No shirt in football carries more romance than the number ten. These are the players who wore the creative burden of a whole side, seeing and executing the pass no one else could — the last line before magic.

1. 1

   Diego Maradona

   Argentina · Attacking Midfielder

   The definitive number ten, who carried a modest Argentina side to the 1986 World Cup almost single-handedly.

2. 2

   Zico

   Brazil · Attacking Midfielder

   The White Pelé, the finest playmaker of Brazil’s beloved 1982 side and a master of the free-kick.

3. 3

   Michel Platini

   France · Attacking Midfielder

   Elegance and end product in equal measure; a number ten who scored like a striker.

4. 4

   Roberto Baggio

   Italy · Forward

   Il Divin Codino, whose grace and vision lit up three World Cups for Italy.

5. 5

   Juan Román Riquelme

   Argentina · Attacking Midfielder

   The last great enganche, who slowed the game to his own unhurried rhythm.

6. 6

   Francesco Totti

   Italy · Attacking Midfielder

   A one-club genius who reinvented himself from trequartista to false nine for Roma.

7. 7

   Gianni Rivera

   Italy · Attacking Midfielder

   The Golden Boy of Italian football and a 1969 Ballon d’Or winner for Milan.

8. 8

   Rui Costa

   Portugal · Attacking Midfielder

   Silk and vision at Fiorentina and Milan, one of the last purebred fantasisti.

9. 9

   Kaká

   Brazil · Attacking Midfielder

   The 2007 Ballon d’Or winner, a number ten with the pace of a winger and a Champions League to prove it.

10. 10

    Dennis Bergkamp

    Netherlands · Forward

    The thinking man’s forward, whose first touch turned the impossible into the routine.

A LeaguePaper editorial ranking — opinion, offered for argument.