There is nothing so heated, and some might say so pointless, as a debate about who is the best. So forget comparing contemporary rivals, let’s compare different eras of football’s greatest players.
Here are what I consider to be the greatest footballers that ever graced a football pitch. From the outset, three, maybe even four, of my selections might be generally agreed upon, but that is the wonder of sport: opinions will always differ, no matter the same set of facts and visuals used to compare.
I have listed the players in chronological order, given I do not consider the following five players can be truly ordered in terms of greatness.
Pele
The original superstar. At least, the footballer still talked about as the greatest, from the longest time ago.
Occasionally known as ‘Edson Arantes do Nascimento’, but only to those with time to waste, Pele’s three World Cup victories possibly says it all.
Keep in mind, if not for the utterly brutal tackling that greeted Pele in the 1966 World Cup, it’s more than likely he would have had four victories.
There’s nobody else laying claim to that, and this is before club championships like European and various other continental cups began to be truly considered as a great achievement.
Get onto YouTube and watch some grainy footage of an 18-year-old wunderkind scoring goals in the 1958 World Cup with a skill that still leaves you breathless, no matter what is said about generations being better than some, Pele’s skills still make you gasp.
The greatest testament to Pele’s greatness? Well, interestingly, one of Pele’s greatest highlights is of him dummying a keeper when seeking to meet a cross into the goalmouth. Pele then runs past the goalkeeper to retrieve the ball that has passed by both players due to Pele’s trickery. However, from an insanely wide angle, Pele still misses an open goal.
There are not many players who will make a highlight out of not scoring.
Diego Maradona
Again, a no-brainer, though personally my ‘least’ (if that is the word) favourite of the bunch.
Forget the hand of God and the drug controversies. Watch the footballer.
Watch the skill and amazement he created in the ‘other’ goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, universally considered the greatest goal ever scored in a World Cup.
Maradona won a World Cup and made the final in 1990, unlucky to go down in the final courtesy of a Jurgen Klinsmann double-twist dive with pike that ultimately left Argentina a man down.
Napoli did little prior to Maradona’s arrival, they haven’t really done much since.
Want to know what they achieved while he played for them? They won championships. Two of them.
And come 1994, having exhibited his skills on Australian shores to help his country qualify, he still had it, albeit while playing in a eyeball popping, drug-induced haze.
Nevertheless, he is still one of the greats.
Zinedine Zidane
My favourite. Note: favourite, not necessarily the best.
I had not heard of Zidane prior to the 1998 World Cup final. I did not even realise he had been red carded and missed two group stage games during that tournament.
Funnily enough, that flash of ‘red’ would not be his most famous World Cup dismissal.
His two goals in the 1998 final potentially immediately cemented him as a great. Again, funnily enough, nor would they be his most famous headers in a World Cup final.
But his skill and athleticism was breathtaking to hold. Some call football an art, some call it a science. Zidane was both.
The ball always seemed to be within his control both by calculation and magic. It is what made him the one-time most expensive player to lace a boot.
It is what was on show when he scored (in my opinion) the greatest goal ever scored in the 2002 Champions League final at Hamden Park against a gobsmacked Bayer Leverkusen.
It is also why he came back out of international retirement in 2006 and almost won a second World Cup.
Watch him against Spain, Brazil and Portugal in that tournament, at the ripe old age of 34, and you are reminded of the chemistry.
It is truly a shame that his ‘other’ header in a World Cup final that hobbled Marco Materazzi is what he is remembered for.
Truly, a magician and a scientist.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Time will ultimately hold Ronaldo as the greatest that ever played the game.
As a small example, think about how good Manchester United were with him, think about how not-so-good they are without him.
He is deservedly the highest paid player on the planet.
The internet is just so awash with the commercial aspect of his marketability, it is almost a shame it detracts from the skilful, magnificent footballer he has become.
The diving, the show-ponying, of course they detract from the player, though arguably they are not so prevalent in his current game.
It is a shame he thought he needed to play, in his early career, with unnecessary gamesmanship.
The way his feet seem to transcend time around the ball just boggles the mind. Watch him sprint an entire field, in Usain Bolt-esque time, to score against Arsenal.
Speaking of his goal-scoring, since he went to Real Madrid, his scoring rate is more than one goal every game. And he’s a winger.
His international career has stuttered. He has not won a World Cup. Probably never will.
Of course, he did recently step up to the plate as ‘the man’ in the home-and-away series with Sweden to get Portugal into Brazil 2014.
Read: Ronaldo 4, Sweden 2 (or, Ronaldo 4, Ibrahimovic 2, if you are so inclined).
Lionel Messi
Seriously, how lucky are we? Two of the greatest players that will play the game are playing at the same time.
And regularly playing against one another.
Of course, Messi is a freak. A man of his size, with the associated limited physical capabilities, should not be this good.
He should not dribble the ball from halfway and score goals of such individual brilliance that you are almost left believing you have watched computer manipulated footage.
But he does it. Sometimes, he does it five times a game.
It is not a case of mere politicking that resulted in him being crowned world player of the year four years in a row.
Like Ronaldo, there’s no World Cup, though you imagine Lionel has a better shot than Cristiano.
So why do I think Ronaldo is possibly better?
It is a personal thing, however, notably, Messi wins Spanish League titles and European championships for fun. Of course, it helps that he plays with Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Gerard Pique, Victor Valdes, Cesc Fabregas and has played with Ronaldinho and Theirry Henry.
Simply put, it’s easy to win stuff when you are a part of probably the greatest club side that will ever be assembled.
The complete and utter dismantling of Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final is still what I consider to be the single most dominant performance by a football club side in history. More so than Real’s 7-3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in 1956.
In Cristiano’s case, I am surprised he does not suffer from chronic knee problems, having to carry around Real Madrid on a weekly basis.
Sure, they are Galacticos, but they do not play as a team on the level of Barca.
So, as to who of this royal group of five is the best, if I am honest, it is really a question you cannot properly answer.
Ronaldo and Messi are probably better than their predecessors, but that is going to be the case given the advancement in skills and physical fitness.
The question should not be who of them is the greatest, but how would each fare in their respective eras.
That is my opinion. The top five greatest footballers ever.
It has been a blessing to watch them play, and I remain thankful that video was created in time to capture the breathtaking skill of all of them.
Savan
Guest
Lionel messi is greatest ever At one side you'r comparing with pele... So why you put c. Ronaldo before messi. Messi is bestest ever
Dave Mc
Guest
Pele Puskas Eusebio Cruyyf Maradonna
Dave Mc
Guest
Ronaldo the best player ever? Are you 11? He's not even the best player of his generation . Don't give up the day job.
Amos
Guest
These are the greatest players ever 1 Zidane 2 Ronaldinho 3 D.Ronaldo 4 Messi 5 Buffon
Chandrakanth
Guest
Christiano... Ronaldo.......@
Syed Saad Jameel
Guest
My pick would be - 1. Beckenbauer - This man is a champion player, all round show.. a man who redefined defensive play with utmost elegance, add to that a world cup win both as a player and manager the greatest defender/sweeper/libero to play the game. 2. Di Stefano & Puskas - I rate Puskas above Pele mainly because of his extraordinary goal scoring ability not only for his country but also against some of Europe's Elite.. while Pele played at Santos through out his career and scored 1000 odd goals.. Puskas is believed to have achived this feat much earlier than him, how can i rate a man as No.1 who in 5 world cups scores just 12 goals.. that's not the greatest player for me.. Puskas on the other hand scored some amazing goals playing against Europe's best..or the world's best. De Stefano was a magician with the ball the perfect defence splitter and probably the greatest player ever to have worn the Real Madrid shirt. I can see why Madrid were such a big force during the 50's and early 60's.. Di Stefano and Puskas the most lethal attacking combinations ever. 3. Johan Cruyff - No player has had such an impact for both club and country such asThe 'Pythagoras in boots' did, Cruyff changed the history of Dutch football throughout the 70's and made football even more beautiful.. Cruyff may not be a world cup winner but he certainly put the Dutch on the world map as one of the most feared outfits not only that Cruyff achived great club success as a manager with teams such as Ajax and Barcelona.. this man changed made the game it is today at Catalonia and Spain. 4. Gerd Muller - World cup winner, record goal scorer = Pele ?? noo.. its 'Der Bomber' and for a reason.. he was a one man attack in the West Germany team.. here again we might argue that Pele is better, but fortunately thats not the case... i dont think there is anyone as underrated as Gerd Muller, he shook the world cup in 1970 scoring 10 goals !! and won the competition in 74 with out a doubt the most prolific goal scorer ever. 5. Eusebio - Man !! isn't he talented !! if it was not for 'the black panther' Portugal would never have got the stardom they recieved in 1966 world cup.. he single handedly destroyed defenses and that for me is a quality he almost shares alone give him the ball and he'll score.. again very underrated but for me a true great.
Andrew
Guest
Couldn't agree with you more when ronaldo doesn't score which happens often in big games, he doesn't do enough from outside the box like maradona or messi would. for example in the latest el clasico where he did score a penalty but went missing for the rest of the game.While messi took over with his amazing vision and dribbling technique. messi is on a all time great level while ronaldo is a great goal scorer but not an all time great. Definitely not top 5 and if you think he is you clearly don't know your history of the game or are just a fan boy who watches his goals and not the full 90 minutes of his matches.
Khuzairi
Guest
Forget about how many a player wins a cup . Football is game of 11 man a team so we cannot judge them from it . We judge them from how well a player play . From my point of view . Here's the top ten player list: Ronaldinho Pele Maradonna DeStefano Zidane Ronaldo Messi C.ronaldo Vico Mokhtar Dahari(Malaysian legend) It just my opinion. Feedback please:)
wandile
Guest
pele ,maradona ,ronaldo,messi and zidane
Sam Brown
Roar Guru
I though exactly the same. Pele actually said Best was the greatest man to ever play that wasn't him. Best was hamstrung by having to play for Ireland and his own alcohol addiction which robbed him of some of his best years. However even without factoring that in his existing body of work is simply amazing.
Kane Cassidy
Roar Guru
Only one mention of George Best? That's madness, I guarantee if he was Brazilian he'd be at the forefront of everyone's opinion, but since he's Northern Irish he's lumped in with the old "Ugly British" Stereotype. Also Charlton, he'd make any top Spanish Import look like a league 2 hack, ditto Bobby Moore. And where's Beckham? Somewhere underneath the glam and sponsorship deals there was a brilliant footballer, people are very quick to forget that, a few headlines in the tabloids about what he wears shopping and people question his ability. Lampard, Le Tissier, Gerrard, all brilliant, all lumped in as ugly for being British. I think the UK and Ireland have been a brilliant producer of talent, but not many people seem to want to admit it.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Bravo. Brilliantly summarised.
Punter
Guest
Jules, looks like we disagree. Messi with ball at his feet, is the best I have ever seen, his dribbling ability, his vision, the ease at which he beats players, unsurpassed. Ronlado on the other hand is more athletic, he has a better shot, powerful & accurate, hence his great ability with freekicks & penalties, he has great speed to get into positions, unreal endurance to play the full game, his heading ability is also right up there with the best, add all this to his remarkable skill on the ball, only bettered by Messi in this current era, you have a damn great player. He as a youngster helped a fairly average Portuguese side to the semis (just like Eusebio all those years ago), he has scored in champions league finals, he has scored against Barcelona to win the El Classico, to win La Liga, to win the premiership. He was the star in the premier league & as attested by Gary Neville, out of this world. He is also a star in the La Liga in an uneven comp, but I would back Athletico, Valencia, Villareal against anything from the Premier league outside the top 2-3 sides, likewise with Bundesliga. He is the star player in a star studded Real Madrid side, that despite it's greatness & great players do not have the likes of Xavi & Inesita like Messi does. Stats can lie, stats over a long period of time don't, 233 goals in 229 appearances in the last 5 years for Real Madrid, tells a great, great story for any selfish striker, only thing is Ronaldo is not a striker, he is more a winger with a great skills, great shot, great free kicker, great header & without doubt the best counter attacking player in the world. He has a reputation for under performing for Portugal, why, they are an average team expecting Ronaldo to carry them, unfortunately he is not a controller of a game like a Maradona & relies on good service & if the Portuguese midfield is overrun, which they are against the better sides, it's hard for Ronaldo to stamp his brilliance. Ronaldo is an individualistic type of player, whos brilliance can create goals for others. He is maybe not such a humble person, but than that should not come into it when accessing a player's football ability. But like I said Jules, we tend to disagree.
Davo
Guest
Ronaldo? No way! Id put brazilian ronaldo and ronaldinho ahead of him. However the real crime is that people forget about cruyff and Zico. Absolute magicians!
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
It's a good question LX. In truth, keepers don't get too much in the way of glory - the special spots in the hearts of fans are saved for the outfielders - kids rarely grow up dreaming of emulating a keeper. One keeper with a mighty record is Dino Zoff of Juve and gli Azzurri, who captained Italy to a World Cup aged 40. But even there most Juve and Azzurri fans would not put him in their top 5 (at a guess).
LX
Guest
Could a goalie penetrate a top 5? Completely different skill sets required to an outfield player, but still a footballer nonetheless. Soviet Goalkeeper Lev Yashin is highly regarded by those who remember him, and was compared to a spider in how he appeared to use 8 legs to be able to stop the ball with. Zinedine Zidane is the best player that I've ever seen, personally.
Jules
Roar Rookie
Punter, the two main points of my comment were: 1) There are plenty of discerning Real Madrid and even Portugal fans who are continually frustrated by Ronaldo's contribution to his teams and therefore would never rate him as a great of the game. There's a reason why there was all that stuff a couple of years ago about him being unloved at Madrid and him having to be defended by Mourinho: sections of the Madrid football press and many fans had their knives out for him because of how he was affecting the team. Even at United, where he was better suited to the less technical and faster style, he had his detractors who loved how he did the business at Stoke, but thought he under-performed in many of the big games. This view is shared by Portuguese friends I have who are football fans, though a lot of them will have been moderating their criticism in light of his second-leg performance against Sweden. It's a lot of people, not just Barcelona and Liverpool fans who think this and mainly the fans who watch every game he plays. 2) That stats do indeed partially lie and are often cited by people who can't watch enough games to make a more nuanced judgment. Selective use of stats (care to have a look at his number of goals + assists over the past few years and his number of shots where this is recorded, eg in the UCL?) and selecting one game out of hundreds is also likely to support a less nuanced view than those who watch everything he does week in week out. Besides, playing all of every game as the penalty and free-kick taker who's also in the box for corners and sneaking into the top three of the goals+assist table for each year in an uneven league, may make you a very handy player and perhaps a top finisher, but certainly not a great.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Admittedly I've only been watching football regularly for less than 10 years so i won't comment on those I never saw play regularly. Messi - undisputed Cristiano Ronaldo - the most complete attacking force in football Zidane - not only gifted with the technical ability of an European but also the flare and skills in tight places of a South American Iniesta - unbelievable vision and tactical awareness Ronaldinho - might not be the most successful footballer ever but certainly the most joyous to watch. Special mentions to Pirlo for his longevity and beautiful passing game, Scholes for his goal-scoring prowess despite being a holding mid, Buffon as goalkeeper and for sticking with Juventus when they were relegated and defenders can be tough to choose because the most well known ones aren't tested in the same way as defenders in weaker teams often are. Same goes for GKs i guess.
Gooner
Guest
At 6 (vieira) and 20 (wright).
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
Your obviously a 'Gooners' fan, so where is Patrick Viera or Ian Wright?