From Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi scoring every 10 seconds, Leicester City winning the Premier League and France becoming world champions, there's been no shortage of memories.But we've now taken on our toughest and most important retrospective of the festive period: counting down the top five footballers of the 5 decade. As you can imagine, picking the candidates and ranking them all wasn't easy, but join us in celebrating a remarkable decade of the 'beautiful game' by viewing and disputing our final list.

5 1970s - Johan Cruyff

Johann Cruyff had the skill, control and strength of Zidane and the dribbling and pace of George Best. He was the total footballer, combining a sublime gracefulness with a clinical ability and calculating intelligence. Cruyff was a prolific goalscorer as well, scoring 401 goals in 710 appearances from attacking midfield. He won three European Cups and 10 league titles, but he wasn't able to gain an international medal.

4 1980s - Pele 

Major Achievements: Most career goals (of any footballer ever, like ever), FIFA Player of the Century, France Football's greatest FIFA World Cup player, TIME 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century list, Brazil's all-time leading goalscorer, Santos' all-time leading goalscorer, youngest FIFA World Cup winner, most assists in FIFA World Cup history, 1958, 1962 & 1970 FIFA World Cup, top goalscorer in FIFA World Cup finals, two Copa Libertadores titles, six Campeonato Brasilerio Serie A titles, two Intercontinental Cups, 1970 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, 1958 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player, 1970 Bola de Prata.

One of the 100 most important people of the 20th century according to TIME. The most important footballer of all time.

Bursting onto the scene as a 17-year-old looking to avenge the tears of his father when Brazil lost the 1950 World Cup final, Pele would go on to win the World Cup on three separate occasions and make Brazil the football nation. The Brazilian's peak is fable at this point, possibly because the world didn't really get to see it due to his injury at the 1962 World Cup, but more aptly because between 1958 and 1962, no one has ever scored more goals than him. In fact, no footballer has ever scored more goals than Pele ever.

His great achievement was leading the most incredible football team of all time to 1970 FIFA World Cup glory, but it's his peak years of the early 1960s which make Pele one of the very best.

1990s - Zinedine Zidane

Study Zizou’s bare statistics and they’re not all that special – a goal every six games or so, just one Champions League title and another in La Liga for Real Madrid. He wasn’t particularly quick or strong and was poor in the air (despite scoring twice in a World Cup final with his bonce). Some would question whether the Frenchman really warrants such a lofty position on our list.  To call such methodology reductive doesn’t begin to scratch the surface and is the football equivalent of dismissing Vincent van Gogh because he only sold one painting in his lifetime. Put simply, watching Zidane conduct a football match was the closest thing to art the beautiful game has ever produced. The touch, skill amd mesmeric grace you never see, combined with a headbutting temper that made him human. Glorious.

2000s - Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho Gaucho; a man whose ability to party almost exceeded his ability on the pitch. And he was phenomenal with the ball at his feet.The buck-toothed grin remained undiminished on the futsal pitches of India, as prominent prior to his retirement as it was when he burst into footballing consciousness in the late ’90s. Whether it was shooting, passing or producing unbelievable moments of brilliance, it is no stretch to call Ronaldinho a footballing wizard.

His control of the ball was magical, able to light up a game with a smile and a memorable instance, never to be forgotten. And it was a smile which remained win, lose or draw.From the streets of Porto Alegre through Gremio’s academy and first XI, Ronaldinho was a star which shone brightest. So brightly, Arsenal and Manchester United tried in vain to sign him. PSG beckoned and a party lifestyle seduced him. Not before he outgrew the French champions. His swagger demanded a bigger stage and Barcelona gave him it. A £25m move to Catalunya signalled a new era of success for the Blaugrana and Ronaldinho’s twinkle-toes decided the rhythm. 94 goals and 69 assists in a little over 200 games underline his contribution as the team claimed two league titles and a Champions League.

As David Beckham commented, for a while Ronaldinho was unplayable. He never recovered those powers as injuries bit, sending him for the Camp Nou to the San Siro.

But for Ronaldinho, the simple pleasure of football never stopped putting a smile on his – and our – face.

1 2010s - Lionel Messi 

Messi hails from Argentina, much like Maradona he is known for his low centre of gravity, dribbling ability and scoring pedigree. He is a true genius on the field. People regard him as the greatest football player of all-time and it is hard to argue that. He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he recently notched up 700 appearances for Barca, during which time he has scored a phenomenal 614 goals while winning 34 trophies, including 10 La Liga and four Champions League titles, and a host of other records and awards. 33-year-old Argentine’s has just won his first Ballon d’Or since 2015 and comes after he scored 54 times for club and country in 2018-19. The Barcelona forward has won the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best player for a record sixth time!

12010s- Cristiano Ronaldo

What more can you actually say about Cristiano Ronaldo that hasn’t already been said a thousand times over? This is a man with five Ballons d’Or, five Champions League titles and nearly 700 career goals for club and country, yet who is never truly satisfied and works harder than anyone to ensure he achieves his ever-higher targets. Talent alone will only get a player so far and Ronaldo understood that from an early age. His utter dedication to his craft is second to none, while the incredible attention to detail he puts into looking after himself is what has kept him at such a high level for more than a decade. Most players never reach his level – certainly none can sustain it for long – bar just one other…

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