Best German Soccer Players of All Time: Ranking the Top 10 | OneFootball

Throughout the history of soccer, Germany has been an ever-present force.

On the international stage, Die Mannschaft are four-time World Cup winners (three as West Germany) and four-time runners-up, making them the second most successful national team in history behind only Brazil. They’ve also won the European Championship three times, once again placing second all-time on the continent behind Spain.

Domestically, German clubs have also made their mark, collecting a total of eight Champions League titles and seven Europa League trophies, with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04, and Eintracht Frankfurt having all lifted major European honors.

Such sustained success requires exceptional talent—and Germany has produced plenty. Here, we rank the 10 greatest German soccer players of all time.

10. Fritz Walter

Fritz Walter with the 1954 World Cup. / IMAGO / Ferdi Hartung

Fritz Walter will forever be remembered as the inspirational captain who led West Germany to their first World Cup title in 1954—a triumph known as the “Miracle of Bern.”

An elegant and incisive attacking midfielder, Walter was as gifted at creating chances as he was at finishing them, scoring 33 goals in 61 appearances for the national team. But while his World Cup heroics earned him global fame, it’s at his beloved 1. FC Kaiserslautern where he achieved near-mythic status.

Walter spent his entire club career with the Red Devils, scoring a staggering 357 goals in just 364 league appearances. His loyalty and brilliance were immortalized in 1985 when the club named their stadium the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in his honor.

9. Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Manuel Neuer hasn’t just been a great goalkeeper—he’s changed the way the position is played.

Known as the ultimate “sweeper-keeper,” Neuer is famous for charging out of his box, breaking lines with pinpoint passes, and acting almost like an extra defender. While others flirted with the style, Neuer mastered it—blending world-class shot-stopping, razor-sharp reflexes, and incredible footwork into one seamless package.

His influence is clear in today’s generation of keepers, from Ederson to Alisson, all of whom owe something to the standard Neuer set. He remains not only a leader for Bayern Munich and Germany but also a living blueprint for the modern goalkeeper.

8. Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos. / IMAGO/Pro Sports Images

Toni Kroos stunned the soccer world at the end of the 2023/24 season when he announced his unexpected retirement at the age of 34.

While 34 isn’t unusually young to hang up the boots, it felt early in Kroos’ case—he was still performing at the highest level, widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world, and showing no signs of decline.

A legend for Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Germany, Kroos earned the nickname Garçom––Portuguese and French for “waiter”—thanks to his uncanny ability to deliver passes on a plate for his teammates. Over his glittering career, he won it all, including a World Cup and an incredible six UEFA Champions League titles.

7. Miroslav Klose

Miroslav Klose. / Witters Sport-Imagn Images

The World Cup is meant to be soccer’s grandest stage—but Miroslav Klose made it look like his personal playground.

Across four editions of the tournament, the prolific striker scored a record-breaking 16 goals—a feat that still stands and looks unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon. Among his World Cup highlights was a crucial strike in Germany’s historic 7–1 demolition of Brazil in the 2014 semifinal, a result that helped propel Joachim Löw’s side to eventual glory.

But Klose’s brilliance wasn’t limited to the international stage. At club level, he was a consistent force, scoring 258 career goals across stints with clubs like Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, and Lazio. Though he never got his hands on the Champions League trophy, he collected numerous domestic honors and earned a reputation as one of the most dependable finishers of his generation.

Klose wasn’t flashy—but he was deadly, efficient, and utterly reliable when it mattered most.

6. Uwe Seeler

Nicknamed “Der Dicke” (“The Fat One”) from a young age—thanks less to his physique than to a thick neck that helped him dominate in the air—Uwe Seeler played anything but like a sluggish striker, but he did have a have a gluttony for goals.

For (rather ironically, given his moniker) Hamburger SV, Seeler was nothing short of legendary. He netted a record 490 goals in 580 appearances for the club, helping them to a long-awaited Bundesliga title in 1960—their first in over 30 years—as well as a DFB-Pokal triumph a few seasons later. To this day, he’s revered as a club icon, immortalized in bronze outside HSV’s stadium with a giant statue of his right foot.

Internationally, Seeler was also a record breaker. He was the first player to appear in 20 World Cup matches, the first to score in four separate tournaments, and the first to bag at least two goals in each—feats that speak to his consistency and quality on the biggest stage.

Still, the sport’s ultimate prize eluded him. One of soccer’s most iconic images remains Seeler, devastated, being helped off the pitch at Wembley after West Germany’s heartbreaking loss to England in the 1966 World Cup final—a moment etched into soccer history, especially for the English.

5. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge may not have been as statistically prolific as some of Germany’s other legendary forwards, but he was undoubtedly one of the most decorated—and arguably the most exciting to watch.

Unlike the typical German striker, Rummenigge wasn’t defined by brute force or pure poacher’s instinct (though he had plenty of both). Instead, he brought grace, skill, and flair to the role—often gliding past defenders with ease and showcasing technique more reminiscent of a No. 10 than a traditional No. 9.

His talents were on full display during standout spells at both Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. In a decade at Bayern, he scored 217 goals and helped the club to two Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals, and two European Cups. On the international stage, meanwhile, he netted 45 times in 95 games for West Germany, winning the 1980 European Championship and finishing runner-up at the World Cup twice—in 1982 and 1986.

Effortlessly stylish and relentlessly effective, Rummenigge was a forward who brought finesse to a position often associated with force.

4. Phillip Lahm

Phillip Lahm. / IMAGO/Claus Bergmann

Much like Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm wasn’t just a great player—he was a revolutionary one who redefined his position.

Under the guidance of Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, Lahm became the prototype for the modern inverted full-back—a defender who, instead of simply hugging the touchline, drifted into central midfield in possession to dictate the game. It’s a role few can master, but Lahm made it look effortless thanks to his two-footedness, exceptional positional awareness, and pinpoint passing.

Once described by Guardiola as one of the “best players ever,” Lahm retired in 2017 as a World Cup winner and eight-time Bundesliga champion. His intelligence, versatility, and tactical influence continue to set the benchmark for full-backs in possession-based systems today.

3. Lothar Matthäus

Lothar Matthäus at the 1990 World Cup. / Kicker/Liedel/IMAGO

When you're nicknamed “Der Panzer”—after a World War II German tank—it says a lot about your style of play. But in Lothar Matthäus's case, there was far more under the hood than brute force.

A commanding presence in midfield, Matthäus combined grit with grace. He was equally capable of crunching tackles as he was of spraying pinpoint passes or unleashing thunderous shots from distance. His versatility allowed him to shift seamlessly between roles—one minute shielding the back line, the next surging forward like a freight train.

Nowhere was his full toolkit more evident than in Germany’s 4–1 win over Yugoslavia in their opening match of the 1990 World Cup. Operating from a holding role, Matthäus scored twice, setting the tone for a tournament he would go on to dominate and ultimately win as captain.

Also a European champion and the 1990 Ballon d’Or winner, Matthäus remains the only German player in history to appear in five World Cups—a fitting record for one of the most complete midfielders the game has ever seen.

2. Gerd Müller

Gerd Muller. / IMAGO/WEREK

There’s a reason Gerd Müller was called "Der Bomber"—his goals rained down on opponents like artillery fire.

Between 1965 and 1979, Müller scored an astonishing 565 goals in 607 games for Bayern Munich, including a jaw-dropping 66 in the 1972–73 season alone—a club record that still stands. For West Germany, he was just as ruthless, netting 68 goals in 62 international appearances, including the winner in the 1974 World Cup final.

As far as strikers go, few have ever matched Müller’s cold efficiency and natural instinct in front of goal. He wasn’t just prolific—he was relentless.

1. Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Beckenbauer. / IMAGO/WEREK

Franz Beckenbauer wasn’t just a defender—he was footballing royalty, a player whose composure and class set him apart from everyone else on the pitch.

Though he played primarily as a center back, Beckenbauer was far more than a last line of defense. He read the game like a playmaker, strode forward with purpose, and controlled matches with a calm authority rarely seen in any position. His touch was delicate, his vision expansive, and his passing laser-precise.

For both Bayern Munich and Germany, he collected honors at an astonishing rate: a World Cup, a European Championship, three European Cups, multiple Bundesliga titles, and two Ballon d’Ors—a rare achievement for a player in his position.