A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby league, and rugby union.
It has been estimated that there are 250 million association football players in the world, and many play other forms of football.
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch.
The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opponent. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.
In total, 86 male footballers to date have scored at least 50 goals with their national team at senior level, according to FIFA documents, RSSSF and IFFHS statistics. Since October 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also been publishing a list, but only of the top 10. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal holds the all-time record with 143 international goals.
Brazil, Hungary, Iran and Kuwait hold the record of having the most players to have scored 50 or more international goals with four each. England, France, Iraq, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand each have three players who have achieved the feat. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has the highest number of footballers who scored at least 50 international goals, with 35 players. Egypt is the only African team with more than one player who has scored at least 50 international goals, after Mohamed Salah achieved the feat on 24 March 2023.
The following is a list of most expensive association football transfers, which details the highest transfer fees ever paid for players, as well as transfers which set new world transfer records. The first confirmed record transfer was of Willie Groves from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa for £100 in 1893 (equivalent to £14,000 in 2023), made just eight years after the introduction of professionalism by the Football Association in 1885.
The current transfer record was set by the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million (£200 million) in August 2017. While the current record for women was set by the transfer of Olivia Smith from Liverpool to Arsenal for €1.157 million (£1 million) in July 2025.
Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known for his ability to both score and assist goals, he has been described as a classy and quick player, with good aerial ability, technique, shooting, and movement off the ball, and was capable of playing both as a main striker and as a second striker.
Anelka began his career at Paris Saint-Germain, but soon moved to Arsenal. At Arsenal, he won the 1997–98 Premier League and FA Cup double. He became a first team regular and won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award the following season. He moved to Real Madrid for £22.3 million in 1999. He was part of the Real Madrid team that won the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League, but he did not settle in well and returned to PSG in a £20 million deal. Despite regular first team football in Paris, Anelka set his eyes upon the Premier League once more, moving on loan to Liverpool in January 2002 before joining Manchester City for £13 million at the start of the 2002–03 season.