The oft-quoted World Soccer poll of the 100 greatest players of the (last) century had Pele, Maradona and Cruyff at its apex. Beckenbauer, Platini, di Stefano, Puskas, Best, van Basten and Eusebio rounded up the Top 10.
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.
Pele, the legendary Brazilian footballer, is considered the football god of all time. No player has won more world cups (3) than him.
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.
Maradona – 34
He scored many goals for the Brazilian team to contribute to their rise to fame. 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.
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.
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.
Jan 17 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi has surpassed Diego Maradona as the greatest player of all time, Argentina's World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni has 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 career goals
His best year was 1959 with 126, and the Milesimo (1000th goal) came from a penalty for his club Santos at the Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, on 19 November 1969 when playing his 909th first-class match. He later added two more goals in special appearances,” the Guinness World Record site notes.
Pele won the World Cup three times, in 1958, 1962 and 1970, a football milestone no other player has yet achieved. In 2000, Fifa named Pele as the player of the century along with Argentina's Diego Maradona, who died in 2020 at 60.
Despite multiple run ins throughout time, Maradona and Pele had a good relationship in which they showed mutual respect.
In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.
Manchester United legend Cantona said Maradona's ability to guide his own country to glory in the World Cup on his own is what makes him standout as a cut above the rest. “Some say Pele was the greatest player of all time, but not me. Maradona will always be the greatest," the Frenchman said.
Eric Cantona. Known as the greatest player of his generation, Eric Cantona is credited for revitalizing Manchester United in the 1990s. He wore the iconic number 7 jersey at Old Trafford and elevated the legacy of this number to new heights.
Ryan Giggs tops the list of the most famous number 11 football players. The footballing world has seen some of the best players who wore the number 11 jersey, such as Rivald, Salah, Bale, and Neymar.
Pele. The late Brazilian footballer Pele died in December 2022 but is remembered as the best number 10 in football of all time, thanks to his exemplary all-round skills on the pitch. In addition, Edson is the only player who won three World Cups.
Most Best FIFA Men's Player awards
Messi lays claim to both records, having won the Ballon d'Or seven times and the Best FIFA Men's Player award (formerly the FIFA World Player of the Year) six times. Ronaldo has won each award five times.
Lionel Messi beats Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema to Best FIFA Men's Player award. Lionel Messi was named Best FIFA Men's Player at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, beating Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema.
Brazil. On November 19, 1969, when a broadcast failure deprived the world of the second moon landing of the Apollo 12 Mission, the Brazilians missed nothing of an even more historic moment: Pelé's thousandth goal. Anf for Brazil and its "king," this date could not have been better chosen to achieve such a feat.
According to Pelé, he was the all-time leading scorer in the history of the sport with 1,283 goals in 1,366 matches.
Pele scored a record 1281 goals in 1363 games (including 'non-official' games). It's important to consider these games because of the number of high-quality 'friendlies' Santos played around the world in that era.