By Being one of the strongest footballing nations in Europe, Portugal’s domestic football league has got admirers from all over the world. While their football league isn’t as attractive or competitive as that of the Iberians, Portugal boasts of successful clubs and some of the best players that ever existed. Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto are the top-listed. Further, Benfica and Porto have actually won the European Champions League, too.
The Portuguese national team has also won the European Championships. They secured the 1966 and 2006 world cup semi-finals. In this post, we will discuss the 6 best Portuguese players:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
The all-time favourite, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is (literally) the greatest Portuguese footballer! His athleticism, fierceness, attacking abilities, sleight of foot – and above all, the thirst to be a winner have made him a living legend. His unavoidable force of nature on the pitch and devotion towards football renders him a player of immense value.
Completely capable of competing at the highest level (even at 36 years of age), whichever team is lucky enough to have him. Cristiano Ronaldo has won four European Golden Boots and five Ballon d’Or awards. He was the joint top scorer at this summer’s European Championship.
2. Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo has had a fantastic playing career. He has played for some of the most storied clubs in Europe. After representing Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan, he retired in 2009. Luís won the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year. Plus, the 2000 Ballon d’Or during his career. Despite his controversial switch from Barcelona to arch-rivals Real Madrid, he’s still managed to bag a lot of trophies.
Figo won the Portuguese Cup, Italian Cup, Intercontinental Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, four La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, four Serie A titles, and three Italian Super Cups. Quite an impressive list of trophies!
3. Pepe
Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira, known as Pepe, is a long-time teammate at Real Madrid. The 38-year-old professional footballer is a tough and persistent physical defender. He performs at an exceptional level for FC Porto and the Seleção.
During his football career, he has played for Marítimo, Porto, Real Madrid and Besiktas. He played for the Portuguese national team and became an icon. Debuting in 2007, clocking up 121 caps and counting, Pepe was considered by many Portugal’s Man-of-the-Match in the Euro 2016 final. The Seleção have been crowned champions of Europe after a shock 1-0 victory over France in Paris.
4. Rui Costa
Rui Manuel César Costa, better referred to as Rui Costa is an outrageously creative player with great technique and an elegant figure. Assisting his colleagues with wondrous passes, he first came to prominence at Benfica. However, Italy is where he spent the lion’s share of an impeccable career. Costa played 94 times for his country. Alongside Luís Figo was the standard bearer of the nation’s famous “Golden Generation” that lifted the World Youth Cup in 1989 and 1991.
5. Deco
Deco, though criminally underrated, deserves the fourth spot behind CR7, Eusebio and Figo. There may not be something entirely magical about his game but his commitment to his team is commendable!
6. Fernando Peyroteo
Played for Sporting L. with 544 goals in 344 official matches, RSSSF, Fernando Peyroteo has the highest goal-scoring rate of players with more than 300 matches. He’s the most prolific scorer in the history of football. His successful career in the 1940s is little known due to WWII.
