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#4 Mario Kempes
Mario Kempes may not have had the glorious club career that some of the other players on this list enjoyed but will go down in history as the man who transformed the fortunes of the Argentina national team. El Matador was the leading goalscorer in Argentina's triumphant 1978 World Cup campaign and is arguably one of the most important figures in the competition's history.
Kempes scored six goals in the 1978 World Cup and was the hero of the famous final against a formidable Netherlands side. The Argentina forward's brace gave his side a 3-1 victory and resulted in Argentina's first-ever World Cup triumph.
Mario Kempes also enjoyed a fruitful tenure with Valencia in La Liga and won the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Super Cup with the Spanish side. Kempes also won two consecutive Pichichi awards in Spain and is widely regarded as a precursor to the likes of Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta.
#3 Alfredo Di Stefano
Real Madrid has endorsed some of the greatest names in the history of the game but there is arguably none better than the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano. In the late 1950s, the great Argentine dominated Europe and his extraordinary range of skills was no match for the defensive units of the time.
Di Stefano was Argentine by birth and while he may not have played as many games for Argentina, the Real Madrid forward ruthlessly took Spain and Europe by storm with a star-studded Los Blancos side. Alongside a prolific Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo Di Stefano established Real Madrid as the premier European powerhouse with 5 consecutive European Cup victories.
Di Stefano was known for his ability to shine on the biggest of stages and his performance against Pele's Santos side in 1959 earned Real Madrid an exhilarating 5-3 victory. The Argentine forward also won 2 Ballon d'Ors and is regarded as one of the best players in Real Madrid history.
#2 Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona is sure to be in the top three of any list of the best players of all time. The Argentina legend's revolutionary swagger on the pitch perfectly complemented the rebellious nature of his personal life and created an aura that has been etched into football folklore.
Diego Maradona's footballing immortality stems from the sheer impact he created on the beautiful game. The eccentric Argentina international redefined the role of the modern attacker and was the creative fulcrum of an Argentina side that stunned the world with a successful 1986 World Cup campaign.
Maradona's magic has given the footballing world some of its most memorable moments. The Argentine talisman's crowning moment came in arguably the most famous match in football history as Maradona took on a strong English side in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup.
The Napoli legend scored the first goal of the game with his legendary "Hand of God" and went on to stun the English with arguably the most beautiful goal for Argentina in the history of the World Cup. Diego Maradona is, to this day, perceived as an extraterrestrial phenomenon that managed to entertain and dazzle fans and neutrals alike and make football a truly global sport.
#1 Lionel Messi
While Argentina legend Diego Maradona was capable of moments of magic that have never been seen before and may never be surpassed, the World Cup winner was never in sight of the astonishing levels of consistency that Lionel Messi has managed over the past 15 years at Barcelona.
The diminutive Argentine genius is arguably the best player in the history of the beautiful game and his statistics tell a definitive story. The Barcelona legend has scored 704 career goals in 869 games and his ability to make jaws drop on a near-weekly basis makes for a stunning highlight reel.
Lionel Messi has also won a record 6 Ballon d'Ors in his career and is one of the most decorated players in the history of the game. The magician from Argentina is only 33 years of age and may still be able to add a few more feathers to his star-studded cap over the next few years.
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