumstances.

9

Rudi Voller

Germany, Werder Bremen, Roma, Marseille

German striker Rudi Voller was a more than dependable player for club and country. For Germany, he came off the bench to equalise in the 1986 World Cup Final. This after scoring in the semi-final against France. Sadly for the Germans, they lost the final to a late goal from Argentina. Four years later, he was a vital part of the team that went one step better and became World Champions at Italia ’90.

It was Jurgen Klinsmann who tended to get most of the limelight up front for that German side. With blonde locks and acrobatics, he was perhaps the more flamboyant player than Voller. Yet Voller’s international goal-scoring record is excellent. With 47 goals in 90 caps, he averaged more than a goal every other game. This was a time when Voller was always under the spotlight when the Germans were always expected to reach major finals. More often than not, they did.

8

Michael Carrick

England, West Ham, Spurs, Manchester United

Michael Carrick was a confident ball player who dictated play, yet also one of British football’s most underrated players. He showed he was more than capable of handling the pressure of playing for a big club, when he went to Manchester United. At Old Trafford, he won five Premier League titles and the Champions League. This didn’t equate to as many England caps as perhaps it should have done.

Whereas he may not have been as highly rated as he should have been by the wider football world, his teammates understood how good he was. Carrick was named Manchester United’s Players’ Player of the Year in 2013, the last year United won the Premier League title.

Related

‘I Won Five Premier League Titles and Begged the FA to Stop Picking me For England’

He’s one of Manchester United’s finest midfielders but never reached the same heights with England.

7

Gheorghe Hagi

Romania, Steaua Bucharest, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Galatasaray

Gheorghe Hagi was the jewel in the fabulously entertaining Romania side of the 1990s. He had a wand of a left foot and would arguably get in an all-time eleven of left-footed players. One wonders if his star would have been higher had he been born French or Italian. This is a midfielder who could and did change games with a moment of brilliance.

Not many attempt to score 45-yard lobs in the World Cup, but this is how Hagi scored for Romania in the 1994 World Cup. The little Romanian was a talisman on the international stage. Although he was highly rated, he was perhaps not as appreciated as much as his enormous talent deserved.

6

Sergio Busquets

Spain, Barcelona, Inter Miami

Sergio Busquets may well be considered one of Barcelona’s best-ever players, as well as one of Spain’s greatest, but he is still underrated. When pundits and the media talk about those great Spanish and Barcelona teams, they always name-check the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta. They don’t always include Busquets. Yet he was just as crucial to the success of Spain and Barcelona.

Perhaps his underrated quality is how he made his position look so easy. He could drop his shoulder or sell a dummy to help him gain time in delicate areas of the pitch, deep in his own half, before starting attacks. He did this time and again and went on to win everything there is in the game, both domestically and on the international stage.

5

Franck Ribery

France, Marseille, Bayern Munich

Franck Ribery remains adamant he should have won the 2013 Ballon d’Or. That was the year he inspired Bayern Munich to win the Champions League. That honour instead went to Cristiano Ronaldo. While some may have seen him as a luxury player early in his career, he delivered consistently at Bayern.

Arguably, his best season was in 2013, when he was a big reason Bayern won the treble of league and national cup and the Champions League. This was at a time when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were at the peak of their powers. Yet Ribery, while seen as a good player is not often rated as highly as his talent and what he did in the game fully deserves.

4

Robert Prosinecki

Yugoslavia, Croatia, Red Star Belgrade, Real Madrid, Barcelona

Robert Prosinecki was part of the Yugoslavia team that won the 1987 under-20 World Cup. He was also a key cog in the wonderful Red Star Belgrade side that won the European Cup in 1991. Mesmeric on the ball and very talented on set pieces, Prosinecki attracted attention from the world’s biggest clubs.

He played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, but neither quite saw his true brilliance over his time in La Liga. Prosinecki would often save that for the international stage. After Croatia declared independence, he was a key part of the side that finished third in the 1998 World Cup. Later in his career, he even had a brief stint at Portsmouth. Fans of the south coast club often rank him as their favourite ever player.

3

Dani Carvajal

Spain, Real Madrid

Dani Carvajal as often described as a stalwart or a dependable player. These always seem like begrudging descriptions of the Spaniard, who now has six Champions League winners’ medals. Although considered one of the Champions League’s greatest ever right-backs, it feels it’s purely because of the medal tally not the ability.

Real Madrid have had superstar names in their ranks over the years, so those players who do a job well are not always noticed. Yet with the amount of attacking flair in their side, it’s vital that they have someone who can defend. Carvajal has proved himself a dogged competitor who can handle the pressure of one of the world’s biggest clubs.

2

Thomas Muller

Germany, Bayern Munich, Vancouver Whitecaps

Not only is Thomas Muller in the top 20 all-time Champions League goal scorers, he also has the same number of assists in Europe’s leading club competition as Xavi. Taking those goals and assists into consideration, Muller does not get the appreciation he deserves.

To make this totally clear, the German has more Champions League assists than Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Luis Suarez – while he has more goals than Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba and Neymar. He also, of course, was a part of the German team that won the 2014 World Cup. Yet the man himself is self-depreciating when describing his own ability:

1

Michael Laudrup

Denmark, Lazio, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid

While Michael Laudrup is widely regarded as the best Danish player of all time, he doesn’t always get the full recognition perhaps his undeniable talent fully deserved. He was magnificent at times for Denmark and he also very much delivered for club too. He was a huge part of the Barcelona side that, under Johan Cruyff, won the European Cup in 1992. After falling out with the Dutch legend, Laudrup then made a hugely controversial move to Real Madrid.

There in the Spanish capital, he turned on the style and led Madrid to their first La Liga title in five years. Some in the game did recognise his brilliance. They put Laudrup’s stock very highly indeed. That was certainly the case when Franz Beckenbauer described the Danish maestro:

All stats courtesy of Transfermarkt (correct as of 24/09/2025)