The 10 Tallest Soccer Players Ever

Professional soccer has progressed a huge amount in the last 50 years. The days when some of the world's best players could get away with drinking hard, smoking like a chimney and eating whatever they wanted to are long gone. These days, footballers must remain in top physical condition at all times if they want to compete at the top. Health and nutrition is an integral part of the game, and sports science and physiotherapy has developed to such an extent that those playing soccer at the very top are some of the finest athletes the world has ever seen.

Given all this, it's no surprise that in the modern day there are some extremely tall and imposing footy stars doing their stuff in the Premier League, the Bundesliga, Serie A and other top leagues across the world. Ultimately, soccer can be played by virtually anyone — that's one of the best things about the beautiful game — but it's fair to say that certain advantages can be gained by height.

There are plenty of pros who have used their stature to help define their style of play, from large, powerful strikers like Erling Haaland who ensure each match is a serious physical test for the opposition back line, to heavy centre-back bruisers who seem to get their head on every single cross that comes into the box. But who is the tallest soccer player ever, and what position did they play in?

At 2.01m (6 foot, 7 inches), Peter Crouch is one of the tallest to play in the Premier League

In this article, we'll be working our way through the tallest players in the history of the game, detailing which countries they come from and exactly how tall they are. We'll explore the positions that are most likely to be occupied by tall, imposing players, and we'll explain what the average height for a professional footballer is, as well as giving you some extra statistics about the most aerially dominant sides in the Premier League.

What Is The Average Height For A Professional Soccer Player?

One of the biggest differences between amateur and lower-league football players and those who ply their trade at the very top of the game is physicality, pure and simple. Premier League footballers, and those operating in other top-level divisions across the globe, tend to be serious physical specimens — strong, lean, muscular, and in some cases, extremely tall. 

That being said, there can be a huge amount of variety when it comes to the stature of pro players. Some of the most legendary footballers in the history of the game — think Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, or Andres Iniesta — have been diminutive in size, with all those players listed under 5ft 8in (172cm).

A lot of the time, it depends on positions; it's rare that you'll find a professional centre back who's under 6 feet tall, and these days most top class goalkeepers are 6 foot 1 at the very least. On the flipside, most of the best technical creative midfield players are much smaller and more agile — think about Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Luka Modric, Andrea Pirlo, Messi and Xavi, for example.

As a result of this wide range of player builds, when talking about the average professional soccer player height, it's better to divide players based on where they play on the field. Goalkeepers will typically be between 6ft2 and 6ft5, and central defenders will generally be between 6ft and 6ft4. Midfielders can come in many shapes and sizes, but according to Sports Brief they will often average out at around 5ft11 or 183cm, while forwards tend to be the smallest players on their pitch, with wide forwards in particular tending to be around 5ft7 to 5ft10 (tall, rangey attackers like Kai Havertz are not the norm, that's for sure). 

What unites all top footballers is that regardless of height, they are likely to be far more physically strong and full of stamina than your average citizen (typically running several miles each match). Some pros take physicality to another level, though. Below, you'll find a list of the 10 tallest soccer players in history.

Who Is The Tallest Soccer Player In History?

If you ask someone who grew up watching the Premier League about soccer's tallest players, it's likely that the first person that pops into their mind will be Peter Crouch, the English striker who shone up front for clubs such as Liverpool, Spurs, Portsmouth and Stoke City during the 2000s and 2010s. But remarkably, even Peter Crouch height levels won't get you on this list — the Englishman's 6ft7in stature pales in comparison to the very tallest male soccer players in history.

A number of the tallest soccer players ever are Scandinavian, which isn't a huge surprise given that Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark have some of the tallest populations in the world. It's also not a massive shock that 8 of the 10 tallest male pros in the world are from Europe, a continent known to produce taller people on average than South America or Asia, for example. However, there are a wide range of nations represented in this table, from the 6ft8in Norwegian Tor Hogne Aaroy to the 6ft9in Czech pro Tomas Holy. Over the years, there have been some gigantic figures involved in the game…

The 10 Tallest Soccer Players Ever

#1. Simon Bloch Jorgensen

The player who is widely considered to be the tallest in the history of the sport is Danish goalkeeper Simon Bloch Jorgensen, who measures 6 ft 10.5 inches. Aged 31 years old, Jorgensen is still playing today, having been in the lower divisions of the English football pyramid for the last few years. His most recent registered club is Essex-based Waltham Abbey, and the highest level he's played at was the Danish second tier with B.93.

Dulwich Hamlet have signed the tallest footballer in the world.

Simon Bloch Jorgensen stands at 6 foot and 11 inches! pic.twitter.com/llilAThBUc

— Coral (@Coral) February 7, 2019

#2. Kristof van Hout

Jorgensen is closely followed by the former Belgian pro Kristof van Hout, who is a few years older than him and played for a range of well-established clubs including Genk (where he won the Belgian Cup in 2012/13), Standard Liege, and Willem II. Most recently, he played for Belgian second-division side Lommel. 

#3. Paul Millar

At 6'10, Scottish striker Paul Millar is widely viewed as the third tallest player in football history; unfortunately, a cruciate ligament injury ended Millar's career when he was in his mid-20s, but the big target man's goalscoring record at Scottish League Two side Elgin City was phenomenal back in the day. 

#4. Tony Brogaard

Brogaard was introduced to many English fans when he moved to EFL side Doncaster Rovers in 2005, but the 6'9-tall 40-year-old played most of his career in his native Denmark at semi-professional clubs like Boldklubben Frem, Greve IF and Avedore IF.

#5. Tomas Holy

Currently, Czech goalkeeper Tomas Holy (who plays for League One side Carlisle United) is the joint-tallest player in the English professional game. The 32-year-old racked up 57 appearances for Ipswich in League One before becoming Carlisle's Number 1 shot-stopper in 2022. Back in the day, he also played for the Czech Republic international team at various youth levels.

😇 6ft 9in Tomas Holy is having a medical at Ipswich ahead of a move to Portman Road from Gillingham

He is reportedly the world's third tallest goalkeeper!#ITFC pic.twitter.com/firsFoPlWR

— Now Football (@Now_FootbaIl) May 24, 2019

#6. Kyle Hudlin

In terms of height, Holy is tied with Kyle Hudlin of Huddersfield at 6ft9in. Hudlin is almost a decade younger than Holy; after working his way up the English non-league system he has established himself as a solid EFL player with sides like Huddersfield Town, AFC Wimbledon and Burton Albion (where he's currently playing on loan).

#7. Vanja Ivesa

Another massive goalkeeper, Croatian shot-stopper Vanja Ivesa stands at 205cm, aka 6 feet and 8.5 inches. His career spanned 26 years from 1995 to 2021, playing for clubs such as Pula, Istra 1961, NK Opatija, and Turkish sides Eskisehirspor and Elazigspor.

#8. Yang Changpeng

Coming through the ranks at Wuhan Optics Valley, Chinese forward Yang Changpeng was a promising youngster. However, he struggled to settle into regular goalscoring form throughout his decade-long professional career; his last club was Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye.

#9. Tor Hogne Aaroy

Another Scandinavian pro, Tor Hogne Aaroy was a towering forward with a seriously impressive goalscoring record. Over 347 career appearances, he notched 120 goals, including over 100 in the Norwegian professional system. At 6'8.5, he's neck and neck with Changpeng and Ivesa.

#10. Lacina Traore

Traore is the only player on this list from Africa, although he's spent most of his career in Europe, playing for a wide range of clubs including Monaco, CSKA Moscow, Amiens, and for one short loan spell, Premier League outfit Everton. At 203cm or 6'8, he just about sneaks into the top 10 tallest players ever.

On this day in 2014 Everton signed striker Lacina Traore on loan from AS Monaco until the end of the season. He made 1 appearance and scored 1 goal for Everton. He was ruled out for the rest of the season after pulling a hamstring in a warm up before the game against Chelsea pic.twitter.com/4sNM5nPBWI

— Evertons The Kendall End (@TheKendallEnd) January 24, 2020

Who Is The Tallest Soccer Player In English Premier League?

The Premier League is known across the world as the most combative and physically demanding league on the planet. Big, burly centre backs will regularly battle it out in aerial duels with hefty centre-forwards, to a greater extent than in divisions like La Liga or Ligue 1. And some coaches will deliberately build squads centred around winning those physical battles. Think about Sean Dyche's Everton side, for example; statistically the tallest team in the Premier League, the Toffees' squad includes dominant players like James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Amadou Onana and Jarrod Branthwaite, with an average height of 186cm (just over 6ft1in). 

Until recently, the tallest player in the Premier League was Newcastle United's Dan Burn. The versatile defender measures in at 201cm (6ft7in) according to reports. He's on a par with Tottenham Hotspur back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster and Luton Town's reserve shot-stopper Matt Macey, both of whom are the same height as Burn. However, Chelsea's recent acquisition of the Finnish goalkeeper Lucas Bergstrom put a spanner in the works for these experienced pros, taking away the title from Burn and his fellow competitors. 

Aged just 21 years old, Lucas Bergstrom is 205cm tall according to Transfermarkt, which is a whopping 6ft9in for those who use the imperial system. 

Bergstrom is yet to make an appearance in the league for Chelsea, but his presence on the books means that he is officially the tallest player in the Premier League. Meanwhile, the shortest player in the Premier League at the time of writing is Brighton & Hove Albion youngster Benicio Baker-Boaitey, a 20-year-old winger who according to GiveMeSport measures in at 160cm, which is around 5ft2in.

If you'd like to find out more about some of the more surprising records and statistics held by modern day Premier League players, why not check out our article on the top 10 players who have scored the most goals in a Premier League season?