People lean towards “golden age thinking,” which is the idea that things were better in the past. While that’s true for some things, it’s broadly false. We live in the best age for many things, including quality of life, music, and sports. This is largely beyond question, especially when it comes to sports. Today’s greatest athletes aren’t just the best of their era; they’re among the best of all time.

In this blog, we’re going to run through a few of the best currently active athletes who would more than hold their own against any competitor from history.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic spent the majority of his career living in the shadows of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Even though the Serbian was picking up the occasional major championship, the general consensus was that he was a step below the Spaniard and Swiss tennis stars. But then something happened: Djokovic just kept on winning tournaments. Today, he’s in a three-way tie with Federer and Nadal for most major championships of all time, but it’s undoubtedly only a matter of time until he becomes the outright leader. After all, he currently has the best odds of winning the Australian Open, so he might just hold the title of “All-Time Greatest Tennis Player” come mid-January. And there’s no one even close to breaking that record (besides Nadal and Federer), so it’s likely that he’ll hold the record for decades.

Lionel Messi

Will the world ever see a more naturally gifted footballer than Lionel Messi? If it does, then it’s likely that the player will be from another player. Messi has been delivering the goods since he made his debut for Barcelona, aged 17, and quickly became not only the best player on a team filled with brilliant players but the best player in the world. He has won the Ballon d’Or six times, but anyone who has seen Messi play in the past 17 years knows that he’s one of a kind.

Cristiano Ronaldo

There are two footballers on this list because it wouldn’t be right to talk so enthusiastically about Messi without mentioning Cristiano Ronaldo, his greatest rival. Especially since this is an article about active athletes and Ronaldo is very much an active player. While Messi undoubtedly has more god-given talent than Ronaldo, Ronaldo is a better athlete. Indeed, he’s one of the best athletes in the world. It is difficult to imagine anyone who is in superior physical shape than Cristiano. Of course, Ronaldo is not just for show. He’s won five Ballon d’Or trophies during his career and scored a staggering 679 club goals for teams in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and England. He’s also the record holder for the most international goals with 112.

Lebron James

In the future, people will talk about Lebron James in the same way they talk about Michael Jordan. As one of the best of all time. He’s a four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA Finals MVP. There’ll come a time when Lebron is no longer in the NBA, and fans will realize just how special a player he was. He had all the hype in the world when he began his professional basketball career, yet he took in his stride and exceeded the high expectations set for him. A true legend.

Tyson Fury

It’s extremely difficult to compare heavyweight boxers from different eras. All you can do is make a guess on how they would do against boxers from the past. In most cases, people tend to side with history’s greatest, such as Muhammed Ali. But things are different with Tyson Fury. More and more, people are beginning to say that Fury might just be the greatest of all time. He’s far and away the best heavyweight on the planet at the moment. It’s unlikely that anyone would beat him, especially since he keeps getting back every time he’s knocked down. He’s a masterful boxer that also has flair and a fascinating backstory. In decades to come, people will ask of up and coming boxers, “could he beat Tyson Fury?”