10 Most Cultured Midfielders in Football History [Ranked]

The most cultured midfielders in football history are not only great players, but bring an elegant style to their mastery of the game.

The ‘cultured’ midfielder is, of course, technically excellent, possessing the skill, passing range and spatial awareness to pull the strings from the centre of the park, all while gliding away from opposition defenders. These players might operate deeper in midfield, controlling possession, or further up the pitch, floating into dangerous pockets of space between the lines.

Europe, in particular, has produced a plethora of such talents, like Italy’s Andrea Pirlo, Spain’s Xabi Alonso or France’s Michel Platini. Here, we rank the top 10 most cultured midfielders of all time.

10Juan Roman Riquelme

1996-2015

Despite spending the majority of his club career with Boca Juniors in his native Argentina, Juan Roman Riquelme is revered as one of football’s greatest attacking midfielders. Riquelme was not an especially fast or powerful player, but his elegant technique and quick feet saw him wriggle frequently out of whatever tight spot he was in and into space.

He possessed the vision and skill to pick out a clever final pass or take a shot at goal. A ‘classic number 10’, Riquelme was one of the last players at the top level to be afforded such creative freedom before a tactical shift required more off-the-ball discipline from players in his position.

Juan Roman Riquelme’s Club Career Stats

Appearances
495

Goals
132

Assists
114

Honours
12

9Paul Scholes

1993-2013

One of football’s rare one-club men, Manchester United legend Paul Scholes was arguably the most cultured midfielder the UK has ever produced. England is a nation that generally favours powerful, energetic and physically dominant players, but Scholes, who was small in stature, dominated games differently – with technical skill and intelligent use of the ball.

His passing range was exceptional and played no small part in Manchester United’s extraordinary success under Sir Alex Ferguson in the first two decades of the Premier League. Not the best tackler, though. He would perhaps have been appreciated even more had his career coincided with the modern era in which possession has become king.

Paul Scholes’ Club Career Stats

Appearances
713

Goals
153

Assists
81

Honours
25

8Andres Iniesta

2000-Present

It may come as a surprise to some to learn that Andres Iniesta has yet to retire. An integral part of the midfield triumvirate that saw Barcelona and Spain rise head and shoulders above the rest of the football world for a time (more on that later), Iniesta has continued to dazzle with his quick feet since leaving Catalonia in 2018, spending five years in Japan with Vissel Kobe and – more recently – a debut season with Emirates Club in the UAE Pro League at the ripe old age of 40.

Iniesta’s World Cup-winning strike in 2010 for Spain will live long in the memory, as will his signature move – ‘La Croqueta’ – in which he shifts the ball quickly from one foot to the other to skip past a committed defender. A truly special midfield talent.

Andres Iniesta’s Club Career Stats

Appearances
885

Goals
93

Assists
161

Honours
32

7Sergio Busquets

2007-Present

“You watch the game, you don’t see Busquets. You watch Busquets, you see the whole game.” That quote on Sergio Busquets by then-Spain manager Vicente del Bosque is perhaps so well-known now that it has lost its impact, but it does a good job of summing up what the former Barcelona holding midfielder brings to the table.

Far from a flashy – or even physical – presence on the pitch, Busquets had a tendency to be overshadowed by his midfield partners Xavi and Iniesta during Barcelona’s era of dominance. However, his ability to almost always be in the right space at the right time to receive the ball before picking – you guessed it – the right pass ensured his sides rarely lost the ball and helped suffocate opponents into submission. One of the greatest anchormen in football history.

Sergio Busquets’ Club Career Stats

Appearances

Goals
19

Assists
52

Honours
33

6Xabi Alonso

1999-2017

Xabi Alonso has hit the headlines most recently as a manager for his unbeaten Bundesliga triumph with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, where he displayed many of the same cool qualities he exhibited as a player.

Premier League – and particularly Liverpool – fans will remember a more all-action version of Alonso in his younger days, though his class was still clearly evident. However, particularly at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the latter stages of his career, the Spaniard became famous for his general-esque role at the base of midfield, from which he would spray passes all across the pitch, never seeming rushed but always purposeful. It is perhaps unsurprising that he has taken to coaching so well.

Xabi Alonso’s Club Career Stats

Appearances
700

Goals
43

Assists
68

Honours
14

5Luka Modric

2003-Present

Croatia’s record appearance-maker and 2018 Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric has set the benchmark for the next generation of midfield talent. He initially caught the eye at Tottenham, but few expected him to blossom into the world-class operator he became at Real Madrid, forming a crucial component of a side that has won six Champions League titles since his arrival.

Modric is not the quintessential creative midfielder, despite his technical skill, nor is he purely focused on ball retention. Rather, he possesses a unique blend of those qualities which enables him to contribute to all phases of the game in a way few players can. His signature ‘trivela’ passes and crosses add a sprinkle of flair to his already-rare skill set.

Luka Modric’s Club Career Stats

Appearances
795

Goals

Assists
131

Honours
33

4Michel Platini

1972-1987

Michel Platini’s reputation has been largely tarnished after he was found guilty of ethics violations while serving as president of UEFA and was subsequently banned from all football-related activities for eight years.

As a player, however, he was as cultured a midfielder as they come. While the first decade of his career was spent with Nancy and Saint-Etienne in his native France, it was his five years in Italy with Juventus that saw him rise to prominence as one of the best players on the planet. Platini won the Ballon d’Or three years in a row between 1983 and 1985 – only Lionel Messi (eight) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five) have amassed more.

He embodied elegance and would frequently glide across the pitch as though he were the only one playing. His technique from set pieces was superb, and he was an equal parts creator and goalscorer – an exceedingly rare gift. ‘Le Roi’ – ‘The King’ – may have been dethroned now, but he certainly conquered the game in his heyday.

Michel Platini’s Club Career Stats

Appearances
550

Goals
297

Assists
48

Honours
10

3Zinedine Zidane

1989-2006

Few footballers are more iconic than the legendary Zinedine Zidane. ‘Zizou’, as he was frequently referred to, simply had it all. Power, aura, an immaculate first touch and a magical ability to create space for himself or others when it seemed there simply was none.

Many who watched the great man himself will picture his signature pirouette, but reducing him to that snapshot of flair in some ways perhaps does a disservice to the sheer quality of the player – he rarely needed to bail himself out of trouble with flashy moves, such was his command of the ball.

nd those who would have hoped to unsettle this technical genius with physicality were sorely disappointed, for Zidane possessed a strength and stature that enabled him to hold his own against even the most rugged defenders.

His managerial career has mirrored his golden touch as a player, famously guiding Real Madrid to three successive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018 and uniting an infamously difficult and ego-filled Los Blancos dressing room. Antagonising Zidane seems ill-advised – just ask Marco Materazzi.

Zinedine Zidane’s Club Career Stats

Appearances
689

Goals
125

Assists
141

Honours
13

2Xavi

1997-2019

Has any player ever controlled games quite like Xavi? Perhaps the greatest passer the game has ever seen, Xavi – along with Busquets and Iniesta – passed opponents to death under the watchful eye of a young Pep Guardiola. His remarkable vision, positioning and technical qualities forced opponents to endure agonising, lengthy spells without ever touching the ball while he pulled the strings from the centre of the park.

Lionel Messi was, of course, the star of the show at Camp Nou, but Xavi was the great conductor and orchestrator of proceedings behind him, racking up the second-most appearances (767) in the club’s history. It was his attention to detail and constant scanning that separated him from the rest – he was always looking for, and finding, space on the pitch. When pressed, he would execute his simple 360-degree turn ‘La Pelopina’ to move his marker out of the way before lending the ball to a teammate and trotting into space to receive a return pass.

In so doing, he would run matches from start to finish, tirelessly moving the ball – with him as the conduit – from one part of the pitch to the next until it ended up in the back of the net. Simple, refined genius.

Xavi’s Club Career Stats

Appearances
931

Goals
112

Assists
217

Honours
29

1Andrea Pirlo

1995-2017

Few players have ever made the game of football look quite as effortless as Andrea Pirlo.

The Italian began as an attacking midfielder but moved deeper as he aged – and it was in this position that he most typified the cultured midfield player. Always cool, calm and collected, and never in a hurry – or anything resembling a hurry – Pirlo would receive the ball at the base of midfield, scan the pitch for options and ping the ball from one side of the field to the other, just where he wanted to put it, be that into the path of an onrushing forward or right on his boot.

The archetypal regista, Pirlo was rarely forced to do any rushing around or dirty work – he simply strolled into space, received the ball and gave it away. His technique and quality at set-pieces was equally memorable, holding the joint record for free-kick goals in Serie A. A more cultured midfielder in history there was not.