TThe debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has intensified recently due to rankings favoring one of the two soccer legends and far behind the other. But other celebrities are also joining the fray.
The Global Statistics account announced its top 100 “best soccer players of all time,” and the final results caused quite a stir.
Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo
The account, which is known for publishing lists of athletes, caused a stir when it placed Leo third and Cristiano Ronaldo fourth on its list of the best soccer players of all time.
Lionel Messi reminds us who is king with outrageous golasso during Argentina training
The first place goes to Pell, a legendary Brazilian player who revolutionized Brazilian soccer, who passed away on December 29, 2022 at the age of 82. He scored 757 goals in 812 official matches (1,283 goals in 1,367 matches including friendlies) and participated in four World Cups, winning three of them (1958, 1962 and 1970).
Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona came in second place. He played in over 720 competitive matches for his club and the Argentina national team, scoring a total of 358 goals. He passed away on November 25, 2020 at the age of 60. He won the world championship in Mexico in 1986 and competed in three other tournaments: 1982 in Spain, 1990 in Italy, and 1994 in the United States. He also coached the Argentina national team, of which Messi was also a member, at the 2010 South African Games.
Following Leo and CR7, Johan Cruyff, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Nazrio, Franz Beckenbauer and Michel Platini made up the top ten.
Fans were quick to voice their opinions. “It’s hard to argue that legends like Pele, Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo and Cruyff lead this list. They truly shaped the history of football,” said one. “I don’t think anyone has been better than Ronaldinho from peak to peak in his career. Just an incredible magician with the ball,” said another. “I understand Pell, he’s a three-time world champion, but Messi and Ronaldo should be in the top three,” said a third player.
But before that, the account shared the top 100 greatest athletes of all time, in which Leo was also ranked in 3rd place, ahead of CR7, who fell to 14th place.
Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali occupied first and second place, Pell was ranked 18th and Maradona did not play.
However, while there are different opinions on who is the best athlete, it is undeniable that they all have contributed to the history of football.
