41 famous football players whose name starts with M, from Platini, Van Basten and Salah to Maradona, Maldini and Müller, with clubs and honours.
Among football players whose first name starts with M, Michel Platini has one of the strongest records: three times Ballon d’Or winner and captain of France’s Euro 1984 winners. Marco van Basten and Mohamed Salah complete the top three.
Below you will find ten detailed profiles, then two tables: one for players whose first name starts with M and one for surnames such as Maradona, Maldini and Messi. A short table by position helps with quizzes and word games.
Most Famous Football Players Whose Name Starts With M:
- Michel Platini
- Marco van Basten
- Mohamed Salah
- Manuel Neuer
- Miroslav Klose
- Marcelo
- Michael Owen
- Michael Laudrup
- Mario Kempes
- Matthias Sammer
#1 Michel Platini
- 🎂 Birthday: 21 June 1955
- 🌎 Nationality: France
- ⚽ Position: Attacking midfielder
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Nancy, Saint-Étienne, Juventus
- 🏆 Best known for: Ballon d’Or 1983, 1984 and 1985, Euro 1984 winner
Platini won the Ballon d’Or three years in a row from 1983 to 1985 while playing for Juventus. He scored the only goal of the 1985 European Cup final from the penalty spot.
At Euro 1984 on home soil he scored nine goals in five matches and captained France to the title, a scoring record for a single European Championship. He later became president of UEFA.
#2 Marco van Basten
- 🎂 Birthday: 31 October 1964
- 🌎 Nationality: Netherlands
- ⚽ Position: Striker
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Ajax, AC Milan
- 🏆 Best known for: Euro 1988 winner, Ballon d’Or 1988, 1989 and 1992
Van Basten scored a famous volley from a tight angle in the Euro 1988 final against the Soviet Union and finished as the tournament’s top scorer.
At AC Milan he won the European Cup in 1989 and 1990 and the Ballon d’Or three times. An ankle injury forced him to stop playing in 1993, when he was only 28.
#3 Mohamed Salah
- 🎂 Birthday: 15 June 1992
- 🌎 Nationality: Egypt
- ⚽ Position: Forward
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma, Liverpool
- 🏆 Best known for: 2019 Champions League, Premier League titles in 2020 and 2025
Salah joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017 and scored 32 goals in his first Premier League season. He won the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020 and 2025.
He has won the Premier League Golden Boot several times and is one of Liverpool’s highest scorers ever. He led Egypt to the 2018 World Cup, their first in 28 years.
#4 Manuel Neuer
- 🎂 Birthday: 27 March 1986
- 🌎 Nationality: Germany
- ⚽ Position: Goalkeeper
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Schalke 04, Bayern Munich
- 🏆 Best known for: 2014 World Cup, Champions League 2013 and 2020
Neuer redefined goalkeeping with his sweeper-keeper style, coming far off his line to act as an extra defender. He won the Golden Glove at the 2014 World Cup, which Germany won in Brazil.
Since joining Bayern from Schalke in 2011 he has won the Champions League twice and more than ten Bundesliga titles. He retired from international football after Euro 2024.
#5 Miroslav Klose
- 🎂 Birthday: 9 June 1978
- 🌎 Nationality: Germany
- ⚽ Position: Striker
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, Lazio
- 🏆 Best known for: 16 World Cup goals, 2014 World Cup winner
Klose scored at four World Cups and finished with 16 World Cup goals. His record-breaking goal came in the 7-1 semi-final win over Brazil in 2014, and the record stood until Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé passed it in 2026.
He is also Germany’s all-time top scorer with 71 goals. He won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and the Coppa Italia with Lazio.
#6 Marcelo
- 🎂 Birthday: 12 May 1988
- 🌎 Nationality: Brazil
- ⚽ Position: Left-back
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Fluminense, Real Madrid, Olympiacos
- 🏆 Best known for: Five Champions League titles with Real Madrid
Marcelo joined Real Madrid from Fluminense as a teenager in 2007 and stayed for 15 years. With his attacking play from left-back he won five Champions League titles and several La Liga titles.
He left Madrid in 2022 as the most decorated player in the club’s history at the time. Back at Fluminense he won the Copa Libertadores in 2023.
#7 Michael Owen
- 🎂 Birthday: 14 December 1979
- 🌎 Nationality: England
- ⚽ Position: Striker
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Stoke City
- 🏆 Best known for: Ballon d’Or 2001
Owen became famous at 18 with a solo goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. In 2001 he scored twice in the FA Cup final for Liverpool and a hat-trick for England in the 5-1 win in Munich.
He won the Ballon d’Or that year. He later played for Real Madrid and Newcastle and won the Premier League with Manchester United in 2011.
#8 Michael Laudrup
- 🎂 Birthday: 15 June 1964
- 🌎 Nationality: Denmark
- ⚽ Position: Attacking midfielder
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Brøndby, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Ajax
- 🏆 Best known for: 1992 European Cup with Barcelona
Laudrup was the playmaker of Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona Dream Team, which won the 1992 European Cup and four Spanish titles in a row.
He then moved to Real Madrid and won La Liga there in 1995. Earlier he had won Serie A with Juventus, and he finished his career with Ajax.
#9 Mario Kempes
- 🎂 Birthday: 15 July 1954
- 🌎 Nationality: Argentina
- ⚽ Position: Striker
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Rosario Central, Valencia, River Plate
- 🏆 Best known for: Top scorer and winner at the 1978 World Cup
Kempes was Argentina’s hero at the 1978 World Cup on home soil, finishing as top scorer and scoring twice in the final against the Netherlands.
At Valencia he was twice the top scorer in La Liga and won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1980.
#10 Matthias Sammer
- 🎂 Birthday: 5 September 1967
- 🌎 Nationality: Germany
- ⚽ Position: Sweeper
- 🏟️ Main clubs: Dynamo Dresden, VfB Stuttgart, Inter, Borussia Dortmund
- 🏆 Best known for: Euro 96 winner, Ballon d’Or 1996
Sammer played for East Germany before reunification and then for Germany. He was the best player at Euro 96, which Germany won, and took the Ballon d’Or that year.
With Borussia Dortmund he won two Bundesliga titles and the 1997 Champions League. As Dortmund coach he won the Bundesliga again in 2002.
More Football Players Whose First Name Starts With M
These players also have a first name or nickname that starts with M, from World Cup winners to current stars.
| Player | Country | Position | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesut Özil | Germany | Attacking midfielder | 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid and Arsenal |
| Michael Ballack | Germany | Midfielder | Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Chelsea |
| Marcel Desailly | France | Centre-back | 1998 World Cup, Champions League with Marseille and AC Milan |
| Mats Hummels | Germany | Centre-back | 2014 World Cup, Borussia Dortmund |
| Mario Götze | Germany | Attacking midfielder | Winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final |
| Marco Reus | Germany | Forward | Borussia Dortmund |
| Marcus Rashford | England | Forward | Manchester United academy graduate |
| Mason Mount | England | Midfielder | 2021 Champions League with Chelsea |
| Marquinhos | Brazil | Centre-back | Paris Saint-Germain captain, 2025 Champions League |
| Martin Ødegaard | Norway | Midfielder | Arsenal captain |
| Marek Hamšík | Slovakia | Midfielder | Napoli and Slovakia captain |
| Memphis Depay | Netherlands | Forward | PSV, Lyon and Barcelona |
| Mikel Arteta | Spain | Midfielder | Everton and Arsenal, later Arsenal manager |
| Miralem Pjanić | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Midfielder | Roma and Juventus |
| Mario Balotelli | Italy | Striker | Two goals against Germany in the Euro 2012 semi-final |
| Moisés Caicedo | Ecuador | Defensive midfielder | Brighton and Chelsea |
Football Players Whose Last Name Starts With M
Many of the best-known M names in football are surnames. Use these if your quiz or game allows the last name.
| Player | Country | Position | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | Forward | 2022 World Cup, eight Ballon d’Or awards |
| Diego Maradona | Argentina | Attacking midfielder | 1986 World Cup winning captain, Napoli |
| Paolo Maldini | Italy | Defender | Five European Cups with AC Milan |
| Kylian Mbappé | France | Forward | Hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final |
| Luka Modrić | Croatia | Midfielder | Ballon d’Or 2018 |
| Gerd Müller | Germany | Striker | Winner in the 1974 World Cup final |
| Thomas Müller | Germany | Forward | 2014 World Cup, Bayern Munich record appearance holder |
| Lothar Matthäus | Germany | Midfielder | 1990 World Cup winning captain, Ballon d’Or 1990 |
| Bobby Moore | England | Centre-back | 1966 World Cup winning captain |
| Stanley Matthews | England | Winger | First winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1956 |
| Sepp Maier | Germany | Goalkeeper | 1974 World Cup, three European Cups with Bayern |
| Giuseppe Meazza | Italy | Forward | World Cup winner in 1934 and 1938 |
| Sadio Mané | Senegal | Forward | Liverpool, 2021 Africa Cup of Nations winner |
| Javier Mascherano | Argentina | Defensive midfielder | Liverpool and Barcelona |
| Alexis Mac Allister | Argentina | Midfielder | 2022 World Cup, Brighton and Liverpool |
M Players by Position
Need one M name per position? Here is a first name and a surname for each line of the team.
| Position | First name with M | Last name with M |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Manuel Neuer | Sepp Maier |
| Defender | Marcelo | Paolo Maldini |
| Midfielder | Michel Platini | Luka Modrić |
| Forward | Marco van Basten | Gerd Müller |
Football Players From A to Z
Looking for another letter? A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z
FAQ
Who is the most famous football player whose name starts with M?
By surname, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. By first name, Michel Platini, who won the Ballon d’Or three times in a row and captained France to the Euro 1984 title.
Which Premier League players have names starting with M?
Mohamed Salah, Michael Owen, Mesut Özil, Michael Ballack, Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Mikel Arteta by first name. Surnames include Sadio Mané, Javier Mascherano and Alexis Mac Allister.
Is there a famous goalkeeper whose name starts with M?
Manuel Neuer, the 2014 World Cup winner who made the sweeper-keeper style famous. By surname, Sepp Maier won the 1974 World Cup and three European Cups with Bayern Munich.
Which World Cup winners have a name starting with M?
Mario Kempes (1978), Marcel Desailly (1998), Miroslav Klose, Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Mesut Özil and Mario Götze (2014), and Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino, Marc Cucurella and Martín Zubimendi (Spain 2026). By surname, Diego Maradona, Bobby Moore, Gerd Müller, Thomas Müller, Lothar Matthäus, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi.
Has a player whose name starts with M won the Ballon d’Or?
Yes, many. Michel Platini and Marco van Basten won it three times each, Matthias Sammer in 1996 and Michael Owen in 2001. By surname, Stanley Matthews, Gerd Müller, Lothar Matthäus, Luka Modrić and Lionel Messi.
Which German football players start with M?
Manuel Neuer, Miroslav Klose, Matthias Sammer, Mesut Özil, Michael Ballack, Mats Hummels, Mario Götze and Marco Reus by first name, and Gerd Müller, Thomas Müller, Lothar Matthäus and Sepp Maier by surname.
Which current players have a name starting with M?
Active players include Mohamed Salah, Marquinhos, Martin Ødegaard, Moisés Caicedo, Marcus Rashford, Kylian Mbappé and Alexis Mac Allister.
What is a good football player with M for a quiz or word game?
Maradona or Messi are the safest answers for a surname, and Michel Platini or Mohamed Salah for a first name. Short names such as Moore and Marcelo are useful when space is tight.
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