Even Maradona thought Pele was the greatest soccer player of all time | Marca.
24 Mar / autty. Brazilian legend Pele says Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world, and that he is the greatest player in history.
Cristiano is an incredible professional. I think at this present time he is right up there at Messi's level. It's not the case that Messi is better than Ronaldo or Ronaldo is better than Messi. I think they are at the same level.
"If I had to decide, for my team, I'd start Messi," Pelé said. Along with Messi, Pelé named the players he believed were in the ranks of greats of all time including Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Zinedine Zidane, Zico, and more.
Pele played a total of 92 games for Brazil and scored 77 goals in his career whereas Maradona played a total of 91 games and scored a total of 34 goals.
Messi has 13 World Cup goals compared to Maradona's eight. In terms of overall goals, Maradona has 34 goals for his country, while Messi has scored 97 goals.
The Argentine has scored more World Cup goals - 13 - than his two rivals, though he's played more games. Pele hit 12 goals at the World Cup and Ronaldo has notched eight times. Pele's ratio, though, sees him come out on top again; 0.86 compared to Messi on 0.5 and Ronaldo on 0.36.
An analysis of the players' statistics reveals that Ronaldo was labelled the undisputed GOAT of soccer with the most overall goals, Champions League goals, club goals and assists, and international caps and goals.
Pelé holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored by a Brazilian player, with 7. One of those hat-tricks was scored in the 1958 World Cup semi-final against France; he later scored a brace against Sweden in the final in which Brazil won with a 5-2 result.
A seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, Messi has produced countless moments of genius throughout his illustrious career with Barcelona, Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain. An ultra-consistent performer, Messi has scored almost 800 career goals for club and country. Maradona, by comparison, scored fewer than 400 career goals.
Maradona was half-joking, but it's fair to say he thought he was the best player that had ever lived - not Ronaldo. The Argentine was complimentary of Ronaldo later on in the interview. "[He's] Marvellous," Maradona continued. "The definition.
Lionel Messi has surpassed Diego Maradona as the greatest player of all time, Argentina's World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni has said.
Maradona, who along with Pele is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time, said Messi was one player at his club Barcelona and another with the national side. "We shouldn't deify Messi any longer," he told Fox Sports. "He's Messi when he plays for Barcelona.
Messi was asked about who he rated as the standout footballers around at the moment and was quick to rattle off a list of names before making it clear how highly he thinks of Ronaldo, per Radio 94.7 Club Octubre (h/t Marcos Duran of AS).
Who is better Messi Or Ronaldo? Ronaldo has scored a record number of international goals and appearances, but Messi has won more Ballon d'Or awards (7). Messi has spent most of his playing career in Spain and France, while Ronaldo has played in Portugal, England, Spain, and Italy.
Lionel Messi has scored the most goals for one club. Pelé held the world record for around 50 years. Josef Bican is credited by FIFA with 805 goals.
Precisely how many time Pele hit the net is a matter of debate, with most statisticians agreeing the number is between 1,281 and 1,283. FIFA put his overall total at more than 1,200 - over 1,000 of which came for his first club, Santos. Most of the others came for the New York Cosmos and Brazil.
Roberto Baggio, Italy vs. Possibly the most costly penalty miss in world football history. Roberto Baggio needed to convert this penalty to keep Italy alive against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup final shootout. He missed.
Pele, the legendary Brazilian footballer, is considered the football god of all time.
Mbappe tops the league scoring charts with 13 goals and Messi is tied with PSG teammate Neymar for the most assists (10). Mbappe is co-top scorer in the Champions League with seven goals, while Messi again heads the assists chart with four.
Pele is the clear winner in all criteria. His three-time World Cup-winning feat, from four World Cup appearances, is unlikely to be matched. Pele scored a Guinness World Record 1279 goals in 1363 games and also collected the following personal records along the way: Youngest winner of a World Cup.
"There's no doubt" - Recalling Pele's choice between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Pele was once given the onerous task of choosing between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Brazilian great picked Argentina captain Messi.