Football has witnessed several great
players over the 100 plus years of
existence. Yet, some are so good that they
define new standards of greatness. There
have been only a handful of such great
footballers. Here are the top five.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi might defy the idea of a
conventional footballer playing in Europe.
Growth deficiency as a child meant that the
forward only stands at 5 ft 7 in. Yet, he has
been able to convert this disadvantage into his
biggest strength. His low centre of gravity
coupled with blistering pace and skill means
that it takes more than a couple of players in
order to stop Messi at his brilliant best. An
incredible 518 goals in 615 career appearances
speaks volumes about the quality of the
player.
Some may feel that Messi has not been tested
enough in various leagues, but he remains as
one of the top scorers in the Champions
League. An incredible array of five Ballon d’Or
awards coupled with numerous other
individual accolades are aspects that majority
of the players can only dream about. Perhaps,
the only criticism of Messi may be the lack of
international titles.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has gone from being
regarded as one of the best Portuguese
footballers into the best in the world over the
last five years. His incredible marketability and
earning potential has not taken away his focus
on the game. Ronaldo’s stupendous search for
perfection has seen him score almost a goal
per game over a career spanning more than a
decade. In many ways, he could be the
complete footballer since football betting
advice expects him to score goals in almost
every game. Unsurprisingly, more football
advice at Oddsdigger tend to back Ronaldo
for the Ballon d’Or awards.
Few players managed to achieve great success
with club and national team, while also
managing to excel when it comes to personal
statistics. Yet, Ronaldo has achieved this Holy
Grail with years of hard work and dedication.
His record of four Ballon d’Or awards highlight
his individual performances, while he has also
managed to lift the European Championship
with the Portuguese national team.
Pele’
Pele is widely regarded as one of the icons of
the game. His achievements at club level may
not be huge, as he largely spent the majority
of his club career in Brazil with Santos.
However, he gained his reputation as one of
the greatest players in the world has ever seen
by transforming Brazil into a global force. Pele
represented Brazil between 1957 and 1971.
He came up with an incredible 77 goals in 92
appearances, while managing to win the World
Cup honour an incredible three times.
He has famously scored 1000 goals in his
career, although no official record exists in
order to verify the authenticity of this regard.
Yet, the word ‘beautiful game’ was widely
coined because of Pele. Since retiring, he has
been working as the global ambassador for the
game. Pele also has the nickname of being the
King of Football.
Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona came to the fore after the era
of Pele and quickly established himself as one
of the greatest players of all time. The small
physical frame of the Argentine did not prove
to be a hindrance, as he managed to quickly
establish himself as an untouchable entity on
the field.
Over the years, Maradona has gone on to
create some of the greatest goals in the
history of the game while there have also
been some infamous ones along the way.
Unlike Pele, Maradona managed to establish
himself in European football, although it was
likely due to the globalisation of the game.
Maradona is known for his excellent dribbling
skills, speed, vision, and ball control. A veteran
of four World Cups, he managed to win the
1986 World Cup for Argentina in style. He has
been crowned with various individual honours
including a place in the FIFA 100 list.
Ronaldinho
Few modern players have managed to put a
smile on the face of football fans like
Ronaldinho. The Brazilian did not realise his
full potential in terms of trophies and
honours, as he managed to produce his best
only for a couple of years. Yet, he transformed
the way people thought about great
footballers.
Even in just a handful of years, Ronaldinho
managed to amass trophies like the
Champions League and FIFA World Cup to
display his greatness.
Yet, one of the biggest examples of
Ronaldinho’s legendary quality was seen at the
Santiago Bernabeu when Real Madrid fans
stood up to applaud a Barcelona player. Few
players would be able to receive such a
recognition.
The title of being the greatest footballer is a
subjective one. Yet, these names have
managed to carve a special place for
themselves in the history of the sport with
their incredible quality.
Credits : League Lane
