The Ballon d'Or award started in 1956, and Stanley Matthews became the first player to win the award. It was open to the players who were from Europe only. Thus, soccer players from other continents were ineligible for the award, including the soccer greats Maradona and
Diego Armando Maradona received the Golden Ballon d'Or, which also honoured players from outside of Europe, in 1995.
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.
Pele was a three-time World Cup winner but never played European football nor won trophies like the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or which many see as the ultimate goal.
It was first awarded in 1956. The most recent winner was Real Madrid's Karim Benzemais in 2022.
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.
Despite multiple run ins throughout time, Maradona and Pele had a good relationship in which they showed mutual respect.
Pele, the legendary Brazilian footballer, is considered the football god of all time. No player has won more world cups (3) than him.
Diego Maradona is a GOAT of soccer credited with scoring the best Goal of the Century at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, leading Argentina to victory.
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.
Messi has NOT overtaken Maradona as Argentina's greatest player after World Cup win, insists Zanetti. Javier Zanetti has insisted that Lionel Messi has not overtaken Diego Maradona in Argentina's hall of fame after lifting the 2022 World Cup.
Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups, including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he captained Argentina and led them to victory over West Germany in the final, and won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
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.
Beckham did finish runner-up in the race for the Ballon d'Or in 1999, but unbelievably the former Manchester United and Real Madrid man never got closer than that to the coveted prize despite receiving ten nominations during his career – a record for English players.
Winner — Pele
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. Youngest scorer in World Cup — age of 17! Youngest scorer of a hat-trick in a World Cup.
Greatest of All Time is a term used to describe something or someone who is considered the best in a certain category and frequently used in popular lists of superlatives. It is typically abbreviated as G.O.A.T.
Wait a minute. To all those who're here barking maradona claims Messi over Ronaldo as "Best" player, well for all of u, maradona himself claimed Ronaldo is better than Messi.
I think Pele was more successful in the International circuit. He scored a multitude of goals and won the World Cup three times. Maradona, on the other hand, had a better club career, which saw him play at Barcelona and Napoli. Pele was more confined to Brazil and the Brazilian League.
Pele's scoring record is much better than that of the Argentine star in the international arena. He scored many goals for the Brazilian team to contribute to their rise to fame. The best Brazilian footballer has conceded a total of 77 times. Maradona only scored 34 goals for his national team.
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.
There are other claims to the record; the Guinness World Records credits Pelé as the scorer of the "most career goals", with 1,279, and Brazilian striker Romário celebrated scoring what he claimed was his 1,000th goal in 2007 but later admitted his tally included friendly matches; they are reported to have scored 767 ...
Liberia's George Weah, the only African recipient, became the first non-European to win the award in 1995, the year that rules of eligibility were changed. Ronaldo of Brazil became the first South American winner two years later.