Who's No. 1? Messi or Maradona? (No Pele or Ronaldo)

[Sky1981]

I think it's safe to say Messi has finished his Journey football wise, i dont count his Miami time as anything but semi retirement.

I think personally he has eclipsed Maradona. The only think Diego has over Messi is he's done it with Napoli.

7 Ballon d'Or which could easilly have been deserved at least 12 of not for being born in the same era as Ronaldo.

So. 1. Messi 2. Maradona

 

[Reapersoul20]

Ronaldo for me

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Why not Pele in the argument? I agree on CR7 not being there.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Objectively speaking, Messi Pele Maradona Ronaldo should be top 4.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Maradona's Argentina was much weaker so his win was more impressive. The current Argentina is pretty stacked, and di Maria alone is a top 10 player. Over their careers it's obvious though.

 

[Pickle85]

This thread will definitely go well.

 

[SydneyRoughDiamond]

Very very difficult to compare players from different eras. How do you compare Pele to Messi ? Pele won 3 world cups in possibly the best internationa team ever, Messi won the European cup in possibly the best European club team ever.
pele , Messi, Maradona, Ronaldo are probably the best 4 ever, but cruyff, di stefano, puskas, beckenbaeur all have a shout for being considered.
On balance, Pele wins it for me, Scoring that overhead kick to draw 4 - 4 against the Germans with a busted collarbone. It’s the stuff of Hollywood

 

[Fortitude]

Eclipsed Maradona.

Eclipsed Maradona.

Eclipsed Maradona.

Spoiler

 

[cafecillos]

Pele or Ronaldo

 

[FrankFoot]

Maradona's Argentina was much weaker so his win was more impressive. The current Argentina is pretty stacked, and di Maria alone is a top 10 player. Over their careers it's obvious though.

That 86 argentinian side had 4-5 Copa Libertadores winners (back when southamerican teams could compete with Europe and beat them in the Intercontinental Cup), they were not some dudes.

Maradona is better for me, but Argentina wasn't a weak side as many people assume. His Napoli side wasn't bad either, sure Barcelona was better, but Napoli invested big money in other players aside from Maradona.

 

[stw2022]

I don't get the interest in these debates. Especially when so much of it is based on what other people said and written about their own experiences of seeing players in their prime. I'm sorry but how much Serie A were you watching on television in the late 80s?

Anyone who wants to talk extensively about a player they've very likely never seen play more and a handful of full 90 matches - if that - can get in the bin

But fine, I've decided it's Maradona because YouTube clips. Or possibly Duncan Edwards because of a still photograph. He's my favourite and all the top reds agree

 

[Malkovich]

People dismiss Pele as playing in a stacked team, yet after he retired Brazil spent 24 years without the WC and they weren't winning anything before him.

 

[Neil67]

Got to be Maradona, to sniff a sh*t load of coke and play like he did, takes some doing!

 

[AndySmith1990]

Messi. His talent is unparalleled. Take the best dribbler (Maradona), the best playmaker (Xavi), and the best finisher (Ronaldo) and roll them into one player and you have Messi.

 

[General_Elegancia]

Madonna is more beautiful for sure.

 

[Zehner]

Can't really decide between Messi, Maradona, Pelé and R9 based on what I've seen. Only know I have those in a tier of their own

 

[Charlie Foley]

Maradona's Argentina was much weaker so his win was more impressive. The current Argentina is pretty stacked, and di Maria alone is a top 10 player. Over their careers it's obvious though.

Top 10 player what? Currently in the world?

 

[Plant0x84]

Maradona was a drug addled cheat. He forfeits greatness by his actions.
Therefore to answer OP Messi. (But it’s Pele really.)

 

[Dumbstar]

Got to be Maradona, to sniff a sh*t load of coke and play like he did, takes some doing!

This. It's the most "cold Tuesday night at Stoke" argument ever. Could Messi have carried on playing, let alone win, with straight leg stuff challenges at his bollocks every weekend? While high on coke and prehistoric training regiments.

Saying all that, I have inched Messi just above Maradona since December because he has literally won it all now.

 

[Grande]

Messi best, Maradona most fantastic

 

[Red_toad]

Are we talking better career or who was simply the better player in their prime?
Maradona is the best player I’ve ever seen. Messi has been ultra consistent at performing to a very high standard.

 

[Superden]

Maradona. For that warm up vid when at napoli.

 

[OrcaFat]

I don't get the interest in these debates. Especially when so much of it is based on what other people said and written about their own experiences of seeing players in their prime. I'm sorry but how much Serie A were you watching on television in the late 80s?

Anyone who wants to talk extensively about a player they've very likely never seen play more and a handful of full 90 matches - if that - can get in the bin

But fine, I've decided it's Maradona because YouTube clips. Or possibly Duncan Edwards because of a still photograph. He's my favourite and all the top reds agree

Yeah, good post. I prefer Maradona but I freely admit I don’t remember seeing him play a single club game.

 

[leontas]

Never watched Maradona. But when people discuss him it’s mostly his achievements in the 1986 World Cup that are mentioned. Even club career wise, I think his peak was the 1986-87 Serie A victory. Even then, I don’t think I’ve seen too many clips of him in club games - most of his story and narrative seems to be centered around that Argentina World Cup win.

Don’t get me wrong, he was a supremely talented footballer. But l think he’s a level below Messi if we take their whole career into account. Maybe if his off-field antics hadn’t derailed his career, the conversation would be different as I think talent-wise they are quite close.

 

[11101]

Caught the tail end of Maradona, he was a level all on his own. Pele and Messi are together on the step below.

Maradona had an ability to make a game look like an exhibition match. The only other player I've ever seen do that was fat Ronaldo, for all of about 2 seasons.

 

[Bebestation]

Hand balls & referees bribing in my point of view but I’m not scared of saying that I am wrong before I get a bombardment of posts seeing things in a more angelic way.

Goat players though.

City’s Treble should be viewed a bit higher even if they cheated out of FFP for some consistency.

 

[mshnsh]

Talent wise, they are equal.

Peak performances, very little between them. Messi's consistency (interns of allround performances) in his prime is unmatched, he was Maradona of the 1986 world cup every 3 days. But Maradona played in arguably the most difficult era.

Career and achievements: Messi

Overall: Messi > Maradona

 

[mshnsh]

Hand balls & referees bribing in my point of view but I’m not scared of saying that I am wrong before I get a bombardment of posts seeing things in a more angelic way.

Goat players though.

City’s Treble should be viewed a bit higher even if they cheated out of FFP for some consistency.

Jealous much?

You've been harping on about this for sometime. Whatever Barcelona did or did not do, Messi’s individual performances have been above everyone in his generation (and possibly in all generations) by a margin.

 

[mshnsh]

Caught the tail end of Maradona. He was a level all on his own. Pele and Messi are together on the step below.

Maradona had an ability to make a game look like an exhibition match. The only other player I've ever seen do that was fat Ronaldo, for all of about 2 seasons.

Quite a bit of hyperbole regarding R9 and Maradona. Not to say that they weren't great footballers. R9 between 1996 and 1998 is the best no 9 ever and by far. Maradona is a top 3 goat.

 

[weizxx]

Technically or in terms of data, Messi.
In terms of Iconic, Maradona, so far.

 

[cotumely]

Having seen Maradona, Messi and Ronaldo play live, I would rank them in that order. Have only seen Pele on the television, so can’t really compare him to the others.

 

[Sky1981]

I excluded pele because i just want to know whether Messi has eclipsed Maradona

 

[padr81]

Messi.

 

[Gehrman]

For me they are about equal. I think one can both fall into recency bias and nostalgia bias. I think Messi´s consistensy just about edges it for me, but when one talks about the heighest peak they could reach in a season or in a match they are equal for me. Maradonna had more influence and charisma, but Messi effiency in his prime is something else as well.

 

[Joel Miller]

Messi’s been better. An infinitely more potent goal scorer, a better passer, played against quicker more athletic defenders, and had to play under immense pressure for his country because of constantly being compared to Diego and criticised for being “Catalan” having been in Spain from a young age; but still won it all with them which even Diego never managed. I’d say that for all the talk of pitch’s being better now and what not, players are also finely tuned athletes who have to train harder and look after themselves, which Diego would never have been able to do.

And that side Messi finally won the WC with is nothing special, you just need to look at the parent clubs of the players that made up the regular starting 11 to see that, even Alvarez despite being a City player was just a backup for them. Conversely Diego’s side were much better than how they’re typically perceived, same with his Napoli side. Diego Maradona is more iconic because of his personality and the circumstances surrounding Mexico 86, but Messi was clearly a better footballer who has had to shoulder a lot more pressure (especially with it being the social media age where absolutely everything about their careers is seen and micro-analysed).

 

[Fortitude]

I excluded pele because i just want to know whether Messi has eclipsed Maradona

Do you know what eclipsed means?

 

[Sky1981]

Do you know what eclipsed means?

If not for nostalgia and it's Napoli Messi has eclipsed him from every metric available

I personally think Maradona is a tad bit overrated when it comes to Messi

 

[Fortitude]

If not for nostalgia and it's Napoli Messi has eclipsed him from every metric available

I personally think Maradona is a tad bit overrated when it comes to Messi

It's virtually impossible for there to be an objective discussion regarding the two on here.

Maradona is a mystical relic from the past most who reply will have no idea about outside the World Cup of 1986, specifically. Not his incredulous level in Argentina; not the hype and weight of expectation that he carried (the heaviest burden a single player has had); not the abuse he received in Spain nor true comprehension of Serie A of his time and so on and so forth.

There isn't a player who has played football who eclipses Maradona. You're either using that word for effect, or you genuinely don't know what it means.

 

[Deco10Legend]

On drugs Maradona, sober Messi.

 

[mu4c_20le]

On drugs Maradona, sober Messi.

It's scary that a coked up, smoking drinking Maradona can still equal or even better a sober, fit, healthy Messi with a club built around him.