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Who’s the GOAT?

The GOAT is..

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Best player ever has to win the World Cup, surely? For me Maradona is the best player ever. Ronaldo and Messi have done very well playing for dominant teams against lower teams, especially Messi who has spent most of his career as part of one of the best ever club teams. Ronaldo ranks higher for me, as he's performed in a number of leagues.
 

Blue 1 said:
I guess it probably depends on your age but it's Maradona for me, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi is obviously a wonderful player, but as others have said, he's never played outside his comfort zone, never produced at a World Cup, and had the best players in the world as a supporting cast at Barcelona.

Maradona dragged Napoli to the top and won a World Cup almost singlehandedly, all while players would try and snap his ankles, and while being a top caner.

C. Ronaldo has done it in most of the world's top leagues and mastered multiple positions. I think people are predisposed against him sometimes because he comes across as a bit of an arrogant bell occasionally.
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His comfort zone, as in being the undisputed star player in the world’s best football team?
 
The binman chronicles said:
Messi and Ronaldo are difficult to choose between but I've always maintained put Messi in this Everton team and you probably wouldn't get much out of him but Ronaldo would make a difference just because he can score all kinds of goals. No doubt Messi is technically a better footballer though, in a less physical Maradona sort of way.
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“Wouldn’t get much of out of him” is a massive stretch, but I concur with your overall point.

Messi is the most technically gifted footballer I’ve seen (post Maradona). His ball control is unlike anything in the modern game, and from archive footage I’d only put Pele in the same level. I agree though that Cristiano is more versatile (especially aerially) and is able to produce something in a team that isn’t doing much.

Ronaldo (Brazilian) is the more gifted Ronaldo, and but for a seizure hours before the ‘98 WC final he’d likely have been three time world player of the year by age 22 (neither Messi nor Cristiano had any by that age). The knee explosion just over 20 months later then completely ended the prime version. Finishing top scorer at the ‘02 World Cup in taking what was a shambolic Brazil team in the qualifiers to the trophy was an extraordinary achievement for a man at maybe 60 to 70% of what he was. Cristiano was stood on the sidelines as a cheerleader for Portugal in the 2016 Euro final, but apparently this is to be lauded. The social media/internet age has ramped up/exaggerated everything.

Talent wise, Messi, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane, in that order, would be the top five I’ve seen.
 
An idea of Ronaldo in his prime (Speed and finishing with Barca)



Footwork with Inter



There’s always that if with him, “if he’d stayed fit”. But for four years in his prime he’d done enough.
 

Messi is just like Maradona, except he can do it with both feet. The only moment on a par to when I first saw him performing for Barcelona (on the the wing as a boy vs. Chelsea, making them all look amateur), was when Rooney made his debut.
 
JobForTheMoyes said:
Messi is just like Maradona, except he can do it with both feet. The only moment on a par to when I first saw him performing for Barcelona (on the the wing as a boy vs. Chelsea, making them all look amateur), was when Rooney made his debut.
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He ran del Horno utterly ragged that night. Was incredible, especially as he was so young. Then of course he got the hat-trick in the Classico. I've seen comments about Maradona being able to perform while off his head as though it was a badge of honour, but Messi has been running sides ragged now for around 15 years, and pretty much playing every minute of those seasons as well. The consistency and resilience of both he and Ronaldo is remarkable.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
He ran del Horno utterly ragged that night. Was incredible, especially as he was so young. Then of course he got the hat-trick in the Classico. I've seen comments about Maradona being able to perform while off his head as though it was a badge of honour, but Messi has been running sides ragged now for around 15 years, and pretty much playing every minute of those seasons as well. The consistency and resilience of both he and Ronaldo is remarkable.
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Thing about Ronaldo is he has never been a one-man show like Maradona and Messi. They can just take the ball and run through a team.

Ronaldo played well as a winger too, but never in such an otherworldly way.
 
JobForTheMoyes said:
Thing about Ronaldo is he has never been a one-man show like Maradona and Messi. They can just take the ball and run through a team.

Ronaldo played well as a winger too, but never in such an otherworldly way.
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He's someone who gets you off your seat with the sheer audacity of what he does. So regularly does he amaze that it's easy to take it for granted just how special what he does is.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
He's someone who gets you off your seat with the sheer audacity of what he does. So regularly does he amaze that it's easy to take it for granted just how special what he does is.
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Exactly. Ronaldo is like peak human and Messi is superhuman.

If he was a cartoon character he would be Super Sayan Goku, with Ronaldo as Vegeta. Always a few steps behind!
 

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