Football quickly became by far the most popular sport in Portugal soon after it was brought to the country at the end of the 19th century. Little surprise therefore, that Portuguese footballers have emerged as the leading footballers all around the world. They are known for their incredible talent, technical abilities, creativity, and exceptional skills on the field. Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese legend who is considered by many as the greatest player of all time. The national Portuguese football team is one of the best teams in the world. Plus, Portugal’s Primeira Liga is also a highly respected and competitive league.
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Portuguese footballers are starring for many of the biggest club sides in the world. Here is a list of the top Portuguese football players who emerged as the stars of the century.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest Portuguese footballer who is famous all around the world. He is considered by many as the greatest footballer of all time, let alone this century. He has potent athleticism, attacking abilities, incredible tricks, and the unabating urge to score goals and be a champion. All these qualities have made Ronaldo a player of incalculable value who is unstoppable on the field. His dedication to his game renders him capable of playing and competing at the highest levels, even at the age of 39. His love for football, the world game, has gained him millions of followers from all around the world.
Ronaldo was the second top scorer in the European Championship qualifying phase, netting 10 times and finishing only behind Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku. He has won 5 Ballon d’Or awards and 4 European Golden Boots. In addition, he has collected 31 major awards throughout his entire career, including 1 European Championship, 1 UEFA Nations League, 5 UEFA Champions Leagues, and 7 league titles in different countries. With 135 goals and 41 assists in the UEFA Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo’s statistics make a compelling case that he is indeed the greatest footballer of all time.
2. Luís Figo
Voted World Player of the Year in 2000, Luís Figo is another player who is one of the all-time greats of the game. Starting at Sporting, he was snapped up by Barcelona where he became a huge star, before switching to arch rivals Real Madrid in one of football’s most controversial transfers of all time. He was equally successful in the Spanish capital, before ending his career at Inter Milan. Although mainly a provider as a winger, he scored 168 goals in 919 games and won 23 trophies in his career.
3. Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva is another great Portuguese football player who is currently playing for Manchester City. He is a dynamic, skilful and intelligent footballer who can effectively play in different positions across the midfield.
Having exceptional dribbling skills and ball control, Silva is regarded as an extremely technically gifted player of football. He is blessed with super vision and intelligence, and a wand of a left foot, with which he has scored many spectacular goals. Plus, his ability to perform in tight areas and tactical cleverness make him a tough competitor to defend against. In 32 matches for Manchester City this season, Silva has scored eight goals and provided four assists.
4. Pepe
Another Portugal great of the game is Pepe, whose full name is Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira. He is a captain of Primeira Liga and plays as a centre-back. Although Brazilian born, Pepe nailed his flag to the mast of Portugal since an early age and has become a legend of the Portuguese national team, putting in a man-of-the-match performance in the Euro 2016 final as he helped the Seleção beat France 1-0 in Paris to lift the trophy. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, Pepe has played for various clubs during his football career, notably spending a fantastically successful decade at Real Madrid, and also representing Marítimo, Porto and Besiktas.
5. Rui Costa
Rui Costa is a former silky-skilled Portuguese playmaker who has now become the president of Benfica. Costa was an attacking midfielder, who was mainly known for his excellent superb technique, creativity, vision, and ability to scored incredible goals from from midfield.
6. João Cancelo
João Cancelo is another Portuguese football player who emerged as one of the great footballers of this century. He was considered by many as Manchester City’s player of the season in the recent 2021/22 season. Although a defender, it is his contribution in midfield and attack and to the all-round cohesion of the team that makes him stand above his peers in his position. He has an incredible CV having played for Benfica, Valencia, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, his current club.
Final words
These half dozen players are among the most influential Portuguese football players of the current century. But the list does not end here as there are many more who could have replaced them, but that can be a topic of debate for another day. Apart from having a large fan base, all these Portuguese footballers are also top picks for gamblers who like to bet on football matches. Bettors are often keen put their stake on Portuguese footballers doing well as they have much more potential to win the match. And that’s why there are so many opportunities for the bettors around the globe to watch their favourite Portuguese footballer play and to bet on them. With so many amazing football matches in a multitude of different competitions all over the planet, it is doubly exciting to watch them play and make money at the same time.
