Is Messi Now Officially the Greatest Footballer in History?

Is Messi the greatest player in football history?

  • Yes

  • No

Results are only viewable after voting.
depps said:
Watched the official documentary of the 86 world cup this morning (brilliant viewing, pure 80s aesthetic, Michael Kane narrating) and for me Maradona is still the pinnacle


(See the post above saying Maradon doesn’t create like Messi…
Watch the 86 World Cup. He pretty much made every Argentinian goal he didn’t score himself)
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Maradona was a great player, but not on the level of Messi.
Why do I say this?
Well Messi has performed CONSISTENTLY over a much longer period.
He hasn't resorted to cheating either as far as I know.
Won more too.
 
ilrm said:
Prior to the World Cup I felt that Messi was the better player (same scoring rate as CR7 but twice the number of assists) but Ronaldo had the better career (CL, top-scorer & POTY in multiple leagues).
Now I feel that Messi has surpassed Ronaldo even career-wise as the WC is the ultimate football trophy every kid dreams of winning, and he won it while also winning the Golden Ball.

In terms of overall greatness:
Tier 1: Pele, Messi
Tier 2: Maradona
Tier 3: CR7, Di Stefano, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Neuer, Eusebio
Tier 4: Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo Nazario, Maldini, Platini, Xavi, Buffon, Gerd Muller, Matthaus, Rijkaard, etc.
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Then there was Jairzinho and (spits) Best urrgh!
 
Phil1 said:
Must admit, thought this would be one thread where it’d be hard to shoehorn a mention of Grealish in so Kudos for that! Haha!
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Is it obvious I was bored at work?!

Would it be fair to suggest Maradona is a cult hero because of his personality and off-field issues and actually was no better than Gazza?
 
I'm 31 and therefore didn't get the pleasure of watching the likes of Maradona, Pele, Cruyff etc at their best so I can't really comment on those comparisons.

But Messi is by far the best player of my lifetime. He's been the best since he made his debut and he'll be the best until he retires. No doubt his body will carry on making him less effective over full matches but he really does just operate on another level to anyone else.
 
Tugay One Cup said:
I'm 31 and therefore didn't get the pleasure of watching the likes of Maradona, Pele, Cruyff etc at their best so I can't really comment on those comparisons.

But Messi is by far the best player of my lifetime. He's been the best since he made his debut and he'll be the best until he retires. No doubt his body will carry on making him less effective over full matches but he really does just operate on another level to anyone else.
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IMHO he's the best of the era you can remember, and can rightly take his place in the top 3 of himself, real Ronaldo and of course Johan Cruyff.
 
He's one of the best in the modern era, but there have been so many great players which have also been among the best in their eras.

Off the top of my head, Lev Yashin, Bobby Moore, Eusabio, Johan Cruyff, Gerd Muller, Pele, to name a few I've seen in my lifetime, and others are up there as well, but the one for me, without question, is George Best.

It's probably a controversial name on here because of who he played for, but I stand by it and I've been saying it for years. If you think Messi or Ronaldo can jink past players, it's nothing compared to what he could do, and he had everything else as well. He could tackle, head the ball, read the game.

Yes, I've seen plenty of great players over the years, but he tops the lot and it's a shame his name isn't mentioned more often.
 
NPBlue said:
He's one of the best in the modern era, but there have been so many great players which have also been among the best in their eras.

Off the top of my head, Lev Yashin, Bobby Moore, Eusabio, Johan Cruyff, Gerd Muller, Pele, to name a few I've seen in my lifetime, and others are up there as well, but the one for me, without question, is George Best.

It's probably a controversial name on here because of who he played for, but I stand by it and I've been saying it for years. If you think Messi or Ronaldo can jink past players, it's nothing compared to what he could do, and he had everything else as well. He could tackle, head the ball, read the game.

Yes, I've seen plenty of great players over the years, but he tops the lot and it's a shame his name isn't mentioned more often.
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I get that you're a fan but come on fella, he scored 200 goals compared to Messi's 700.
 
Messi winning the WC makes little difference for me. Pleased for him, but he was either the best ever or not depending on the individual. @NPBlue makes a case for George Best, as many others would, he didn't appear in a World Cup neither did Alfredo de Stefano. Now, would Haaland have had a better World Cup if he got Norway to the semis? Or even any of the Moroccan players for doing actually doing it?
 
In my life time yes.
However I think he will be a bench mark, whereas another player in the remaining time most of us hopefully have left will be even better.
 
NPBlue said:
He's one of the best in the modern era, but there have been so many great players which have also been among the best in their eras.

Off the top of my head, Lev Yashin, Bobby Moore, Eusabio, Johan Cruyff, Gerd Muller, Pele, to name a few I've seen in my lifetime, and others are up there as well, but the one for me, without question, is George Best.

It's probably a controversial name on here because of who he played for, but I stand by it and I've been saying it for years. If you think Messi or Ronaldo can jink past players, it's nothing compared to what he could do, and he had everything else as well. He could tackle, head the ball, read the game.

Yes, I've seen plenty of great players over the years, but he tops the lot and it's a shame his name isn't mentioned more often.
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That’s almost as bad as a news article I read the other day where it lumped Cantona into the bracket of Maradona, Cruyff and Pele.
Best was a really good player no doubt, but not on a level anywhere near Maradona, Pele, Cruyff and Messi for me, wouldn’t even have him on a similar level to Platini, Zidane, Ronaldinho.

Maradona/Messi, literally nothing to choose between, for me it simply comes down to ‘artistic impression’ for want of a better phrase.
 
No, he is THE greatest of his generation

You cant really compare because different era's have different elements during the time they played

Messi has had the added benefit of true global exposure. Imagine Maradona, Pele, Ronaldo etc playing with instagram, FB...they would have lit the world up even more

Messi now sits at the top table with them as the greatest players to ever play the game and rightly so
 
NPBlue said:
He's one of the best in the modern era, but there have been so many great players which have also been among the best in their eras.

Off the top of my head, Lev Yashin, Bobby Moore, Eusabio, Johan Cruyff, Gerd Muller, Pele, to name a few I've seen in my lifetime, and others are up there as well, but the one for me, without question, is George Best.

It's probably a controversial name on here because of who he played for, but I stand by it and I've been saying it for years. If you think Messi or Ronaldo can jink past players, it's nothing compared to what he could do, and he had everything else as well. He could tackle, head the ball, read the game.

Yes, I've seen plenty of great players over the years, but he tops the lot and it's a shame his name isn't mentioned more often.
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Charlton claimed never to have received a pass from Best. Exaggeration maybe, but Best could be quite selfish.
 
Messi is arguably the best sports person in history. A gigantic pool of people have played football at various levels from being a kid in the park, to amateur, to pro and almost completely world wide. You can’t say that about most other sports. How many people have driven an F1 car, been in an amateur boxing match, or been in a full on basket ball game? Barely anyone at all compared to how many people have experienced football. To be the best at the most popular and played sport ever is something unmatched.
 
Messi is the only player I’ve watched running rings round City & I’ve sat there in awe rather than hating him.

It’s a yes from me.
 
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