Greatest player(s) of all time

[Maradona37]

Was thinking about the two dutch men, but wasn't sure they fit.

Would probably be one of those two or seedorf.

I should just put number 5 insert Dutchman here, but @Horatio might add de jong 😂.

Yeah lots of these players fit into different styles of playing, such is their genius.

Pirlo as a deep-lying playmaker maybe.

You could consider Beckenbauer as he was a libero and controlled games from deeper. But likely goes more in defenders.

Get Jammy back (the other Jam) and we can have De Jong on the same tier as Messi and Maradona in GOAT debate.

 

[MDub94]

Great list and good knowledge for a top 20. Surprised there's no Garrincha though. George Best could maybe get in based on talent, if not longevity and achievement.

Other possible candidates off the top of my head: Rivelino, Gerson, Didi, Socrates, Passarella, Henry (despite what I said elsewhere), Rivaldo, Matthaus, Baresi, Moore, Bobby Charlton, Scirea, Gullit, Rijkaard and many more.

Yeah my father (a 61 year old german) used to tell me about Garrincha all the time. Whenever he mentioned Pelé, he would rave about Garrincha and his crooked legs too. He is currently at top 21 to 25. I find it very hard to rate him outside his contribution to the 58 and 62 World Cups for Brazil. I've read that many Brazilians hold him in the same or at least nearly the same esteem as "O Rei" Pelé too (just like my father does). And that speaks volumes. I would guess that during Garrinchas prime he was indeed almost as good as Pelé, albeit more of a pure creative dribbler on the wing (well, he is deemed to be one of the best dribblers of all time) than the total package footballer that Pelé was.

This prompts questions about the longevity of his prime and how he was actually performing week in and week out for Botafogo. If I would shift the focus of my top list to pure talent and peak performance, the likes of George Best and Garrincha and a tier below Roberto Baggio would surely be higher.

I would love to hear about Garrincha if you know more or have any interesting sources.

 

[Maradona37]

Yeah my father (a 61 year old german) used to tell me about Garrincha all the time. Whenever he mentioned Pelé, he would rave about Garrincha and his crooked legs too. He is currently at top 21 to 25. I find it very hard to rate him outside his contribution to the 58 and 62 World Cups for Brazil. I've read that many Brazilians hold him in the same or at least nearly the same esteem as "O Rei" Pelé too (just like my father does). And that speaks volumes. I would guess that during Garrinchas prime he was indeed almost as good as Pelé, albeit more of a pure creative dribbler on the wing (well, he is deemed to be one of the best dribblers of all time) than the total package footballer that Pelé was.

This prompts questions about the longevity of his prime and how he was actually performing week in and week out for Botafogo. If I would shift the focus of my top list to pure talent and peak performance, the likes of George Best and Garrincha and a tier below Roberto Baggio would surely be higher.

I would love to hear about Garrincha if you know more or have any interesting sources.

Yeah he likely wasn't as good as Pele - that's probably romanticism. But he probably was better to watch in many ways.

Yeah Best and Garrincha wouldmove higher if it comes to pure talent, and less about longevity etc. I tend to think longevity is overrated and a very modern thing anyway - a lot of players play longer now because of better medicine and science so it isn't a fair fight with past players. Not to mention most players have declined anyway. Ronaldo hasn't been the same player since 33 really, Modric has been good but clearly worse since about 2019, Lewa isn't the same player he was pre-lockdown etc. Even Messi hasn't been the same post World Cup, as well as he is doing.

I think a lot of modern players are playing longer because they can, rather than asking if they should.

Here's a good legends archive thing on Garrincha. It's a good read and matches up with stuff I have read about him. Otherwise, just google his name and plenty of sites will pop up I'd imagine.

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1q6fuh

 

[Andresito]

ESPN have ranked the top 25 players from the 21st century.

1. Lionel Messi 🇦🇷
2. Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹
3. Thierry Henry 🇫🇷
4. Zinedine Zidane 🇫🇷
5. Luka Modric 🇭🇷
6. Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷
7. Andres Iniesta 🇪🇸
8. Xavi 🇪🇸
9. Ronaldo Nazario 🇧🇷
10. Ronaldinho 🇧🇷
11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic 🇸🇪
12. Kevin de Bruyne 🇧🇪
13. Toni Kroos 🇩🇪
14. Sergio Ramos 🇪🇸
15. Carles Puyol 🇪🇸
16. Karim Benzema 🇫🇷
17. Sergio Busquets 🇪🇸
18. Robert Lewandowski 🇵🇱
19. Kaka 🇧🇷
20. Neymar Jr 🇧🇷
21. Andrea Pirlo 🇮🇹
22. Wayne Rooney 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
23. Patrick Vieira 🇫🇷
24. Luis Suárez 🇺🇾
25. Gianluigi Buffon 🇮🇹

 

[iniestaGOAT]

What an original thread!
proud of you

 

[jamrock]

God awful list

 

[MontenegrinCuler]

ESPN have ranked the top 25 players from the 21st century.

1. Lionel Messi 🇦🇷
2. Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹
3. Thierry Henry 🇫🇷
4. Zinedine Zidane 🇫🇷
5. Luka Modric 🇭🇷
6. Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷
7. Andres Iniesta 🇪🇸
8. Xavi 🇪🇸
9. Ronaldo Nazario 🇧🇷
10. Ronaldinho 🇧🇷
11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic 🇸🇪
12. Kevin de Bruyne 🇧🇪
13. Toni Kroos 🇩🇪
14. Sergio Ramos 🇪🇸
15. Carles Puyol 🇪🇸
16. Karim Benzema 🇫🇷
17. Sergio Busquets 🇪🇸
18. Robert Lewandowski 🇵🇱
19. Kaka 🇧🇷
20. Neymar Jr 🇧🇷
21. Andrea Pirlo 🇮🇹
22. Wayne Rooney 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
23. Patrick Vieira 🇫🇷
24. Luis Suárez 🇺🇾
25. Gianluigi Buffon 🇮🇹

Wtf

 

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

Obviously, the list is crap, think i dont need to explain much why 👎

 

[soul24rage]

Only thing that I agree with the list is the placement of #1 and #2

 

[MagIX]

Only thing that I agree with the list is the placement of #1.

 

[jamrock]

That list is basically if you did well in the WC or EPL.

Henry the 3rd best player of the 21st century.

Samuel eto'o nowhere to be seen on the list.

Delete that trash

 

[Messigician]

ESPN have ranked the top 25 players from the 21st century.

1. Lionel Messi 🇦🇷
2. Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹
3. Thierry Henry 🇫🇷
4. Zinedine Zidane 🇫🇷
5. Luka Modric 🇭🇷
6. Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷
7. Andres Iniesta 🇪🇸
8. Xavi 🇪🇸
9. Ronaldo Nazario 🇧🇷
10. Ronaldinho 🇧🇷
11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic 🇸🇪
12. Kevin de Bruyne 🇧🇪
13. Toni Kroos 🇩🇪
14. Sergio Ramos 🇪🇸
15. Carles Puyol 🇪🇸
16. Karim Benzema 🇫🇷
17. Sergio Busquets 🇪🇸
18. Robert Lewandowski 🇵🇱
19. Kaka 🇧🇷
20. Neymar Jr 🇧🇷
21. Andrea Pirlo 🇮🇹
22. Wayne Rooney 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
23. Patrick Vieira 🇫🇷
24. Luis Suárez 🇺🇾
25. Gianluigi Buffon 🇮🇹

@Maradona37 Henry only third

 

[Messigician]

Henry the 3rd best player of the 21st century.

Stop it

There’s other ways to critique the list rather than hate on titanium henry