Pelé

[Temptation]

General Tiers

Messi, Maradona, Pele (by reputation among players/managers and some videos)

DiStefano (just by reputation among players and managers), Cruyff, Beckenbauer, CR7, Puskas

Maldini, R9 (only because of injuries), ZZ, Eusebio, Romario, MVB, G. Muller, Baresi, maybe Xavi

I think Maradona had the highest peak ever seen but his overall career still isn't as good as Pele and Messi who had insane peaks along with great longevity.


Always wonder why people never talk about that. I'm saying this as a huge admirer of the rockstar!

 

[Maradona37]

I think Maradona had the highest peak ever seen but his overall career still isn't as good as Pele and Messi who had insane peaks along with great longevity.


Always wonder why people never talk about that. I'm saying this as a huge admirer of the rockstar!

It just depends on your own personal criteria. Some prize longevity, others prefer a better prime. I prefer a player who is best at his prime to a player who is less good over longer. Maradona can be argued to have a better peak than Messi and Pele, but Messi and Pele are close enough with him in peak to still be better coupled with their longevity. C Ronaldo has longevity, but his peak was clearly inferior to those three (and others), plus since 2018 he's not been that great anyway in truth. So his longevity doesn't count for a lot for a guy like me who values peak the most.

 

[Windhook]

It gets silly though, like when I read some guy saying Pele wouldn't get on Norwich's bench if he played now - Prime Pele would still be a top two player in the world with prime Messi I think if trained to modern standards.

Did I say that? I don't think so.

Read again my comment, because I don't know where you get the impression I'm dissing Pele in that. I admire Pele. But this admiration is not a cult of personality. My advice is to go read page 3 of this thread to get the context, that a certain member claimed Pele invented all the modern moves in football.

 

[Maradona37]

Did I say that? I don't think so.

Read again my comment, because I don't know where you get the impression I'm dissing Pele in that. I admire Pele. But this admiration is not a cult of personality. My advice is to go read page 3 of this thread to get the context, that a certain member claimed Pele invented all the modern moves in football.

Sorry, maybe some confusion. I didn't mean you - I am referring to a guy who said that elsewhere ages ago. I only quoted you as yours was the first post I read mentioning the differences between eras.

My apologies.

As for the bold, not sure who said that but it's not true at all, lol. He was a pioneer though and highly influential.

 

[Windhook]

As for the bold, not sure who said that but it's not true at all, lol. He was a pioneer though and highly influential.

As I said previously, the first supericon of football in history.

 

[Maradona37]

As I said previously, the first supericon of football in history.

Yep. Arthur Freidenreich was a precursor, and the first black superstar, but he never reached close to the heights Pele did and is unfortunately mostly lost in the annals of history.