Rank Maradona, Messi, Pele and C.Ronaldo

1. Messi; Messi at his peak was Maradona of 1986 every 3 days even Maradona himself wasn't Maradona of Mexico 86 outside that tournament. Than add longevity (17 years and counting), club and international success as the main protagonist of his teams, individual recognition (record 7 ballond'ors, player of the tournament awards) and all the goal/assist records while playing as a number 10/false 9.

1. Pele; Purely based on hearsay. But I accept it. People cant be stupid to sing praises of him the way they do.

3. Maradona; As talented as Messi, but outside of Mexico 86, did not reach those heights due to poor discipline.

Ronaldo, for me, is not in this conversation, world cup or not quite simply because his game lacks the genius of the aforementioned 3. Although he is in the tier below purely due to longevity and success, individual and collective.
 
Maradona
Messi
Pele
R9

This is my order too.

I have only ever seen 2 players who looked like they were playing a different game to everybody else. Maradona and Ronaldo, but Ronaldo was cut short.
 
Messi - Maradona
... a bunch of players like real Ronaldo ...
CR7
... even more players ...
Pele

The hursh reality is: he won world cup 3 times in a row, in a very strong Brazil side, many, many, many years ago. Something nobody else has done and may never so again, but just like CR7 having won ungodly number of UCLs doesn't make him the best player ever....

Anyway, may he rest in peace. A legend for sure whatever the number in your personal "list of best".
 
1. Messi
2. Maradona
3. Pele
4. Lots of players belong here before that guy.
 
1. Pele
2. Maradona
Then Messi, C. Ronaldo, Cruyff I feel.
Then Ronaldo, Di Stefano, Eusebio, Best, Garrincha, Platini, Zico, Puskas.

I think those are the names competing for the top 10. I didn’t include defenders or goalkeepers for right or wrong. The likes of Zidane I’m sure have to figure among the top 20.
 
1. Pele
2. Messi
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3. Ronaldo

Maradona doesn’t make my list because he is a drug addled cheating scumbag - and you can’t be the greatest of anything if you get there by cheating. His achievements mean nothing.


Cheating? You mean because once he scored a goal with his hand just before dribbling past the whole of England team, or because of the use of cocaine?

If it's the second, that was, if anything, an advantage for his opposition.
 
There is so much nonsense in this post. For a start his international career being a disappointment before 2021 is a not true. He was Argentina's main protagonist on the way to 3 consecutive finals which they lost with very fine margins. He was voted player of the tournament at Copa 2015. He was also one of the best players at the copa america 2007 and 2016. As for the World cup of 2014, Messi scored the winning goals in all the group games and provided the a important assist for Di Maria's goal vs Switzerland; this was a game in which Di Maria lost the ball so many times i lost count. In the very next game, Di Maria was injured after half an hour and before that made a mess of a typical magical through pass vs Belgium. So, the notion that somehow Di Maria outperformed him is a complete lie fabricated by haters.

Cruyff did not win a singe international tournament, Platini won only Euro 1982, Zidane is an anomaly in the sense that although he won 1 word cup and 1 Euro, his entire legacy is based on a few games, Van Basten won only a Euro 1988 before and after that, he had no impact on any competition, Matthaus won one word cup but no continental competition. How on earth do any of these players have better international careers? Are you drunk or just a hater?

Than you say that Maradona and Pele produced miracles regularly at multiple international tournaments. Prior to Mexico 86, Maradona was criticised for his Argentina performances and after Mexico 86 there is nothing he achieved in the Argentina shirt; even at Italia 1990, the single good moment was the assist vs Brazil. Thats it. He won no continental trophy. As for Pele, he played in some of the best international sides in history. He played only a couple of games at Chie 1962, yet they still won the competition.


+1

Seriously? Cruyff, Platini, Zidane, Ronaldo, Van Basten, or Matthäus all had better international careers than Messi?
This ranks as one of the most nonsense I've read on this forum.

This guy really thinks no one actually watches international football so he can talk so much BS?
 
Its got to be Pele no1 undisputed right? Name another player to have won 3 World Cup trophies....
 
One of the few sensible posts in this thread. It is absolutely hilarious seeing people here trying to dismiss and downplay Ronaldo's achievements. I saw someone here saying Maradonna had a better club career. The mind absolutely boggles :lol:
Maradonna scaled a greater peak at club football than CR7 did. Its one thing to go Madrid when its packed full of a supporting cast of stars. Another to go to napoli (english equivalent of a sunderland i.e. won feck all) and win the toughest league in the world twice and win the UEFA cup when it was an absolute rock hard tournament due to sheer quality of teams to win.
 
Its funny how suddenly CR7 isnt one of the GOATs anymore.

Dude did things in the CL the 3 others have not. All 4 did things the others have not.

But a bunch of people who never saw Pele or Maradonna beeing the jury is kinda wierd.
 
Its funny how suddenly CR7 isnt one of the GOATs anymore.

Dude did things in the CL the 3 others have not. All 4 did things the others have not.

But a bunch of people who never saw Pele or Maradonna beeing the jury is kinda wierd.

CR7 never was for a lot of us.

Some of us don't care about team achievements when ranking players.
 
? Pele isn't the best just because he won 3 WCs. Just like Cryuff is one of the best ever despite not winning any WCs.
History will judge him the best based on his three WC trophies. Just as the bbc news article currently does.

Its a feat no other player can match.
 
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Its funny how suddenly CR7 isnt one of the GOATs anymore.

Dude did things in the CL the 3 others have not. All 4 did things the others have not.

But a bunch of people who never saw Pele or Maradonna beeing the jury is kinda wierd.


So did Puskas and Di Stefano.
 
Anyone who rates original Ronaldo to Cristiano is trying to just sound smart without thinking. Cristiano is better in pretty much every aspect and I watched original Ronaldo every week. I find it dumb, genuinely.
 
History will judge him the best based on his three WC trophies. Just as the bbc news article currently does.

Its a feat no other player can match.
No thats not true, many will judge him the best because of his ability, his impact on the global game and his long career and how he played. He did everything the new stars of the game can do but he did it 50 years ago. He did it with shitty football pitches and with no protection from refs. He did it all in an era where you couldnt watch, learn and copy from other players via videos and online analysis. He was one of the most important figures in football because his impact helped grow the game to where it is now. 3 WC titles is only a small part of his story. He will be viewed by many as the best because of all the other stuff added in too.
 
No thats not true, many will judge him the best because of his ability, his impact on the global game and his long career and how he played. He did everything the new stars of the game can do but he did it 50 years ago. He did it with shitty football pitches and with no protection from refs. He did it all in an era where you couldnt watch, learn and copy from other players via videos and online analysis. He was one of the most important figures in football because his impact helped grow the game to where it is now. 3 WC titles is only a small part of his story. He will be viewed by many as the best because of all the other stuff added in too.
Very well said
 
History will judge him the best based on his three WC trophies. Just as the bbc news article currently does.

Its a feat no other player can match.


It's his standout, of course other players can match that if they're born in a stacked powerhouse. Mbappe was about to have 2 with 23 years of age :lol:

That doesn't mean he's the best ever, at all.
 
No thats not true, many will judge him the best because of his ability, his impact on the global game and his long career and how he played. He did everything the new stars of the game can do but he did it 50 years ago. He did it with shitty football pitches and with no protection from refs. He did it all in an era where you couldnt watch, learn and copy from other players via videos and online analysis. He was one of the most important figures in football because his impact helped grow the game to where it is now. 3 WC titles is only a small part of his story. He will be viewed by many as the best because of all the other stuff added in too.


This. Pele was the first to take the game to a global level. Maradona was the first megastar that couldn't walk on the streets and have a normal life.
 
CR7 never was for a lot of us.

Some of us don't care about team achievements when ranking players.
Couldn't agree more. As good as CR7 was he just didn't have the talent that Messi or Maradona had to get into the top tier. A great goalscorer but he never had those kind of performances that the others had.
 
Couldn't agree more. As good as CR7 was he just didn't have the talent that Messi or Maradona had to get into the top tier. A great goalscorer but he never had those kind of performances that the others had.
CR7 is more of a gerd muller i.e. ridiculous goalscorer than a messi or a maradonna i.e
Playmakers extrodinare.
 
It's his standout, of course other players can match that if they're born in a stacked powerhouse. Mbappe was about to have 2 with 23 years of age :lol:

That doesn't mean he's the best ever, at all.
But no-one has to date. Very easy to say others can match it. But who has actually done it? No-one. The WC is the pinacle of football (unfortuntely) and the metric of how the greats are judged (like it or not).
 
Also why the feck is CR7 in this title thread when he hasnt won a world cup? That should be the minimum bar, because if its not cryuff should be in the title thread as well as well as di stefano.
 
This. Pele was the first to take the game to a global level. Maradona was the first megastar that couldn't walk on the streets and have a normal life.
Well George Best had that problem before Maradona. Pele was also a Megastar, the two biggest names in world sport in the 60s were Ali and Pele.
Maradona was probably the first bonafide genius with the ball. Personally I find it pretty hard to seperate them, giants of the game, loved both of them
 
Cristiano was better at dribbling from 2005 to 2010. He was outrageous.
If you had actually watched them both you wouldnt be making that claim. CR7 was incredibly exciting but Ronaldo9 was just better at dribbling, CR7 just never had the super close control. He was a fantastic dribbler but Ronaldo9 had the ball glued to his toes, its not even close.
 
I think everyone should at least take a look at this before judging Pele. Borrowed from other thread.