The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Malaysia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Malaysian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 8 of which were born in Malaysia. This makes Malaysia the birth place of the 111th most number of Soccer Players behind Faroe Islands, and Bahrain.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Malaysian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Malaysian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Malaysian Soccer Players.

Photo of Soh Chin Ann

1. Soh Chin Ann (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 59.39, Soh Chin Ann is the most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Datuk Wira Soh Chin Ann (or Soh Chin Aun due to misspelling by Malaysian media; simplified Chinese: 苏进安; traditional Chinese: 蘇進安; pinyin: Sū Jìn'ān; born 28 July 1950) is a Malaysian former footballer who played as a defender. He was affectionately known as Tauke or Towkay (Boss) by his teammates and fans. Soh was regarded as the most capped player in men's international football, though the total varied by source. The RSSSF and IFFHS credited him with 219 appearances, a record later surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2025. FIFA, by contrast, recognised 195 official caps, a record overtaken by Bader Al-Mutawa in 2022.

Photo of Mokhtar Dahari

2. Mokhtar Dahari (1953 - 1991)

With an HPI of 56.41, Mokhtar Dahari is the 2nd most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Dato' Mohd Mokhtar bin Dahari (Jawi: محمد مختار بن داهاري, IPA: [mohd mokhtar bɪn daharɪ]; (13 November 1953 – 11 July 1991) was a Malaysian professional footballer who played for Selangor. He is considered a legendary footballer in Malaysian history. FIFA acknowledged his 89 goals in international matches and took his team to an World Football Elo Ratings of 61 in 1977. A prolific forward, he was nicknamed Supermokh due to his playing skills and strength. Mokhtar is the all-time top scorer for the Malaysian national team.

Photo of Mohd Faiz Subri

3. Mohd Faiz Subri (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 42.65, Mohd Faiz Subri is the 3rd most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Mohd Faiz bin Subri (born 8 November 1987) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Malaysia Super League side Penang. He is best known for his free-kick goal which won him the 2016 FIFA Puskás Award.

Photo of Wan Zack Haikal

4. Wan Zack Haikal (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 42.12, Wan Zack Haikal is the 4th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Wan Zack Haikal bin Wan Noor (born 28 January 1991) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a striker or midfielder, for Penang in the Malaysia Super League. He is also a member of the Malaysia national team.

Photo of Safee Sali

5. Safee Sali (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 38.93, Safee Sali is the 5th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Mohd Safee bin Mohd Sali (born 29 January 1984) is a Malaysian former footballer who played as forward. He played for Kuala Lumpur FA, Telekom Melaka, Sarawak, Selangor, Johor Darul Ta'zim, PKNS, Perlis and Petaling Jaya City before returning to Kuala Lumpur. In 2011, Safee became the first Malaysian to play in the Indonesia Super League with Pelita Jaya. A Malaysian international between 2006 and 2017, Safee won the 2010 AFF Championship and scored a total of nine goals in four consecutive editions of the tournament. On 21 February 2023, Safee announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 39. He had 76 caps and 23 goals with the Malaysia national football team on the international stage and scored a total of 180 goals (153 goals with Malaysian League club, 27 goals with Indonesian League club) in club football.

Photo of Dion Cools

6. Dion Cools (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 38.67, Dion Cools is the 6th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Dion-Johan Chai Cools (born 4 June 1996) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays either as a full-back or centre-back for J.League club Cerezo Osaka and captains the Malaysia national team. Cools was raised in Belgium, and represented that country at youth level with 28 caps, but later chose to play for his native Malaysia, and made his senior debut on 3 June 2021.

Photo of Shaun Maloney

7. Shaun Maloney (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 38.55, Shaun Maloney is the 7th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Shaun Richard Maloney (born 24 January 1983) is a football coach, and former player who is currently interim assistant manager to Martin O'Neill at Scottish Premiership side Celtic. Maloney played for Celtic, Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic, Chicago Fire, Hull City and the Scotland national team as an attacking midfielder or winger. Maloney started his career at Celtic, playing 215 matches across all competitions and winning honours including five Scottish Premier League titles. He was the first player to claim both the SPFA Players' Player of the Year and the SPFA Young Player of the Year awards in the same season, doing so in 2005–06. He had a spell in the Premier League with Aston Villa, before returning for a second spell at Celtic. Maloney returned to English football in 2011 with Wigan Athletic, helping them win the 2013 FA Cup final. Maloney then briefly played in Major League Soccer for Chicago Fire. He last played for Hull City for two seasons, before retiring due to injury in 2017. Maloney made his senior international debut for Scotland in 2005 and he went on to earn 47 caps, scoring seven goals. After retiring as a player, Maloney worked for Celtic and the Belgium national team as a coach. He was then appointed manager of Scottish club Hibernian in December 2021, but was sacked after four months. Maloney was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic in January 2023. He departed the club in March 2025.

Photo of Tadashi Takeda

8. Tadashi Takeda (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 36.96, Tadashi Takeda is the 8th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Tadashi Takeda (竹田 忠嗣, born 27 July 1986) is a Japanese former professional football player who played as a defender.

Photo of Indra Putra Mahayuddin

9. Indra Putra Mahayuddin (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 35.28, Indra Putra Mahayuddin is the 9th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Indra Putra bin Mahayuddin PB (born 2 September 1981) is a former Malaysian professional footballer who last captained the Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League club PT Athletic. Beforehand, Indra Putra was the Malaysia Super League's all-time top scorer until he was surpassed by Johor Darul Ta'zim's Bérgson. Indra Putra is a versatile forward, who can operate as a winger.

Photo of Aidil Zafuan

10. Aidil Zafuan (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 31.09, Aidil Zafuan is the 10th most famous Malaysian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Mohamad Aidil Zafuan bin Abd. Radzak (born 3 August 1987) also known as Aidil Zafuan, is a Malaysian retired professional footballer who last played primarily as a centre-back and is currently working as an assistant coach for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim. In his time with Johor Darul Ta'zim, he has won 26 trophies in total and making 211 appearances for the club. Aidil is a former member of the Malaysia U23 and Malaysia U20 squad and has represented the Malaysia national team at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Aidil has individually won 5 FAM Football Awards 'Best Defender Award' making him the only defender in the league to hold this record. Aidil has also won 11 Malaysia Super League title where he is the first and only player in the league history to win 10th consecutive league title with Johor Darul Ta'zim. He has also win 5 Malaysia Cup, 8 Malaysia Charity Shield, 4 Malaysia FA Cup and 1 AFC Cup.

People

Pantheon has 11 people classified as Malaysian soccer players born between 1950 and 2000. Of these 11, 10 (90.91%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Malaysian soccer players include Soh Chin Ann, Mohd Faiz Subri, and Wan Zack Haikal. The most famous deceased Malaysian soccer players include Mokhtar Dahari. As of April 2024, 4 new Malaysian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Safee Sali, Indra Putra Mahayuddin, and Aidil Zafuan.

Living Malaysian Soccer Players

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Deceased Malaysian Soccer Players

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Newly Added Malaysian Soccer Players (2025)

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