The 20 greatest football teams have been ranked, as per latest research

Published 14:14 10 Jul 2025 BST

Updated 14:16 10 Jul 2025 BST

Dan Seddon

The 20 greatest football teams have been ranked, as per latest research

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Not one of them features R9 or Cristiano

A poll made up of 2,000 football fans has determined the 20 best sides to ever grace the pitch.

Per OLBG, Alex Ferguson's treble-winning Manchester United team of the 1998/99 season rose to the very top of that list, which may surprise some readers.

Even if this particular squad of Red Devils can't hold a candle to some of the other teams we're about to mention, United's triumph across the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League is still worth doffing your cap to.

Characterised by a trail of comebacks, this only-recently-equalled achievement (by their crosstown rivals Manchester City) saw Fergie's boys - David Beckham, Andy Cole, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Teddy Sheringham, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Roy Keane to name a few - miraculously score two injury-time goals to sink Bayern Munich in the Champo final.

They lost just five games that whole season.

Pep Guardiola's entrancing Barcelona between the years of 2008 and 2012 ranked as second-best, oddly.

This era of the Blaugrana coincided with the ascension of Lionel Messi, who thanks to the slick precision of Xavier Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets supplying him with space for expression, found the net 219 times in 220 occasions, as well as providing over 90 assists.

Across Guardiola's managerial tenure at the Camp Nou, they lifted a total of 14 trophies; the Champions League twice, La Liga three times, the Copa del Rey twice, the Spanish Super Cups three times, the European Super Cup twice, and the Club World Cup twice.

Here's the Top 20 ranking in full: