Top 10 greatest players of all time

[harms]

This is just utter nonsense by anyones standards. To disagree he’s number 1 is quite an edgy call in itself, to be so passionately against it is plain wrong.
I’m all for opinions and everyone’s entitled to them, but yours is just wrong son.

You also don’t make sense… You have really strong opinions of 1958 Pele, but not of Di Stefano and Puskas, who peaked at the same time (or later in Ferenc’s case)… bit weird.
I also suspect you must be 70 to have seen and appreciated Franz at his peak.

Clearly you are trolling, but I’d have Messi at No. 1 and comfortably but I’m not leaving the internet on your say so

Puskás peaked later than 1958? What is this…
He was considered by many to be the best player in history even before Pelé made his professional debut. And his peak was certainly before 1956 (and the subsequent two-year break from football altogether).

 

[Red Star One]

1. Messi
2. Pele
3. Maradona
...
4. Cruyff
5. Beckenbauer
6. Di Stefano
7. Ronaldo Fenômeno
8. Platini
9. Puskas
10. C. Ronaldo

 

[MaxZorin]

It's Cruyff for me, just because of his haircut.

As good a reason as any.

If you have Lionel Messi at number one, it's a good indication it's time to leave the internet.

Best for me is Pele. WC at seventeen, in his first, not fifth, attempt. Maradona second though he'd have likely been first if his career did not die out ignominiously. Cruyff/Beckenbauer afterward as both also changed how football is played. Never seen Puskas or di Stefano save for brief highlights.

Don't get me wrong on Messi, he's an absolute legend of the game, but not anywhere near the top.

Please do not argue with me on the basis 'Pele never played in Europe'. It's just silly.

Though I agree with your assessment on Pele, how can you not have Messi near the top?

Come on!

Cause he had a career ending injury in 2000 when he was 23 years old, spending 21 months in recovery. Post injury Ronaldo was a shadow of his former self, who won the World Cup, a Golden Boot and a FIFA World Player anyway.

Brazil in 2002 had Gareth Southgate levels of favourability in their campaign. Beat Costa Rica, China, an average Belgium and England (belatedly) and Turkey twice before beating a mediocre Germany, who were minus their best outfield player. Even Kleberson shone in such circumstances.

His famous OT hat-trick was the reason Fergie got rid of Barthez.

Think he would have been an all-timer if the injury didn't do for him. But it did. Now it's tenable if he is the greatest Ronaldo ever. Both terrible personalities.

 

[diarm]

1. Maradona
2. Messi
3. Pele
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
5. Cruyff
6. Ronaldo
7. Best
8. Beckenbauer
9. Di Stefano
10. Ronaldinho

Maradona just edges Messi for me. There isn’t a whole lot between them in terms of ability and magic - it’s just that Maradona did it on dodgy pitches, in an era where defenders could and did kick the absolute head off players like him for 90 minutes every week. He also did it with relatively unheralded players alongside him for teams like Napoli and that Argentina. At his best, Messi was the cherry on the top of a spectacular Barcelona side - one that without him provided the base of a World and European Cup winning Spanish side.

Pele and Cristiano then fall just behind. Absolute machines in terms of numbers and achievements - and absolutely magical footballers. Just slightly less magic than the two above in my mind.

 

[Olecurls99]

Messi vs Pele is a dumb comparison - how the hell do you compare to a guy whose footage only consists of international games in grainy black and white and then weird friendly tours that Santos did when colour TV became more widespread.

People have nostalgia bias - for example Cryuff's total football. Glorified, Revered....

Then I actually watched "Total Football" in actions...and well...it genuinely made me howl with laughter:

9 Players chasing down 1 guy for the ball...

Ha ha brilliant

 

[Olecurls99]

The good thing with these kind of takes is that it helps making friendly reminders of Pelé's genius:

• Pelé debuted oficially in 1957 with 16 years, and on his first season he became the tournament's top goal scorer. He then proceeded to defend that title for 8 consecutive seasons.
• The Campeonato Paulista had been played since 1902. Until 1957 when Pelé debuted, his team got the title a total of 3 times. Then during Pelé's 16 year period in Santos FC, he managed to win it 10 times. After that they won only 2 in the next 30 years.
• Of course, we consider the campeonato Paulista because when Pelé started playing there wasn't a unified brazilian championship. The first one was in 1959 and Santos was second to Bahía. Mainly because Pelé didn't play the final game (IIRC cause he was in military duty as he was 18 years old). They didn't participate in the next one (as Santos lost the Paulista final to Palmeiras), then proceeded to win the tournament 5 times in a row. This is the tournament where Didí, Garrincha, Vavá, Amarildo, Zagallo, Tostao, Gerson, Jairzinho and Rivelino were all playing in other teams.
• Even so, maybe the problem is that the league was too weak. So maybe we should compare it to the rest. Santos didn't get to play the first two editions of Copa Libertadores because only the brazilian champion (Bahía in 1960 and Palmeiras in 1961) were allowed to do so. When they won the Taca do Brasil in 1961, they got to participate and proceeded to win it two times in a row. Pelé only took place in one more Libertadores (1965, when he was the top scorer) and when he left the club, Santos had to wait 38 years for Neymar to lead them to the title again.
• As the Libertadores champion got to play with the European Cup champion in the intercontinental cup, we got to see Pelé 's playing against the best teams in Europe. First was Eusebio's Benfica, who lost 8-4 on agreggate with Pelé scoring 5 times in 2 games (note: he was 21 at that time). Then it was Gianni Rivera's AC Milan, in which he only took place in one match due to injury, scoring twice again. That's 7 in 3 games and 2 titles in a row again. Of course, Santos never won this again after Pelé left.
• Going into NT territory, Brazil was really good even without Pelé. Unfortunately, they only managed to get one title in 30 years before Pelé's arrival (the 1949 southamerican championship, while having home advantage) and after him leaving the squad they had to wait 19 years for another title and 24 for another world cup (both thanks to Romario). During his period in Brazil squad he managed to win 3 world cups, playing 14 matches and scoring 12 goals. He only played one southamerican championship and while he didn't win, he was the top scorer with 9 goals in 7 games.
• As for the "stratosphere" and "professionalism", I tend to recommend the 'Pelé did it first' videos on Youtube. I'm sure you'll appreciate them.

Great post

 

[Kwabs]

I agree with your list overall but Zidane feels very out of place in that company… he’s always been a player who makes me ponder.
Style of play over substance?? Is there any reading into him winning just 3 league titles in 10 years at Juve and Real?

Yes, granted he had massive clutch moments, like the 98 WC final goals and the CL final goal. But I always feel it’s his style of play that puts him higher than he should actually rank. Yes he was a Beautiful player to watch, graceful, elegant and immaculate first touch. But there’s been great players who have been more productive. Was Zidane a more productive midfielder than Maldini was defender for example? Or even Nesta?

Zidane and Iniesta both have WC final goals, Zidane has a great CL final goal but his overall performance in that final wasn’t as good as Iniesta’s against us in 2011. So is he actually better than Iniesta or just had a sexier style?

Is Zidane a better midfielder than - 700 goal - Lewandowski is striker? Honestly not sure he is.

I understand nostalgia plays a part in all these rankings. But I do think, In 20 years time when we conduct these lists the players from 2005 onwards, who are in no ones lists now, will appear on many.

Finally a place where Zidane's place in the pantheon can be discussed without worrying about Mo Salah, haha.

Let's consider what you just said: Zidane does not belong in this company. Let's consider Zidane's achievements, team and individual:

1. World Cup winner

2. World Cup golden ball winner (for a different tournament, which means he had a major impact in TWO World Cups)

3. Euros winner

4. Euros best player (this is important- he was deemed the best player at the 2000 tournament, as with WC 2006)

5. Ballon D'Or winner

6. THREE TIME FIFA World Player of the Year

7. Champions League winner

8. Reached 3 Chanpions League finals with 2 different teams

8. League champion in multiple countries (top leagues)

9. Footballer of the year award in multiple countries

10. IFFHS Best playmaker award

There's a bunch more, but let's leave it there, for the sake of brevity. Now leaving aside styles of play, aesthetics etc., do you really believe that someone with this resume 'doesn't belong' in that company? Can you think of another player, similarly garlanded, who also doesn't belong? I'd love to hear examples of such success in both domestic and international, team and individual trophies.

 

[Kwabs]

Messi vs Pele is a dumb comparison - how the hell do you compare to a guy whose footage only consists of international games in grainy black and white and then weird friendly tours that Santos did when colour TV became more widespread.

People have nostalgia bias - for example Cryuff's total football. Glorified, Revered....

Then I actually watched "Total Football" in actions...and well...it genuinely made me howl with laughter:

9 Players chasing down 1 guy for the ball...

Actually BS, because there is plenty of footage of Pele that is is clear black and white and plenty in glorious colour. Like every match from the 1970 World Cup for example. And if you want to mock the 70s Dutch side, I'd suggest you do a little bit more research and work, and a little less 'howling with laughter'. Respectfully.

 

[Querulous Megapode]

1. Pele
2. Messi
3. Cristiano
4. Maradona
5. Di Stefano
6. Cruyff
7. Puskas
8. Beckenbauer
9. Platini
10. Gerd Muller

 

[KirkDuyt]

Messi vs Pele is a dumb comparison - how the hell do you compare to a guy whose footage only consists of international games in grainy black and white and then weird friendly tours that Santos did when colour TV became more widespread.

People have nostalgia bias - for example Cryuff's total football. Glorified, Revered....

Then I actually watched "Total Football" in actions...and well...it genuinely made me howl with laughter:

9 Players chasing down 1 guy for the ball...

The game has very obviously evolved since then. The principle of putting full pressure on an opponent when losing possession originates with that. You can also clearly see that opponents don't know how to handle it at all.

Does highlight how dumb these comparisons our. The game Pele played is practically a different sport. With his talent he would obviously also be great now, but it's impossible to say. The technically gifted, but physically weak 10 is a good example of this. Some of the most brilliant 10's in history would probably do feck all in the current physical game (Rafael van der Vaart is a nice example of being born just on the transition and not being able to evolve his game to the physicallity required). Whether that's bad or good is up for debate, but the adamant tone in this debate is always hilarious to me.

Now here's my extremely objective and factual top 10

1. Cruijff
2. Robben
3. Van Basten
4. Gullit
5. Bergkamp
6. Van Hanegem
7. Abe Lenstra
8. Coen Moulijn
9. Rijkaard
10. Igor Paixao

 

[giorno]

Now here's my extremely objective and factual top 10

1. Cruijff
2. Robben
3. Van Basten
4. Gullit
5. Bergkamp
6. Van Hanegem
7. Abe Lenstra
8. Coen Moulijn
9. Rijkaard
10. Igor Paixao

Van Hanegem 6th, behind Bergkamp. I knew you were an ajax fan all along smdh

 

[Kwabs]

The game has very obviously evolved since then. The principle of putting full pressure on an opponent when losing possession originates with that. You can also clearly see that opponents don't know how to handle it at all.

Does highlight how dumb these comparisons our. The game Pele played is practically a different sport. With his talent he would obviously also be great now, but it's impossible to say. The technically gifted, but physically weak 10 is a good example of this. Some of the most brilliant 10's in history would probably do feck all in the current physical game (Rafael van der Vaart is a nice example of being born just on the transition and not being able to evolve his game to the physicallity required). Whether that's bad or good is up for debate, but the adamant tone in this debate is always hilarious to me.

Now here's my extremely objective and factual top 10

1. Cruijff
2. Robben
3. Van Basten
4. Gullit
5. Bergkamp
6. Van Hanegem
7. Abe Lenstra
8. Coen Moulijn
9. Rijkaard
10. Igor Paixao

Robben above Van Basten is a criminal offence.

 

[GuybrushThreepwood]

A major problem with cross era comparisons in any sport, is that former legends tend to be widely analysed and judged based on modern day standards and conditions, and criteria that are far more important nowadays. We’ve seen many former attacking players being criticised for their goals and assists stats for example.

It’s worse in my second favourite sport tennis. Former legends are often mainly judged based on how many grand slam titles they won, when grand slam counting only became a big deal in mid to late 90s when Pete Sampras closed in on Roy Emerson’s record (previously considered to be meaningless).

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Ronaldo was the best player at 1997 Copa America, best player in 1998 World Cup but for the final where he had a seizure, the top scorer in 1999 Copa America, the top scorer in 2002 World Cup of which he was top 3 players in those tournaments too.

In 5 years he scored 22 tournament goals for Brazil of which 12 of them were knockout stage goals, many of them important, 6 of them in finals or semi-finals.

He did more in those 5 years at international level than Cristiano Ronaldo has done in 20.

 

[Wand of a right foot]

IMO:

1. Pele: Football's first superstar.
1. Messi: Magical, supremely successful individually and collectively.
3. Maradona: Messi, but just less successful and not as long a career at the very top
4. Di Stefano: Best player in the greatest side of the last century. Could do everything.
5.Cristiano: Goals galore in quantity and importance, longevity, mentality monster. Not as talented as those above and many below him but makes it up to a large extent with his determination.
6. Cruijjff: Revolutionary, best of the 70s alongside..
6. Backenbauer: See Cruijff
8. Platini: Rivalled Maradona in the 80s, that takes something.
9. R9: Could have been near the top but for his serious knee injury; surely if his career had matched his talent would have been just behind Maradona.
10. Van Basten: The best classic no. 9.

Finally a place where Zidane's place in the pantheon can be discussed without worrying about Mo Salah, haha.

Let's consider what you just said: Zidane does not belong in this company. Let's consider Zidane's achievements, team and individual:

1. World Cup winner

2. World Cup golden ball winner (for a different tournament, which means he had a major impact in TWO World Cups)

3. Euros winner

4. Euros best player (this is important- he was deemed the best player at the 2000 tournament, as with WC 2006)

5. Ballon D'Or winner

6. THREE TIME FIFA World Player of the Year

7. Champions League winner

8. Reached 3 Chanpions League finals with 2 different teams

8. League champion in multiple countries (top leagues)

9. Footballer of the year award in multiple countries

10. IFFHS Best playmaker award

There's a bunch more, but let's leave it there, for the sake of brevity. Now leaving aside styles of play, aesthetics etc., do you really believe that someone with this resume 'doesn't belong' in that company? Can you think of another player, similarly garlanded, who also doesn't belong? I'd love to hear examples of such success in both domestic and international, team and individual trophies.

Zidane simply lacked consistency in his play. I'd argue Iniesta was at a similar level in big games but more consistent and would put him above Zidane.

 

[antohan]

Can't we just agree that anyone getting a mention is a sensational player?

It's already bad enough to constantly see our players getting ran down even when they have a good game. Now we have people belittling the quality and achievements of these players to win some petty ranking argument.

There's no right answer.

 

[Joga Bonito]

Messi
Maradona
Pele

Beckenbauer
Cruyff
Di Stefano
CR7

Platini
Xavi
Puskas

Zico, Baresi, Sir Bobby, Müller, Iniesta, Matthäus could very well be in that last tier if I were to make that list again next week

 

[Joga Bonito]

Can't we just agree that anyone getting a mention is a sensational player?

It's already bad enough to constantly see our players getting ran down even when they have a good game. Now we have people belittling the quality and achievements of these players to win some petty ranking argument.

There's no right answer.

This.

 

[DOTA]

Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo
Pele
Maradona
Cruyff
Ronaldo
Robson
Beckenbauer
Di Stefano
Irwin

 

[antohan]

Messi
Maradona
Pele

Beckenbauer
Cruyff
Di Stefano
CR7

Platini
Xavi
Puskas

Zico, Baresi, Sir Bobby, Müller, Iniesta, Matthäus could very well be in that last tier if I were to make that list again next week

I can relate to that

 

[MaxZorin]

Ronaldo was the best player at 1997 Copa America, best player in 1998 World Cup but for the final where he had a seizure, the top scorer in 1999 Copa America, the top scorer in 2002 World Cup of which he was top 3 players in those tournaments too.

In 5 years he scored 22 tournament goals for Brazil of which 12 of them were knockout stage goals, many of them important, 6 of them in finals or semi-finals.

He did more in those 5 years at international level than Cristiano Ronaldo has done in 20.

Of course, R9 was a ubiquitous presence in those days (advert after advert), but don't underestimate the sheer depth of that Brazil squad. Rivaldo, Denilson, Carlos, Cafu, I could go on. Quality in every position.

The 1994 vintage was great fun (especially after dropping the likes of Leonardo and Rai) but always found the 1998 to be functional, or 'European' as Brazilians would themselves sneer.

 

[Spoony]

Of course, R9 was a ubiquitous presence in those days (advert after advert), but don't underestimate the sheer depth of that Brazil squad. Rivaldo, Denilson, Carlos, Cafu, I could go on. Quality in every position.

The 1994 vintage were great fun but always found the 1998 to be functional, or 'European' as Brazilians would themselves sneer. Out of their SA comfort zone, smashing past Peru and Bolivia, they stuttered.

94 team were far more functional or European than 98. To be fair they've not been Brazil since 86.

 

[Lay]

Can't we just agree that anyone getting a mention is a sensational player?

It's already bad enough to constantly see our players getting ran down even when they have a good game. Now we have people belittling the quality and achievements of these players to win some petty ranking argument.

There's no right answer.

This. Downplaying great players achievements as if anyone could have done it is silly. We could nitpick every legend and make it seem they were just lucky to be alive

 

[General_Elegancia]

Can't we just agree that anyone getting a mention is a sensational player?

It's already bad enough to constantly see our players getting ran down even when they have a good game. Now we have people belittling the quality and achievements of these players to Win some petty ranking argument.

There's no right answer.

True and agree 100 percent

~However, I regard these discussions as enjoyable and a way to see multiple perspectives(if it isn’t too toxic).

 

[KirkDuyt]

Robben above Van Basten is a criminal offence.

I disagree on that actually (my list is not serious). Robben carried our national team for 10 years and was world class for almost his entire career. Van Basten is more illustrious and part of that brilliant Milan trio, but purely from an effectiveness level I prefer Robben.

Robben was a one man team.

I also have Igor Paixao above the likes of Seedorf, Van Persie, Messi, Pele and Ronaldo by the way...

 

[KirkDuyt]

Van Hanegem 6th, behind Bergkamp. I knew you were an ajax fan all along smdh

That Argentina goal transcends even Ajax.

 

[Krakenzero]

I disagree on that actually (my list is not serious). Robben carried our national team for 10 years and was world class for almost his entire career. Van Basten is more illustrious and part of that brilliant Milan trio, but purely from an effectiveness level I prefer Robben.

Robben was a one man team.

I also have Igor Paixao above the likes of Seedorf, Van Persie, Messi, Pele and Ronaldo by the way...

IMO Robben is an unbelievably underrated player. Carried (not alone but with very limited company) a pretty average dutch team to the final stages of the World Cup. Twice. Had he scored that 1v1 with Casillas in 2010 final he'd be a national hero. And it could be argued he was the best player in 2014 WC (maybe Müller or James could be considered too... Messi's win that year was more than a little out of the blue). As an attending fan in that tournament he was the player I was more terrified to face.

Was in several Big clubs too and a legend at Bayern, where he scored the goal that gifted them a UCL. Probably not an ATG material, but definitely one of the greats of the last 20-25 years.

 

[HTG]

IMO Robben is an unbelievably underrated player. Carried (not alone but with very limited company) a pretty average dutch team to the final stages of the World Cup. Twice. Had he scored that 1v1 with Casillas in 2010 final he'd be a national hero. And it could be argued he was the best player in 2014 WC (maybe Müller or James could be considered too... Messi's win that year was more than a little out of the blue). As an attending fan in that tournament he was the player I was more terrified to face.

Was in several Big clubs too and a legend at Bayern, where he scored the goal that gifted them a UCL. Probably not an ATG material, but definitely one of the greats of his era.

Without a doubt. Robben was a man of singular purpose and an unstoppable force. Don’t think I have ever seen a player with a better mentality. Him spending his best years with us at Bayern was a gift by the football gods.

 

[GuybrushThreepwood]

Robben was the best Dutch player at both Euro 2004 and the 2014 World Cup right, and excelled in the Champions League and 4 different European leagues.

IIRC he was a major reason why a mediocre Real Madrid team (obviously mediocre for their standards) had a glimmer of a hope of winning La Liga in 2008/2009 before the Bernabeu Clasico.

He was especially electrifying during his first few months at Chelsea, before he got injured at Ewood Park (we were a brutish team then).

 

[KirkDuyt]

Without a doubt. Robben was a man of singular purpose and an unstoppable force. Don’t think I have ever seen a player with a better mentality. Him spending his best years with us at Bayern was a gift by the football gods.

The mentality to keep coming back from almost yearly serious injuries is mental. That last year he played for Groningen he barely played, but he had 1 game were he got 2 brilliant assists. He celebrated nearly as wildly as when he scored that last minute CL winner. Really sums him up for me.

My all time favorite player. Even if he was also a bit of a diving cheat at times.

 

[Zehner]

I still cannot believe that people put R9 in these lists:

I saw the guy at his peak - it was phenomenal. It lasted a grand total of 3 seasons. one of which was in Eredivisie.

Man won 1 league titles in Europe.

The easy comparison can be at Madrid, where R9's best season there was worse than Cristiano Ronaldo's worse season at Madrid.

I get your point but personally, I see it like this: A couple of great seasons can just be an outlier. But in R9's case, it is clear that it wasn't an outlier, everybody can see it when he was on the pitch. In terms of raw attributes, he was probably the most complete attacker there has ever been. Unfortunately, we never saw what he could have been when his physical time overlapped with maturity, yet to me he's still only behind Messi, Maradona and Pelé. His stats in those seasons speak for themselves, especially consideringat the 90s were probably the lowest scoring period in football history, especially in Italy.

Of course there have been players with much longer peaks but watching them, it feels just wrong to place them ahead of Ronaldo because clearly aren't/weren't better.

 

[HTG]

The mentality to keep coming back from almost yearly serious injuries is mental. That last year he played for Groningen he barely played, but he had 1 game were he got 2 brilliant assists. He celebrated nearly as wildly as when he scored that last minute CL winner. Really sums him up for me.

My all time favorite player. Even if he was also a bit of a diving cheat at times.

If you have ever seen him play for your team, it is impossible to dislike him. No matter how much he dived. He left everything in the pitch whenever he played. And as you said, coming back from all those injuries the way he did is mind blowing. And it’s not just coming back from them, but also performing on the highest level immediately after coming back. The guy could be injured for half a year. Two games in and he’d play like nothing ever happened to him.

 

[Michaelf7777777]

1. Diego Maradona
2. Alfredo Di Stefano
3. Pele
4. Lionel Messi
5. Ronaldo (R9)
6. Christiano Ronaldo
7. Michel Platini
8. Franz Beckenbauer
9. Johan Cruyff
10. Elias Figueroa

The top 5 as well as positions 7-9 are very close imo

 

[The holy trinity 68]

R9's WC legacy dwarfs CR7's for one.

And how does R9 have not have accolades? You're looking at team achievements.

His individual accolades are great.

Football is a team sport and mainly about trophies won with your team.

 

[Spoony]

I get your point but personally, I see it like this: A couple of great seasons can just be an outlier. But in R9's case, it is clear that it wasn't an outlier, everybody can see it when he was on the pitch. In terms of raw attributes, he was probably the most complete attacker there has ever been. Unfortunately, we never saw what he could have been when his physical time overlapped with maturity, yet to me he's still only behind Messi, Maradona and Pelé. His stats in those seasons speak for themselves, especially consideringat the 90s were probably the lowest scoring period in football history, especially in Italy.

Of course there have been players with much longer peaks but watching them, it feels just wrong to place them ahead of Ronaldo because clearly aren't/weren't better.

Yeah, Maradona, Messi and Ronaldo 9 are the best three players I've seen.

 

[Redfrog]

IMO:

1. Pele: Football's first superstar.
1. Messi: Magical, supremely successful individually and collectively.
3. Maradona: Messi, but just less successful and not as long a career at the very top
4. Di Stefano: Best player in the greatest side of the last century. Could do everything.
5.Cristiano: Goals galore in quantity and importance, longevity, mentality monster. Not as talented as those above and many below him but makes it up to a large extent with his determination.
6. Cruijjff: Revolutionary, best of the 70s alongside..
6. Backenbauer: See Cruijff
8. Platini: Rivalled Maradona in the 80s, that takes something.
9. R9: Could have been near the top but for his serious knee injury; surely if his career had matched his talent would have been just behind Maradona.
10. Van Basten: The best classic no. 9.

Zidane simply lacked consistency in his play. I'd argue Iniesta was at a similar level in big games but more consistent and would put him above Zidane.

Iniesta better than Zidane ? I know which player is more spectacular. Zidane was just amazing to watch.

 

[Shark]

The disrespect to C.Ronaldo in this thread is insane, on some lists. Literally the only player on the planet that was capable of holding a candle to Messi. If not for him Messi would have won most of not all of the ballon d'or awards since 2009. Whilst I understand players like Pele or Maradona getting ahead of him, some players just get there because their reputations precede them, having played so long ago.

 

[harms]

The disrespect to C.Ronaldo in this thread is insane, on some lists. Literally the only player on the planet that was capable of holding a candle to Messi. If not for him Messi would have won most of not all of the ballon d'or awards since 2009. Whilst I understand players like Pele or Maradona getting ahead of him, some players just get there because their reputations precede them, having played so long ago.

Most of the players on these lists would've also been capable to challenge Messi to an extent. That's the point. Cristiano is certainly among the best players in history but he's hardly the obvious stand out in that runners up group outside of the big three... he beats most on sheer productivity and longevity but plenty on here are more talented and at least comparably successful (especially considering international performances). It's thin margins and mostly personal preference, there's no right and wrong answer here (unless you put him ahead of Messi or Pelé).

Is it disrespectful to put a player that wasn't even the best in his own generation in the 4-6 place (I feel like it's the roughly average placement of his in this thread) of all-time? Not really.

 

[Shaw's Shank Redemption]

C Ronaldo is the best for me.

Not because I'm a United fan because he is an Idol.

He is optimus prime. Poor country with no prior history of trophies. Not much skill or naturally gifted as Messi. Just built himself up like a psychical specimen like Optimus Prime. Even my mom likes him because he doesn't have a single tattoo and has significant mental and physical standards. Ronaldo tested himself out in every tough league and was a warrior more than a beautiful ballet dancer

All these players like Garnacho and Hojlund who view Ronaldo as their idol is the same like me. I've got no ability to be like Messi, I don't have the height, the technique and mostly the ability to play in the sun in Argentina or Spain for all my career. So my idol is Ronaldo because I want both his mentality and physicality to conquer the whole world and all the leagues and to still go head to head against the most naturally gifted player ever playing in the most naturally easiest lifestyle in La Liga ever.

1. C Ronaldo
2. Messi
3. Ronaldo
4. Zidane
5. Iniesta
6. Maldini
7. Xavi
8. Modric
9. Ronaldinho
10. Henry

Players I've only seen

 

[simonhch]

1. Messi
2. Pele
3. Maradona
...
4. Cruyff
5. Beckenbauer
6. Di Stefano
7. Ronaldo Fenômeno
8. Platini
9. Puskas
10. C. Ronaldo

I like this list.

I find these lists generally so hard to do, especially in any sort of order. There is also so much that has changed in the game over the generations. Rules, like offside and backpass, better pitches, balls, boots, nutrition, training, conditioning, recovery, sports science, medicine, crowd environments and behaviour, protection from referees, the physicality of the game, what constitutes a foul, booking or red card. The list goes on and on. As does the preoccupation with data and stats, that has largely driven the artistry and beauty out of the game, and ramped up the efficiency and effectiveness.

What even makes a great player one of the greatest? Peak talent? Longevity of talent? Trophies? Stats? Individual accolades? Domestic vs international success? Efficiency vs artistry? It starts to become really subjective.

I think when you take into consideration all the factors, there are three players that stand above all else, and it’s nearly impossible to put them in order:

Maradona, Pele, and Messi.

Then you have a group of players that were really close to challenging for that GOAT top tier, but perhaps were held back or didn’t present in one or more category:

Ronaldinho, L. Ronaldo (R9), Cryuff, Di Stefano, Puskas, Platini, Van Basten, Charlton, Best, Zidane, Beckenbaur.

Then finally a grouping of players who were simply amazing at what they did, and did it better - and often for longer, than anyone else:

C. Ronaldo (CR7), Matthaus, Rijkaard, Xavi, Iniesta, Muller, Zico, Gullit.

It’s pretty easy in that final category to put CR7 at the top of it and then everyone else after. If one was to go into a fourth category there are so many amazing players to mention, the likes of Baggio, Beegkamp, Cantona, Stoichkov, Hagi, Romario etc etc.