Top 10 greatest players of all time

[HTG]

1. Cruijff
2. Van Basten
3. Robben
4. Van Hanegem
5. Gullit
6. Rijkaard
7. Van Persie
8. Moulijn
9. Vennegoor of Hesselink
10. Mats Wieffer

I only listed players from the country that invented proper football. If you disagree you should probably leave the internet. Not into discussion so will not respond.

I miss Robben. This beautiful bald man.

 

[harms]

1. Cruijff
2. Van Basten
3. Robben
4. Van Hanegem
5. Gullit
6. Rijkaard
7. Van Persie
8. Moulijn
9. Vennegoor of Hesselink
10. Mats Wieffer

I only listed players from the country that invented proper football. If you disagree you should probably leave the internet. Not into discussion so will not respond.

No Rensenbrink?

 

[KirkDuyt]

No Rensenbrink?

Maybe if he had actually scored in 1978 instead of hitting the post.

 

[Superden]

No1 Pele. His record combining club and international football is unmatched.
No2 George Best. Best actual footballer ever.
No3 Diego Maradona - put in Messi like performances whilst having the crap kicked out of him on the pitch and snorting loads of crap off it.

 

[Gehrman]

1. Messi
2. Pelé
3. Maradona
4. Cryuff
5. C. Ronaldo
6. Di Stefano
7. Beckenbaur
8. Puskas
9. George Best
10. Ronaldo Nazario.

 

[JogaBonitoRooney]

If you're being pedantic (nothing wrong with that), do it properly. Pelé played a full game against Mexico (producing a stupendously good performance that included a goal after dribbling past 4 opponents) and started against Czechoslovakia, only to be substituted after getting an injury.

thanks i didnt realise but still people saying 3 WCs for but not noting he didnt play most of one should be called out. pele is great regardless.

 

[Acrobat7]

I think 5 days ago Beckenbauer would habe been lower on a lot of lists.

 

[AltiUn]

If you have Lionel Messi at number one, it's a good indication it's time to leave the internet.

Best for me is Pele. WC at seventeen, in his first, not fifth, attempt. Maradona second though he'd have likely been first if his career did not die out ignominiously. Cruyff/Beckenbauer afterward as both also changed how football is played. Never seen Puskas or di Stefano save for brief highlights.

Don't get me wrong on Messi, he's an absolute legend of the game, but not anywhere near the top.

Please do not argue with me on the basis 'Pele never played in Europe'. It's just silly.

Pele in Europe is essentially Antony

 

[AltiUn]

I think 5 days ago Beckenbauer would habe been lower on a lot of lists.

I’m usually quite a cynic but I think Beckenbauer places high regardless

 

[AltiUn]

No1 Pele. His record combining club and international football is unmatched.
No2 George Best. Best actual footballer ever.
No3 Diego Maradona - put in Messi like performances whilst having the crap kicked out of him on the pitch and snorting loads of crap off it.

It’s unmatched because half of it is made up

 

[Redplane]

Maybe if he had actually scored in 1978 instead of hitting the post.

Daaaaamn. Man is probably responsible for an entire generation of Dutchies with a chip on their shoulder. Justified to a degree probably mind you.

 

[Redplane]

How high do you already regard Mbappé, considering your first argument? How did Cruyff and Beckenbauer influence football world more than Messi? I mean, 70s Netherlands and Ajax teams were very influential for sure, as was later 00s and early 10s Barcelona, and Beckenbauer is certainly a unique piece with his all-roundness, but can you tell me the tactical changes that those two players solely promoted in the game to put them above Messi, who was more a difference maker technically(think it's fair to say this, right?)?

Are you seriously suggesting Cruyff and Beckenbauer having less impact on footie as a whole than Messi? And I'm not talking about it in terms of increasing popularity of the sport. I'm talking contributions to the sport on and off the pitch that go beyond the commercial appeal.

 

[Devil81]

I'm basing my list on players that were genius during a period they could be kicked and tackled by absolute animals. How would Messi deal with being tackled by a Roy Keane or Paul Ince. He doesn't face that level of player tackling him so he's got away with stuff others would never have got away with.

1. Maradona
2. Pele
3. Zidane
4. Best
5. Messi
6. Ronaldo (Brazil)
7. C Ronaldo
8. Ronaldinho
9. Cruyff
10. Batistuta

 

[FattyFooty]

Continuing with the obnoxiousness: seeing C Ronaldo above players like Di Stefano, Cruyff, Platini, Zico, etc makes my eyes bleed.

Cool.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Daaaaamn. Man is probably responsible for an entire generation of Dutchies with a chip on their shoulder. Justified to a degree probably mind you.

Not really mine honestly, I was -5 in 1978

 

[Salt Bailly]

1. Messi
2. C. Ronaldo
3. Maradona
4. Pelé
5. Zidane
6. Best
7. Charlton
8. Ronaldo
9. Giggs
10. Ronaldinho

 

[Rojofiam]

I'm basing my list on players that were genius during a period they could be kicked and tackled by absolute animals. How would Messi deal with being tackled by a Roy Keane or Paul Ince. He doesn't face that level of player tackling him so he's got away with stuff others would never have got away with.

1. Maradona
2. Pele
3. Zidane
4. Best
5. Messi
6. Ronaldo (Brazil)
7. C Ronaldo
8. Ronaldinho
9. Cruyff
10. Batistuta

Best above Messi is RAWK and Bluemoon levels of delusion

 

[Rojofiam]

Grow up you idiot, read the paragraph above the post and take a second to think this a people's personal lists.

Don't bother replying to my posts again.

And this was my personal opinion of your personal list

 

[Devil81]

And this was my personal opinion of your personal list

Anyone with the username Rojo needs to be ignored.

Bye bye

 

[Rojofiam]

Anyone with the username Rojo needs to be ignored.

Bye bye

You are very funny, I'll give you that

 

[Devil81]

You are very funny, I'll give you that

You're not.

Stop replying, it was a personal list. Don't agree, fine. Don't give a shit.

I said in my post, I appreciate players who could mix it in the era that players were allowed to tackle.

 

[Sky1981]

This would bog down to another C.Ronaldo is not top 4 and Messi is not as good as pele.

As it always are. Nobody cared about other names but these 2. Anyone not having C. Ronaldo on top 5 at least is just trying to be hipster.

I even see Ryan Giggs in top 10?

 

[Fortitude]

I think 5 days ago Beckenbauer would habe been lower on a lot of lists.

Nope. You can check old threads on the topic; Beckenbauer is always 4-7 and always locked with Cruyff; one above or below.

 

[Sky1981]

It's also funny that people mentioned past greats and say look at their highlights while neglecting that you can make hours upon hours of the same highlights from CR7 and Messi. It's as if they dont have a reels of their own.

feck me i tried watching Ronaldo all goald and I fell asleep because there's like 600 of them and it takes hours to finish.

But hey. I bet you never watch those old vintage highlights of Stefano, Best etc

 

[Caritas]

If anyone seen Puskas please tell me how he played. Im too young, i only watched some low quality clips about him.

 

[The Cat]

1. Maradona
2. Messi
3. Pele
4. Cruyff
5. Ronaldo
6. Christiano
7. Beckenbauer
8. Charlton
9. Best
10. Ronaldinho

 

[Fobal]

Not really fond of rankings.

I preffer to talk about characteristics and mainly preffering certain players in relation to what I'm more fond.

My favorite one is Diego, but I do not think he had the best carreer and there are fellas like Pele, Alfredo, Johan and Messi that just for start had better carreers while also being all around geniuses.

Others are more role oriented like Cristiano, Franz, R9, Romario, Eusebio, Garrincha...some with genius level aspects ability, others with Genius level carreers.

Some I think that deserve better recognition as whole packages in the mold of the usual Top Tier suspects like Platini, Zico and Puskas.

And fellas like Sivori, Best, RG, Rivelino and such had really close power/pace/technical ability as the usual top tier ones, but for one reason or other, we tend to "feel" the fell short to be in that top top bracket.

And lastely lads like Laudrup, Zidane, Iniesta and such just doesn't have that extra athletism/power/pace that comes with the very very top echelon in an all time consideration

.

PD: The ones putting Best, Charlton and The Kaiser and not putting Di Stefano in the same list, let me tell youn that even them would disagree with you .

 

[IRELANDUNITED]

1. Maradona
2. Messi
3. Pele
4. Ronaldo Nazario
5. Cruyff
6. Cristiano Ronaldo
7. Beckenbauer
8. Di Stefano
9. Charlton
10. Ronaldinho

Crazy to not have George Best on this list.

 

[devaneios]

Looks like Best is the Ronaldinho of UK, uh?

A bit less overrated than R10 in Brazil, because he's in basically every top 10 around here and people will look at you with fire in the eyes if you leave him out of the top 5; probably because Best shone for United, while Ronaldinho had his prime abroad.

 

[devaneios]

Are you seriously suggesting Cruyff and Beckenbauer having less impact on footie as a whole than Messi? And I'm not talking about it in terms of increasing popularity of the sport. I'm talking contributions to the sport on and off the pitch that go beyond the commercial appeal.

Please, elucidate me on how Cruyff and Beckenbauer, as players, had such tactical impact in football to the point of it overwhelm Messi's supreme ability to generate goal chances out of nothing.

Maybe you're mixing up their general image in the discussion(great coaches(at least one of them), well-spoken and politically influential persons(especially when in contrast to Messi)).

 

[Redplane]

Please, elucidate me on how Cruyff and Beckenbauer, as players, had such tactical impact in football to the point of it overwhelm Messi's supreme ability to generate goal chances out of nothing.

Maybe you're mixing up their general image in the discussion(great coaches(at least one of them), well-spoken and politically influential persons(especially when in contrast to Messi)).

Messi had a tactical impact on football? What change to the game has Messi brought about? I'm not discounting he is a great player, clearly statistically the greatest ever - but the game is no different because of him.

 

[Stack]

Looks like Best is the Ronaldinho of UK, uh?

A bit less overrated than R10 in Brazil, because he's in basically every top 10 around here and people will look at you with fire in the eyes if you leave him out of the top 5; probably because Best shone for United, while Ronaldinho had his prime abroad.

Sure you can use a throw away line like Best shone for Utd to dismiss him but as someone who actually got to watch him play in his prime he was a genius with the football. The best way I can explain it to you is that every time I watched when ever he got the ball a buzz would go through the crowd from both sets of fans. I have Ronaldhino in m y list because I thought he epitomised what I love to see in football. BTW My list is just an opinion, it doesnt mean Im right.

 

[devaneios]

Sure you can use a throw away line like Best shone for Utd to dismiss him but as someone who actually got to watch him play in his prime he was a genius with the football. The best way I can explain it to you is that every time I watched when ever he got the ball a buzz would go through the crowd from both sets of fans. I have Ronaldhino in m y list because I thought he epitomised what I love to see in football. BTW My list is just an opinion, it doesnt mean Im right.

I meant that shining for a big club in a country makes other fans have a level of disdain for this player. As Ronaldinho had his prime in Spain, Brazilian fans don't have this kind of antipathy towards him. I didn't try to deride United in any way.

Still, Best is very overrated in UK(just my opinion, of course) because of his nice style of play and mystical figure, just like Ronaldinho in Brazil(I mean, both really great players, but top 10 material? I don't think so).

 

[Stack]

I meant that shining for a big club in a country makes other fans have a level of disdain for this player. As Ronaldinho had his prime in Spain, Brazilian fans don't have this kind of antipathy towards him. I didn't try to deride United in any way.

Still, Best is very overrated in UK(just my opinion, of course) because of his nice style of play and mystical figure, just like Ronaldinho in Brazil(I mean, both really great players, but top 10 material? I don't think so).

Well top ten in my list.

 

[JogaBonitoRooney]

Messi had a tactical impact on football? What change to the game has Messi brought about? I'm not discounting he is a great player, clearly statistically the greatest ever - but the game is no different because of him.

Messi practically created the false 9 roles which lead to many teams not relying on having a traditional number 9 striker.

Messi also proved you can be a high scoring forward as well a deep lying play maker at the same time. He proved you can play like Pirlo and Gerd Muller at the same time.

 

[black country red]

I meant that shining for a big club in a country makes other fans have a level of disdain for this player. As Ronaldinho had his prime in Spain, Brazilian fans don't have this kind of antipathy towards him. I didn't try to deride United in any way.

Still, Best is very overrated in UK(just my opinion, of course) because of his nice style of play and mystical figure, just like Ronaldinho in Brazil(I mean, both really great players, but top 10 material? I don't think so).

Maradonna good pele better George best

 

[Dwight Corke]

Maradona good, Péle better, George Best.

 

[Desert Eagle]

Messi
Maradona
Pele
Cruyff
Beckenbauer
Charlton
Baresi
Platini
Di Stefano
Puskas

 

[Invictus]

Messi practically created the false 9 roles which lead to many teams not relying on having a traditional number 9 striker.

Lionel Messi did no such thing, though; much like Claude Makelélé did not practically create the defensive midfielder role. The “False 9” or deep-lying forward concept is one of the oldest in organized football, and Messi was following in the footsteps of some genuine heavyweights.

It is well over 100 years since GO Smith started operating for the Corinthians as what we would now term a false nine and yet still the idea of a team operating without a fixed focal point in the centre of their attack can cause chaos. It is 63 years since the England centre-half Harry Johnston spoke of the sense of “utter helplessness” he felt in facing the deep-lying Nándor Hidegkuti as England lost 6-3 to Hungary at Wembley.

False nine: ancient tactical curveball still retains the power to shock

Guardiola was more than familar with the role because his biggest inspiration, Johan Cruyff, was the most iconic and effective False 9 of bygone eras, and even the Dream Team of Barcelona, which was coached by Cruyff himself of course, periodically functioned with a makeshift False 9 in Michael Laudrup...

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Messi also proved you can be a high scoring forward as well a deep lying play maker at the same time. He proved you can play like Pirlo and Gerd Muller at the same time.

Johan Cruyff, among others, had already proven that you can be a high scoring forward, one of the most dazzling dribblers around as well as a masterful principal playmaker in preceding decades, with a peak of 201 goals and 138 assists in 256 matches for Ajax, while organizing the entire team as its cerebrum and orchestrator-in-chief (something Messi didn't quite accomplish for a meaningful period of time as that responsibility fell squarely on Xavi's shoulders at Barcelona). For comparison, Gerd Müller had scored 241 goals in 259 matches for Bayern Munich in the exact same timeframe.

 

[RoyH1]

Xavi is vastly, vastly overrated by some here. Great player, but having him in a top 10 list of all time is ludicrous and reeks of recency bias and fanboyism. All I have to say.