Who are your 3 GOATs?

[11101]

Only counting players I actually saw play.

1. Maradona
2. Luis Ronaldo
3. Messi

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Pele
Messi
Maradona

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Salah
Mane
Van Dijk

Football restarted in 2018, and domestic title importance is irrelevant.

 

[Gio]

Maradona
Messi
Pele

 

[Rozay]

Maradona did not singlehandedly win a WC. Wish this myth would go away!

He literally did that. Or maybe he used two hands, need to run it back.

 

[Handré1990]

1. Messi
2. Ronaldo
3. Ronaldo9

Just going by those I’ve seen.

 

[giorno]

He literally did that. Or maybe he used two hands, need to run it back.

God only needed one hand and one foot

 

[Casanova85]

I actually saw

Messi (late 00s and beyond)
Ronaldo N. (90s)
C.Ronaldo (late 00s and beyond)
+bonus, Ronaldinho (00s)

Of all time
Pelé
Cruyff
Messi
+bonus, Beckenbauer.

 

[Schneckerl]

Pele
Messi
Not sure. Maradona/Di Stefano/CRonaldo/Cruyff

Pelé is one of the very few players who had basically matched the incredible longevity of Messi & Ronaldo and performed at an unimaginable level for more than a decade. He’s also was equally impressive and successful in both club and international football (although he was lucky to be born in Brazil).

Messi is probably the greatest ever club footballer, but you can’t overlook his relatively average international career. Average by the GOAT standards, of course, any generational talent would be quite happy with this.

Nice post. This would be my explanation as well.

 

[GhastlyHun]

Gerd Müller needs more love.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Kuyt
Barton
Buttner

 

[Ed9]

Best
CR
Messi

 

[Suedesi]

Maradona
Zico
Messi

 

[RedCoffee]

1. Cantona
2. Cantona
3. Cantona

 

[freeurmind]

1. Zidane
2. Scholes
3. Messi

 

[bosnian_red]

1. Messi
2. Pele
3. Maradona
4. Ronaldo
5. Cruyff

Have to do 5 and not just 3.

 

[Denis79]

Maradona is the best I've seen play and not just based on Youtube.

 

[Bennz McCarthey17]

1. Cristiano
2. R9
3. Ronaldinho

 

[BlackShark_80]

1. Pele
2. Maradona
3. Messi

 

[Sky1981]

Ronaldo
Messi
Pele/maradonna

 

[Sky1981]

He had a team that wouldn't have got out the group stage without him. I mean, everybody did their job well enough and they were a team. But then again, when your job is "defend and pass it to Diego", it makes everything easier

Laudrup brothers getting denmark the european cup worth a mention

 

[Red Dreams]

1. Best
2. Maradona
3. Pele

 

[marukomu]

May be being pedantic here but surely there can only be one GOAT?

That is the most unique post ever.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Means little given I haven't seen enough but based on what I've seen and read

1. Messi
2. Maradona
3. Pele

From the ones I've watched

1. Messi
2. C. Ronaldo
3. Zidane

 

[Invictus]

Pelé has to be there, his selection is non-negotiable, IMO.

One of the spots goes to Beckenbauer for me, these lists are often stacked too heavily in favor of forwards.

• Had a prodigious start to his career, reaching the 1966 World Cup final before he turned 21 and finishing as the joint 3rd scorer — the fact that a youngster like him and peak Charlton (who was a titan of European football at the time) cancelled each other out in midfield speaks volumes.
• Remarkable consistency: world class from the mid '60s to the mid '70s, earning Ballon D'Or nominations throughout the period, etc.
• To add to the previous point, he was brilliant in every World Cup participation...1966 obviously, 1970 where he played on vs. Italy in the semis despite dislocating his shoulder, and 1974 where he helped bring the overconfident Dutch juggernaut of Cruyff and Michels to its knees. Also elected to the European Championship team of the tournament in both finals participations.
• Exceptional leader: one of the best in the history of the game, a trait that is lacking in someone like Messi (this isn't to target and denigrate him, just the first name that came to mind).
• Redefined how defenders play in a lot of ways — almost peerless in that respect because he will always be THE Libero, irrespective of who played (or will play) since his retirement.
• Helped establish Bayern Munich as a genuine force on the European stage. They were relative minnows before his emergence, all things considered: German champions only once (whereas Nürnberg, Schalke, Kaiserslautern, Berliner FC, Dortmund had won multiple championships before the Bundesliga consolidation) and hadn't made any inroads in major continental competitions. His impact was felt as early as 1967 when they won the European Cup Winners' Cup vs. Rangers. Not many cemented an elite club (that is still elite) in the way he did, apart from probably Di Stéfano with Madrid and a couple others.
• Winner in every format: World Cup in '74, European Championship in '72 when he put on one of great shows in tournament history with Netzer, 3 straight European Cups from '74 to '76, 4 Bundesliga titles, etc. Again, something not every GOAT can match.
• Pleasing to watch and a purist's dream, which counts for something surely. Also, he is the greatest reader of space and organizer in the defensive third, IMO — maybe not the greatest tackler or the most physical, but unmatched in the way he interpreted and reacted to things — like how Cruyff saw space in the final third.
• Distinguished older player — in a juxtaposition with the first bullet point. Won his second Ballon D'Or at age 31.

There are almost no flaws in his resumé when you consider his overall skill set, breathtaking consistency and accomplishments at an individual or collective level, the only thing(s) holding him back from being universally acknowledged as Top 3 player is that Bayern didn't totally dominate Bundesliga against Vogts/Heynckes/Netzer's Mönchengladbach and his position isn't valued as much, even though he was a difference-maker of the highest caliber and stood a tier above contemporaries with a similar function.

Can't choose between Maradona and Messi for the last spot, coin-flip decision because they are both fully deserving.

 

[Eric7C]

Messi
Ronaldo
John O'Shea (for that winner at Anfield)

 

[SteveW]

Hipsters leaving Messi out

 

[nutmegrush]

Dinho
R9
Messi

 

[adexkola]

Pele
Maradona
Beckenbauer

Honorable mention to:
Messi
Cryuff
Di Stefano

 

[giorno]

Laudrup brothers getting denmark the european cup worth a mention

Hardly, considering one of them was on holidays

 

[Dorian Gray]

Can we have a poll on this or some way to assign points and collate results?

Anyway, I will stick to players after 90s. Since I have watched only them extensively.

1. R9
2. Messi
3. CR7

 

[Joga Bonito]

Maradona
Pele
Messi

 

[Hawks2008]

During the time I have been alive and watching football I'll say Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta.

 

[Ish]

3 that I have seen play:

Messi
C Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luiz

 

[Volumiza]

Hipsters leaving Messi out

I thought the same

 

[pregra]

1. Maradona
2. Messi
3. Marco van Basten

 

[Swearing Budgie]

1. Sindelar
2. Puskas
3. Obertan

 

[troylocker]

R9
Messi
Maradona

 

[OverratedOpinion]

It depends how you judge it. Sugar Ray Robinson by all accounts was the best boxer of all time but Ali will end up being placed at the top of most people's lists due to being so influential and charismatic.

If we are talking purely about the best three players of all time, who would be most likely to help a team win then Ronaldo, Messi and either Maradona or Ronaldo Luiz would be my top 3. Athletes do improve over time and I personally think that if you took Ronaldo from 2013 and put him in a team with Pele then Ronaldo would be the best player in that team by a significant margin. Whether that would change if Pele had the same nutrition, training and tactical evolution is impossible to answer.

 

[Gavinb33]

Messi
Iniesta
Ronaldo

Out of the 3 I think Iniesta is the player I enjoy watching most, also note I only have ranked players I have watched a lot of, Maradona would likely be in there but highlights and YouTube clips aside and one coked out of his mind world cup is all I have really seen