The Most Famous
SOCCER PLAYERS from Malaysia
This page contains a list of the greatest Malaysian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 16,880 Soccer Players, 6 of which were born in Malaysia. This makes Malaysia the birth place of the 112th most number of Soccer Players behind Réunion and Martinique.
Top 6
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Malaysian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Malaysian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Mokhtar Dahari (1953 - 1991)
With an HPI of 47.71, Mokhtar Dahari is the most famous Malaysian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.
Dato' Mohd Mokhtar bin Dahari (13 November 1953 – 11 July 1991) was a Malaysian professional footballer who played for Selangor. He is considered a legendary footballer in Malaysian history. FIFA acknowledged his 89 goals in international matches and took his team to an World Football Elo Ratings of 61 in 1977. A prolific forward, he was nicknamed Supermokh due to his playing skills and strength. Mokhtar is the all-time top scorer for the Malaysian national team.
2. Shaun Maloney (1983 - )
With an HPI of 26.40, Shaun Maloney is the 2nd most famous Malaysian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.
Shaun Richard Maloney (born 24 January 1983) is a Scottish football coach, who is the current manager of Wigan Athletic, and former player. Maloney played for Celtic, Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic, Chicago Fire, Hull City and the Scotland national team as an attacking midfielder or winger. Maloney started his career at Celtic, playing 215 matches across all competitions and winning honours including five Scottish Premier League titles. He was the first player to claim both the SPFA Players' Player of the Year and the SPFA Young Player of the Year awards in the same season, doing so in 2005–06. He had a spell in the Premier League with Aston Villa, before returning for a second spell at Celtic. Maloney returned to English football in 2011 with Wigan Athletic, helping them win the 2013 FA Cup final. Maloney then briefly played in Major League Soccer for Chicago Fire. He last played for Hull City for two seasons, before retiring due to injury in 2017. Maloney made his senior international debut for Scotland in 2005 and he went on to earn 47 caps, scoring seven goals. After retiring as a player, Maloney worked for Celtic and the Belgium national team as a coach. He was then appointed manager of Scottish club Hibernian in December 2021, but was sacked after four months. Maloney was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic in January 2023.
3. Mohd Faiz Subri (1987 - )
With an HPI of 25.75, Mohd Faiz Subri is the 3rd most famous Malaysian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Mohd Faiz bin Subri (born 8 November 1987) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Malaysia Super League side Penang. He is best known for his free-kick goal which won him the 2016 FIFA Puskás Award.
4. Tadashi Takeda (1986 - )
With an HPI of 22.94, Tadashi Takeda is the 4th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Tadashi Takeda (竹田 忠嗣, born 27 July 1986) is a Japanese professional football player who plays as a defender for FC Gifu in J3 League. He primarily plays defensive midfielder.
5. Dion Cools (1996 - )
With an HPI of 19.59, Dion Cools is the 5th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Dion-Johan Chai Cools (born 4 June 1996) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays either as a centre-back or full-back for Thai League 1 club Buriram United and vice-captains the Malaysia national team. Cools was raised in Belgium, and represented that country at youth level with 28 caps, but later chose to play for his native Malaysia, and made his senior debut on 3 June 2021.
6. Wan Zack Haikal (1991 - )
With an HPI of 16.78, Wan Zack Haikal is the 6th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.
Wan Zack Haikal bin Wan Noor (born 28 January 1991) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a striker or midfielder, for Perak FC in the Malaysia Super League. He is also a member of the Malaysia national team.
Pantheon has 6 people classified as soccer players born between 1953 and 1996. Of these 6, 5 (83.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living soccer players include Shaun Maloney, Mohd Faiz Subri, and Tadashi Takeda. The most famous deceased soccer players include Mokhtar Dahari. As of April 2022, 3 new soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Mokhtar Dahari, Mohd Faiz Subri, and Dion Cools.
Living Soccer Players
Go to all Rankings
Shaun Maloney
1983 - Present
HPI: 26.40
Mohd Faiz Subri
1987 - Present
HPI: 25.75
Tadashi Takeda
1986 - Present
HPI: 22.94
Dion Cools
1996 - Present
HPI: 19.59
Wan Zack Haikal
1991 - Present
HPI: 16.78
Deceased Soccer Players
Go to all RankingsNewly Added Soccer Players (2022)
Go to all RankingsMokhtar Dahari
1953 - 1991
HPI: 47.71
Mohd Faiz Subri
1987 - Present
HPI: 25.75
Dion Cools
1996 - Present
HPI: 19.59
