Top 5 Football Players Who Never Received A Red Card

From immediate suspension to missing out on the most crucial matches, receiving a single red card can undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences for any football player and their team.

While numerous footballers, including some of the most prominent names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and many others have borne excruciating setbacks over the course of time due to serious violations and offences, surprisingly, there have also been a few regimented football players who have adhered to the rules and regulations of the game on field and have never received a red card in their football career so far.

In this article we will take a look at the top five football players who have never received a red card in their football careers.

Top Five Football Players Who Never Received a Red Card

 

• Stanley Matthews 

Often hailed as one of the greatest British football players of all-time, Stanley Matthews is at the first spot in our list of top five most disciplined football players who have never received a red card on the field. In an utterly glorious professional career that lasted from 1932 to 1965, Stanley Matthews was never booked off or sent off even once from the field for violating any rules of the game. Although a top player in England’s top football division, Stanley Matthews continued to play his game with the utmost grace and discipline and never retaliated to any physical attacks or provocation by the opposing teams on the field.

• Karim Benzema 

At the second spot in our list of top five most disciplined football players who have never been handed a red card in their football careers, we have a French professional football player, Karim Benzema. Popularly regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all-time, Karim Benzema is Real Madrid’s second-highest goalscorer of all-time.

With over 400 career goals for club and country under his name, the French football stalwart, Karim Benzema also holds the glorious record for never being sent-off from the field with a red card. Most recently, in 2024, Karim Benzema also made it to the most coveted and prestigious Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

• Michel Platini

Former French professional football player and coach, Michel François Platini is another legendary football player who undoubtedly created history for never receiving a red card on the football field all throughout his football career – despite being a midfielder!

Michel François Platini made a total of 652 appearances for club and country throughout his glorious football career and was honored with the Ballon d’Or award for three consecutive times in the years 1983, 1984 and 1985, speaking volumes about his dominance on the field. After announcing his retirement as a football player, Michel François Platini officially took on the role of being the football coach for the France national football team from 1988 to 1992.

• Gary Lineker 

Next, at the fourth spot in our list of top five football players who have never been handed a red card in their football careers, we have former professional English football player and current English sports broadcaster, Gary Lineker.

Gary Lineker’s glorious football career for England spanned over eight long years, earning him enormous praise and fame on an international scale.

Gary Lineker earned 80 caps and scored a phenomenal total of forty-eight goals, making him the second-highest English goal scorer at the time of his retirement in 1994. Surprisingly, Gary, the sensational English striker, never received a yellow or a red card throughout his football career and was also awarded with a FIFA Fair Play Award in 1990.

• Raúl González Blanco

Former professional football player Raúl González Blanco, often hailed as “Raûl” who gracefully represented the Real Madrid club for sixteen long years, is at the fifth spot in our list of top five football players who have never received a red card in their football careers.

Raúl González Blanco appeared in a total of 654 competitive games as a forward in his sixteen-year-long football career and scored a sensational total of 331 career goals, including a total of 283 goals at club level. Despite playing his attacking moves and unblocking record-breaking achievements on the field, Blanco never received a yellow or a red card throughout his professional football career. On March 5, 2014, Raúl González Blanco officially announced his retirement from professional football, bringing his 20-year-long senior career to an end.

ALSO READ: Manu Bhaker Admits Possible Lapse Amid Khel Ratna Award Controversy