We chart the top 10 football teams in South America according to the Opta Power Rankings.
Football and South America are inseparable. In a land of jogo bonito and la nuestra, the continent lives and breathes the beautiful game.
Between them, Brazil (5), Argentina (3), and Uruguay (2) have lifted the FIFA World Cup a combined 10 times; only nations from Europe (12) have won it more often. The legends it’s produced – the likes of Pelé, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Ronaldo – are some of the most iconic to ever play the game
Yet, for all their pedigree, South American clubs don’t always receive the same global spotlight as their European counterparts. With that in mind, we’re here to shed some light on South America’s top 10 top clubs according to the Opta Power Rankings.
As a reminder, the Opta Power Rankings are a global team ranking system that assigns a score to nearly 13,500 domestic men’s football teams on a scale of zero to 100, with 100 being the best team in the world and zero being the lowest-ranked side.
You’ll find a full explainer on the Opta Power Rankings elsewhere on Opta Analyst, but right now we’re here to provide the lowdown on the 10 best-ranked South American teams.
10. Independiente del Valle | Rating: 78.5 | Global Rank: 168
Hailing from Ecuador, Independiente del Valle are [SPOILER ALERT] the only club among South America’s top 10 in the Opta Power Rankings not to come from Brazil or Argentina.
They have competed at the very top of the Ecuadorian Serie A for several years now, winning their debut title in 2021, before finishing as runners-up in each of 2023 and 2024.
Continentally, they’ve enjoyed recent success, winning the Copa Sudamericana – the equivalent of UEFA’s Europa League – twice in 2019 and 2022. They also enjoyed a famous run to the final of the 2016 Copa Libertadores, beating Argentine powerhouses River Plate and Boca Juniors along the way.
Independiente have a renowned youth academy, producing stars such as Moisés Caicedo, Piero Hincapié and Willian Pacho in recent years, all of whom have gone on to play in top European leagues.
9. Rosario Central | Rating: 78.5 | Global Rank: 163
One of the oldest clubs in Argentina, Rosario Central are currently ranked 163 in the world and ninth among South American teams.
Across their 135-year history, Rosario Central have won the Argentine Primera Division four times. Their most recent piece of silverware came in the now-defunct Copa de la Liga Profesional in 2023. They also won the Copa Argentina in 2017-18.
Central fans will be pleased to know that their similarly famous rivals – Newell’s Old Boys – are currently ranked 381st in the world and 47th in South America.
8. Independiente | Rating: 78.5 | Global Rank: 139
One of Argentina’s ‘Big Five’ clubs, Independiente have won 16 Argentine Primera División titles (14 of them in the professional era), putting them in fourth place on the overall honours board, as well as nine first-tier cup trophies.
Despite their national success, Independiente are mainly recognised for their continental triumphs. They’ve won a record seven Copa Libertadores (1964, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1984), including winning four titles in a row during their golden era in the 1970s.
7. Huracán | Rating: 78.5 | Global Rank: 135
Located in the Parque Patricios neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Huracán have won the Argentine Primera División five times. They’ve not enjoyed trophy success in over 10 years now though, with them scooping the Copa Argentina (2013-14) and Supercopa Argentina (2014).
6. Boca Juniors | Rating: 82.6 | Global Rank: 131
Boca Juniors (35) are three trophies behind their eternal rivals River Plate (38), but what will surely be more devasting to fans of Los Xeneizes is that they are also three spots behind them in our South American Power Rankings. They do, however, just pip River in terms of overall domestic cups won (17 vs 16).
Boca have won the Copa Libertadores six times – one behind Independiente – and have finished runners-up a record six times as well.
5. Botafogo | Rating: 83.0 | Global Rank: 118
And so, we arrive at our first Brazilian club on the list with Botafogo. The Rio-based club are the current holders of the Copa Libertadores, beating Atlético Mineiro in the final 3-1 last November.
They are also the current champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro, winning their third league title in 2024.
4. Racing Club | Rating: 84.3 | Global Rank: 93
Another member of Argentina’s ‘Big Five’ alongside Independiente, San Lorenzo, Boca and River, Racing Club creep just inside the world’s top 100 clubs. Crucially, though, they are well ahead of rivals Independiente, who we covered earlier on in this list.
The club have won the Primera División 18 times, including a record-setting streak of seven consecutive titles – five of them without losing a single game – between 1913 and 1919.
3. River Plate | Rating: 84.6 | Global Rank: 86
As mentioned, River Plate are the most successful Argentine club, both in terms of Primera División championship wins (38) and overall trophies in domestic competitions (54).
Although they are only three spots ahead of rivals Boca on this list, they are comfortably clear of them in terms of overall global rank (45 clubs)
Some notable exports of River Plate include Alfredo Di Stéfano, Enzo Francescoli, Hernán Crespo, Javier Mascherano, Gonzalo Higuaín and most recently Julián Alvarez.
2. Flamengo | Rating: 85.2 | Global Rank: 78
Seven-time Campeonato Brasileiro winners Flamengo are the most supported club Brazil. It might not be popular, then, that they only come in second on this list.
That said, Flamengo are looking a good bet to add an eighth league title to their cabinet, and their first since 2020. They are flying this year domestically under former Chelsea left-back Filipe Luis.
Flamengo are one of two clubs to have never been relegated from Brazil’s top division, along with São Paulo.
1. Palmeiras | Rating: 85.5 | Global Rank: 74
Ranked 74th in the world, Palmeiras are currently the top South American team in the Opta Power Rankings. They are sandwiched between Brest and Torino in the rankings, with Dutch giants Ajax (72) two spots ahead of them.
Palmeiras have won a record 12 Série A titles, most recently in 2023, and finished as runners-up in 2024. They also have three Copa Libertadores trophies to their name, winning their most recent two back-to-back in 2020 and 2021.
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Opta Power Rankings: The Top 10 Football Teams in South America Opta Analyst.
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