10 Dirtiest Footballers Since 2000 [Ranked]

Sergio Ramos is the dirtiest footballer in the 21st century with a total of 297 cards, including 29 reds and 268 yellows. Xabi Alonso, known for his football intelligence, received a total of 201 cards, making him 10th on the list of dirtiest players. Javier Mascherano, despite his impactful career, earned a spot on the list with 213 cards, including 12 reds for dirty play.

Every elite football club needs certain players who aren't afraid to do the dirty work and put in a rough challenge every once in a while. Not everyone can be Lionel Messi , so teams also need someone who won't let anyone get past them easily, but also isn't afraid to mouth off at officials and opposition players whenever necessary. Those players can be the difference between winning silverware and not, but there are some stars that have taken that role to a whole new extreme over the years.



Some figures are actually known solely for how dirty they were on the pitch and they were shown more cards during their career than you'd find in a Hallmark shop. According to data PopFoot and Transfermarkt, here are the 10 dirtiest footballers in the 21st century. The 10 dirtiest footballers of the 21st century Ranking Player Yellow cards Red cards Total cards 1.

Sergio Ramos 268 29 297 2. Felipe Melo 254 25 279 3. Dani Alves 236 14 250 4.

Arturo Vidal 227 13 238 5. Pepe 210 17 227 6. Sergio Busquets 213 4 217 7.

Raul Garcia 206 8 214 8. Javier Mascherano 201 12 213 9. Scott Brown 203 9 212 10.

Xabi Alonso 195 6 201 Xabi Alonso A lot has been made about Xabi Alonso's incredible intelligence for the game of football over the years and for good reason. Few players could read the sport in the middle of the park quite like he could during his playing days and now, he's working magic as Bayer Leverkusen manager. Despite his genius understanding for the game, though, Alonso was still prone to toeing the line sometimes and was no stranger to making a rash tackle every now and then.

In fact, since 2000, only nine players have received more cards than the Spaniard, who was shown six red cards and 195 yellow cards during that time. Scott Brown Scott Brown's entire reputation as a football is based on how dirty, but tough he was on the football pitch. Whether it was for Hibernian, Celtic or Aberdeen, he was never afraid to put in some really hard tackles and was, more often than not, shown some form of card as a result.

He was the perfect player to represent Celtic in some of the heated Old Firm derbies throughout the 2000s and 2010s. He never shied away from an intense atmosphere and actually seemed to shine under the heat. Despite that, he was prone to losing his head and was shown a red card on nine occasions throughout the 21st century.

Virgil van Dijk has featured in some intense matches but his time at Celtic will always stick with him Javier Mascherano Moving on, there's another iconic former Liverpool midfielder, Javier Mascherano. The Argentine spent the majority of his career shining on the biggest stages for the Reds and later Barcelona. He was in some superb teams and they wouldn't have been half as good without him holding down the fort in the middle of the park.

With that said, he wasn't without his issues and Mascherano could be quite a dirty footballer from time to time. Whether it was early in his career in England, when he bit Jermaine Defoe during a match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, or the sheer amount of times he's been shown a card by a referee, he's earned, for better or worse, a spot on this list. Mascherano was sent off 12 times in his career.

Raul Garcia He's not quite the household name that many of the figures on this list are, but Raul Garcia carved out a nice career for himself in Spain. Over the course of 20 years, he played for Osasuna, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao and became a lynchpin in La Liga in the process. As an attacking midfielder, he had a real eye for goal, scoring 151 times throughout his career.

He was an effective playmaker for his teams too, with 70 assists to his name as well. With that said, he also couldn't help himself sometimes and was on the receiving end of a yellow or red card on 214 occasions through the 21st century. It's a testament to his impact in the final third that he continued to be relied upon despite his lack of discipline.

Sergio Busquets Throughout Barcelona's dominance in the 21st century, a lot of the credit was handed to the likes of Messi, Neymar, Xavi and Andres Iniesta. For good reason too, as they are some of the greatest players to ever play football. Sergio Busquets was also vital to that side's success and he emerged as one of the best midfielders in the world during his time at Camp Nou.

He is one of the best passers in the sport , but is also very aggressive in the middle of the park and is not afraid to dive in with a crunching tackle on a regular basis. As a result, he has been shown 217 cards, both red and yellow over the years and considering he's still playing today, this tally might keep rising. Pepe Throughout the 21st century, few footballers have earned a reputation for being dirty and violent quite like Pepe has.

The Portuguese legend has regularly been seen pulling out some really strong challenges on his opponents, often with no regard for whether they come out unscathed or not. He was a menace for Real Madrid, but continued to play at a very high level into his 40s. Shortly after representing his nation at Euro 2024, Pepe retired in August 2024, but did so with a total of 227 cards throughout his career, including 17 reds.

His presence will be missed now that he's hung his boots up and he's one of the greatest Portugal players of all time. GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Pepe is the oldest player to ever play at the European Championships (41 years and 130 days) Arturo Vidal Arturo Vidal has played for some of the biggest teams on the planet during his career. He's represented the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Juventus and Inter Milan over the years.

He was obviously doing something right, as he was trusted regularly by some elite football clubs. He saw success everywhere he went too, winning nine league titles across different countries. Alongside that success, though, he also saw plenty of cards from referees for his brutal tackles.

Having made his senior debut in 2005 for Colo-Colo, Vidal has been on the receiving end of 240 cards in the 19 years since. Now, surprisingly still playing and back at the Chilean team, that number will probably only rise. Dani Alves At one point regarded as one of the best full-backs on the planet, Dani Alves was no stranger to a booking or a sending off during his career.

He spent nine years in total across two spells with Barcelona, where he was a key figure in their success throughout the 2000s and 2010s. He also played for Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain and won plenty of silverware throughout his career. He was shown 250 cards during his time on the pitch, though, including being sent off on 14 different occasions.

His career ended in 2022 after he was arrested for sexual assault. Felipe Melo He might not be one of the most recognisable names on this list, but Felipe Melo is certainly one of the dirtiest footballers included here. The midfielder has played for the likes of Juventus, Galatasaray, and Inter Milan over the years, before ending his career in Brazil with Fluminense aged 41.

He never held back on the pitch, regularly being sanctioned by officials for some of his aggressive ways. Melo was sent off 25 times throughout his career, and was also shown 254 yellow cards on top of that as well. At times, he was quite the liability but had enough quality to earn 22 caps for Brazil.

Suitably, he spent the last five league games of his career on the sidelines due to a suspension – having been sent off during a game vs Geremio when was a substitute. Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos is the dirtiest football of the 21st century and it isn't even close. The Spaniard has been operating at an elite level for two decades now, with Sevilla, Real Madrid and PSG.

During his time at the Bernabeu in particular, he became one of the best defenders on the planet and was crucial to their fortunes on the pitch. Throughout his career, he's shown how effective he is in front of goal too, scoring an impressive amount of times for a defender. He also showed how ruthless and aggressive he could be as well, though.

The world's best penalty takers rarely miss from the spot, including players from Man Utd & Chelsea. We rank the best 10 in world football right now. Ramos has been sent off 29 times over the years, but was also shown 268 yellow cards too.

He's currently a free agent, having left Sevilla at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, but if someone does snap him up soon, you can bet he'll be out there collecting more cards in no time at all. All statistics courtesy of PopFoot and updated information via Transfermarkt (as of 25/01/2025).