Why they rank here
The most dominant individual run of the 1980s: three consecutive Ballons d'Or from 1983 to 1985, a feat matched only by Messi and Cruyff at the time. An attacking midfielder with a striker's instinct for arriving late in the box, sublime vision and dead-ball mastery, Platini was the creative fulcrum of a golden French generation and of Juventus, whom he led to the 1985 European Cup — the trophy forever marked by the Heysel disaster that preceded it. His defining team achievement was Euro 1984 on home soil, where he scored an astonishing nine goals in just five matches, including two hat-tricks, a scoring feat at a major tournament never remotely approached. He finished with three Serie A top-scorer titles, around 350 career goals, and 41 in 72 for France, redefining what a midfielder could contribute to the scoresheet. His later career as a disgraced UEFA administrator clouds the legacy off the pitch, but on it he was, for three years, simply the best player in the world.
Career profile
Each bar shows how this athlete compares with the strongest in our all-time list for that metric.