Ferenc Puskás

Hungarian association football player (1927–2006)

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Footballers rank#143

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Fame69.7
Momentum14.5
Footballers rank#143
Wikipedia222.4K

Lived 1927–2006, aged 79

FootballersFootball / Soccer Player

Wikipedia
87 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1927–2006
Aged 79
Known for
Real: The Movie
2005

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

He scored 84 goals in 85 games for Hungary, led the Mighty Magyars to the 1954 World Cup final, then defected after the revolution and became Real Madrid's goal machine at 31. The "Galloping Major" put 802 past keepers in 792 matches — football's first international superstar, before the term existed.

Biography

About

Born Purczeld, son of a footballer, Puskás tore through Hungarian football with Kispest and Honvéd, topping the league four times and Europe's scoring charts in 1948. As captain of the Mighty Magyars he won Olympic gold in 1952 and reached the 1954 World Cup final, but the Hungarian Revolution cut the run short — UEFA banned him two years, a move to Greece collapsed under rival pressure, and he landed at Real Madrid in 1958 already past 30. He won three European Cups there, scored seven goals across two finals, claimed five straight La Liga titles and four Pichichis. After hanging up his boots…

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