Franz Beckenbauer $4
Der Kaiser. Invented the modern libero role. World Cup winner as player (1974) and manager (1990). Two-time Ballon d'Or as a defender — unhe…
Defenders
All defenders ranked. Beckenbauer ($4) to Pickford-tier $1 bench · 57 indexed
Defenders fill 3-5 slots depending on your formation. Cheaper than strikers but premium-priced defenders (Beckenbauer, Maldini) exist at $4 — same as Legend strikers.
All defenders ranked by price
Paolo Maldini $4
AC Milan one-club legend, 25 years. Five Champions Leagues, seven Serie A titles. Played at five World Cups. Won everything except a World C…
Franco Baresi $4
AC Milan's other legend. 20 seasons at Milan, six Serie A titles, three Champions Leagues. The original defensive libero. 1994 World Cup fin…
George Weah $4
Only African to win the Ballon d'Or (1995). AC Milan icon. After retirement, became President of Liberia. From slum to ballon d'Or to presid…
Bobby Moore $3
England's only World Cup-winning captain (1966). Pele called him the greatest defender he ever played against. West Ham icon. Calm, never di…
Daniel Passarella $3
Argentina's 1978 World Cup-winning captain. Goal-scoring center back before that was a thing — 175 career goals from defense. Tough as nails…
Gaetano Scirea $3
Juventus and Italy's libero genius. 1982 World Cup winner. Never received a red card across 552 career games. Pure class, on and off the pit…
Roberto Carlos $3
Left back with a sledgehammer left foot. 2002 World Cup winner. His banana free kick vs France (1997) still defies physics. Real Madrid Gala…
Cafu $3
Two-time World Cup winner (1994, 2002). Only player to play in three consecutive World Cup finals. Defined the modern attacking right back.…
Fabio Cannavaro $3
2006 World Cup winner and Ballon d'Or winner — one of only three defenders to ever win it. 5'9" against giants, never lost an aerial duel th…
Carles Puyol $3
Barcelona and Spain's warrior captain. World Cup winner (2010, scored the semifinal header vs Germany). Three Champions Leagues. Pure leader…
Alessandro Nesta $3
AC Milan's other half of the post-Maldini era. Two-time Champions League winner. 2006 World Cup winner. Effortless reading of the game, neve…
Virgil van Dijk $3
Liverpool's transformational center back. 2019 Champions League winner, 2020 Premier League winner. Never lost a 1v1 dribble at his peak. Ca…
Thiago Silva $3
Brazil's captain at multiple tournaments. Champions League winner with Chelsea (2021). Played top-flight at 40. Position, position, position…
Sergio Ramos $3
Real Madrid's record-scoring defender. 4 Champions Leagues, World Cup 2010, two Euros. His 93:20 header in 2014 saved Madrid's Décima. Yello…
Dani Alves $3
Most decorated player in football history (40+ trophies). Six La Liga titles with Barcelona. Tireless attacking right back of the Messi era.…
Philipp Lahm $3
Bayern Munich one-club captain. 2014 World Cup winner as Germany's captain. Played left back, right back, and central midfield — all at worl…
Rafael Marquez $3
Mexico's iconic captain. Five World Cups (1 of only 3 players ever). Barcelona La Liga + Champions League winner under Rijkaard. The Captain…
John Terry $2
Chelsea captain leader legend. Five Premier League titles, Champions League 2012. Premier League Player of the Year as a defender. Mr. Chels…
Rio Ferdinand $2
Manchester United's ball-playing center back. Six Premier League titles, 2008 Champions League. Brought elegance to English defending.…
Nemanja Vidic $2
Ferdinand's enforcer partner at Manchester United. Five Premier League titles. Headed and threw himself into anything — broken noses, disloc…
Ashley Cole $2
Premier League's greatest left back. Arsenal Invincible, then Chelsea Champions League winner. 107 England caps. Always one step ahead of th…
Lilian Thuram $2
France's most-capped player (142). 1998 World Cup winner, 2000 Euros winner. Scored both goals in the 1998 World Cup semifinal vs Croatia. V…
Marcel Desailly $2
France's defensive rock. World Cup winner (1998), Euros winner (2000), two Champions Leagues (Marseille, AC Milan). Could play CB or DM at w…
Laurent Blanc $2
Le President. 1998 World Cup winner. Kissed bald keeper Barthez before every game. Calm, technical center back who could also score.…
Jaap Stam $2
Manchester United's treble-winning center back (1999). Built like a tank, ran like a winger. Sold by Ferguson too soon — one of his rare reg…
Giorgio Chiellini $2
Juventus iron-man. Nine Serie A titles in a row. 2020 Euros winner with Italy. His Saka shirt-pull in the Euro final is a meme — won it anyw…
Leonardo Bonucci $2
Chiellini's BBC partner at Juventus. 2020 Euros winner. Long-range passing genius. Sometimes hot-headed but always decisive in big moments.…
Gerard Pique $2
Barcelona's home-grown center back. World Cup winner (2010), Euros winner (2012), three Champions Leagues. Ball-playing pioneer of his gener…
David Alaba $2
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Two Champions Leagues at two clubs. Left back, center back, or central midfielder. Free kick specialist.…
Marquinhos $2
PSG captain since his early 20s. Multiple Ligue 1 titles. Brazil's first-choice center back at multiple World Cups. Aerial king and clean ta…
Ruben Dias $2
Manchester City's leader at the back. Multiple Premier League titles, 2023 Champions League. Vocal, organized, the manager-on-the-pitch type…
Antonio Rudiger $2
Chelsea Champions League winner, then Real Madrid. Aggressive, fast, dangerous in both boxes. Big-game mentality.…
Trent Alexander-Arnold $2
Liverpool's homegrown right back with a midfielder's passing range. Premier League and Champions League winner. Corner-routine genius.…
Andrew Robertson $2
Liverpool's overlapping left back. Scotland's captain. From Hull castoff to Premier League and Champions League winner. Pure engine.…
Achraf Hakimi $2
Morocco's superstar. Took Morocco to 2022 World Cup semis, beating Spain and Portugal en route. PSG and Real Madrid product. Pure pace and p…
Theo Hernandez $2
AC Milan's marauding left back. Serie A winner. Brother of Lucas Hernandez. Among the fastest left backs ever measured in Serie A.…
William Saliba $2
Arsenal's transformational center back. Tall, calm, fast recovery. France's emerging defensive future after Varane.…
Rafael Varane $2
Four Champions Leagues at Real Madrid, World Cup winner 2018. Imperial in the air, never panicked on the ball. The defender's defender.…
Jules Kounde $2
Barcelona's hybrid right back / center back. World Cup finalist 2022. Fast, technically clean, brave on the ball.…
Eder Militao $2
Real Madrid's Brazilian center back. Champions League winner 2022. Acrobatic, fast, occasionally tackles like he's in a hurry. Always recove…
Reece James $2
Chelsea's homegrown captain. Champions League winner 2021. Wand of a right foot, when fit one of the world's best wing backs.…
Alphonso Davies $2
Canada's first world-class star. Bayern Munich and 2020 Champions League winner. Refugee-camp-born sprinter turned left back. Took Canada to…
Kim Min-jae $2
The Monster. Napoli's Serie A-winning center back (2023), now at Bayern Munich. Korea's defensive rock. Dominant in the air, terrifyingly fa…
Lucas Radebe $2
Leeds United captain. Nelson Mandela called him 'my hero.' South Africa's iconic defender of the post-apartheid era. PFA Premier League Team…
Lucas Neill $2
Australia's longtime captain. Blackburn, West Ham, Galatasaray. Led Australia at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. Hard, fair, fearless.…
Anatoliy Tymoshchuk $2
Ukraine's most decorated player. Bayern Munich treble winner (2013) and Champions League winner. Multiple Russian Premier League titles with…
Kostas Manolas $2
Greece's defensive rock. Roma's hero of the iconic Champions League quarterfinal vs Barcelona (2018) — scored the winner in the 3-0 second l…
Trifon Ivanov $2
Bulgaria's iconic 1994 World Cup semifinalist. Beard like a Viking, tackles like a tank. Captained Bulgaria's golden generation alongside St…
Bulent Korkmaz $2
Galatasaray and Turkey legend. UEFA Cup winner 2000. Turkey's 2002 World Cup third-place captain. Most-capped Galatasaray player ever.…
Branislav Ivanovic $2
Chelsea defensive iron-man. Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League — won everything. Serbia's longtime captain.…
Presnel Kimpembe $1
PSG academy product. Multiple Ligue 1 titles. France World Cup 2018 winner. Aggressive ball-winner.…
Ben White $1
Arsenal's right back / center back. Calm passer, technical for an English defender. Convertd from CB to RB by Arteta.…
Kyle Walker $1
Manchester City's right back. Multiple Premier League titles and the 2023 Champions League. One of the fastest defenders ever in the Premier…
Cha Du-ri $1
Veteran Korean right back, son of legend Cha Bum-kun. Played in Germany for over a decade. Bundesliga journeyman, Korean fan favorite.…
Maya Yoshida $1
Japan's captain at multiple World Cups. Southampton and Sampdoria long-server. Calm, organized, big-tournament veteran.…
Sun Jihai $1
First Chinese player in the Premier League (Manchester City, 2002-08). Captain of China's 2002 World Cup squad. Inducted into the English Fo…
❓ FAQ — Defenders
Who is the highest-priced defender?
Franz Beckenbauer at $4. The defender GOAT tier.
Cheapest legend-era defender?
Several at $1-$2 — Presnel Kimpembe is the cheapest.
What is a libero?
A defender who plays as a sweeper-creator. Full libero concept.