The Most Underrated Football Players of All Time

Gheorghe Hagi

Nationality: Romanian

Playing position: Attacking midfielder

Years Active: 1975-2001

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

He was considered a little Maradona back in his time with his leadership skills, creativity and temperamental character. He was able to play in several positions, but despite him being one of the best number 10s of his time, his controversial character and arguments with his managers and the referees made his career inconsistent.

Brian Laudrup

Nationality: Danish

Playing position: Forward, Winger, Midfielder.

Years Active: 1984-2000

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Brian was technical, creative and an elegant player with very good dribbling skills and ball control, but he was always overshadowed by his brother, Michael Laudrup.

Claude Makelele

Nationality: French

Playing position: Defensive Midfielder

Years Active: 1989-2011

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Makelele had great undertanding of the game, as a defensive midfielder he played great part in the attack by being an amazing playmaker and his tackle abilities were sold in defense.

Pablo Aimar

Nationality: Argentine

Playing position: Attacking Midfielder

Years Active: 1985-2018

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Pablo Aimar was Argentina’s number 10 before Messi. Sadly, too many injuries and polcy changes in the clubs he used to play for ruined his career.

Alessandro Costacurta

Nationality: Italian

Playing position: Centte-back

Years Active: 1979-1998

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

When AC Milan had the strongest defense in Europe, Alessandro Costacurta was part of it. He was always overshadowed by Paolo Maldini though.

He was just unlucky to be born in a era where defenders like Maldini, Nesta, Cannavaro, and Panucci were present.

Santiago Canizares

Nationality: Spanish

Playing position: Goalkeeper

Years Active: 1985-2008

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Santiago Canizares played 500 games in the Spanish League. He is the most underrated Spanish goalkeepers because he was teammates with one of the best Spanish goalkeepers, Andoni Zubizarreta. He spent 2 years at Real Madrid without playing a single game.

Diego Milito

Nationality: Argentine

Playing position: Striker

Years Active: 199-2016

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

This dynamic striker scored 224 goals in 515 games! He was vital for Inter Milan, but despite that he rarely caught the attention of Argentina Managers with the presence of Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero who were paired with Messi.

Miroslav Klose

Nationality: German

Playing position: Striker

Years Active: 1998-2016

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Miroslav Klose is Germany’s top goal scorer of all time and he was known for his honesty and fair play.

It is strange how he never got any offers from giants like Real Madrid.

Edinson Cavani

Nationality: Uruguayan

Playing position: Striker

Years Active: 2000-Present

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

353 goals in 586 club games! Despite that he was criticized by the media for missing easy chances sometime and underperforming in important games.

Andrea Pirlo

Nationality: Italian

Playing position: Midfielder

Years Active: 1992-2017

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Pirlo was an incredible playmaker. A fantastick free-kick taker and just an all around midfielder.

His only problem was that he was in the era where Xavi and Iniesta received a lot more praise.

Ronald Koeman

Nationality: Dutch

Playing position: Defender, Midfielder

Years Active: 1980-1997

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Ronald Koeman was one of the best scoring defenders! He scored 227 goals in 652 games in his career.

Ronald Koeman lead the Netherlands to their only title in the 1988 European Championships, and led PSV Eindhoven to their only European Cup win in 1988 as well. Many seem to forget how great he was.

Davor Šuker

Nationality: Croatian

Playing position: Striker

Years Active: 1984-2003

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Alongside Luca Modric, Davor Šuker is considered the best Croatian footballer. He guided the national team to third place in 1998 FIFA World Cup. Šuker scored 45 goals for Croatia in 69 appearances and 203 goals in 448 appearances in his club career.

Matthias Sammer

Nationality: German

Playing position: Defensive Midfielder

Years Active: 1976-1998

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

With presence of Baresi and Maldini and Lothar Matthaus being considered as the next Beckenbauer, people often forgot about Matthias Sammer.

Hristo Stoichkov

Nationality: Bulgarian

Playing position: Forward

Years Active: 1982-2003

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

In the 1994 World Cup, Hristo Stoichkov led Bulgaria to gain a fourth place.

He was even the top scorer of that World Cup with six goals.

If he had had a different nationality, he would have received much more attention.

Michael Carrick

Nationality: English

Playing position: Midfielder

Years Active: 1986-2018

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

It is strange that no one talks about Michael Carrick. When he joined Manchester United in 2006, he became the most reliable player in the squad, and he is one of the most decorated midfielders in the Premier League, having won five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, and the 2008 Champions League trophy.

Gabriel Batistuta

Nationality: Argentine

Playing position: Striker

Years Active: 1987-2005

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

300 goals in 494 games in his club career and 56 goals in 78 games for Argentina. That’s how good Batistuta was.

Yet some people tend to not mention him among the greats.

Georginio Wijnaldum

Nationality: Dutch

Playing position: Midfielder

Years Active: 1997-Present

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Wijnaldum was the glue that was holding Liverpool’s midfield together, but he was overshadowed by the presence of Mohamad Salah and Sadio Mané. When he transferred to PSG, it was the same scenario with the presence of Neymar, Mbappé and Messi.

Sergio Busquets

Nationality: Spanish

Playing position: Defensive Midfielder

Years Active: 1995-Present

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Busquets was a complete player, he contributed significantly to Barcelona’s success. Unfortunately, he was in a team full of stars like Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and David Villa.

Keylor Navas

Nationality: Costa Rican

Playing position: Goalkeeper

Years Active: 1999-Present

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

He is a rock that defends the goal. He has won the Champions League and has received the CONCACAF Player of the Year award twice, and he was the first ever Costa Rican player to achieve that.

Regardless of these achievements, his market value is estimated as low as $11 Million

Nicky Butt

Nationality: English

Playing position: Midfielder

Years Active: 1991-2011

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Despite his incredible contribution to Manchester United’s success, Nicky Butt was always overlooked due to the presence of big stars like David Beckham and Ryan Giggs in the team.

Tomáš Souček

Nationality: Czech

Playing position: Defensive Midfielder

Years Active: 2005-Present

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Tomáš Souček is substantial for his club West Ham and for his country. Despite being a defensive midfielder, his attacking skills are magnificent.

Despite his skills, he is still one of the most underrated football players in the Premier League and the History of Football

Raphael Guerreiro

Nationality: Portuguese

Playing position: Left-back, Midfielder

Years Active: 1999-Present

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

He was part of the Portuguese team that won the EURO 2016. He can play as a left-back, wing-back, and left midfielder.

Furthermore, he is one of the best left-backs in the world yet still, no one has ever appreciated him.

Edouard Mendy

Nationality: French

Playing position: Goalkeeper

Years Active: 1999-Present

Why He is one of the Underrated Football Players?

Edouard Mendy, according to https://livekoora.com/ and pretty much the rest of the word, is the best goalkeeper right now. He became the first African Goalkeeper to win the Champions League and the UEFA goalkeeper of the year.