"The guy was simply a monster" - Frank Leboeuf snubs Lionel Messi as he gives his take on football's GOAT debate

French legend Frank Leboeuf has snubbed 2022 FIFA World Cup winner Lionel Messi in favour of Pele as the greatest player of all time.

The Argentine guided his nation to their third world title on Sunday to cement his legacy as the GOAT, having now won every possible major trophy across club and international football.

However, contrary to popular perception, Leboeuf has an interesting take. He says that Pele is still ahead of Messi in the all-time rankings, as the Brazilian has won the World Cup three times. Speaking to SafeBetting Sites, Lebouef said:

“Back to the original question of who is the GOAT. I think because if there can only be one it has to be Pele. He won the World Cup three times, the first time at the age of 17 years old. This was at the time, where you have no medical, no physical training sessions. The guy was simply a monster."

He continued:

"He only played in Brazil, so he couldn’t get the Ballon d’Or because it was only given to European players at that time. So I don’t even know how we can compare anybody else with Pele. Yes, Messi is a great player, as were Maradona and Platini and Johan Cryuff. But the greatest of the greatest in that position is Pele because he won it three times.”

Pele is the only player in history to have won the World Cup thrice, having led the Canaries to glory in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and also scored in two of those finals. He's officially known to have netted over 700 career goals and is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time.

However, there's an argument that he never played in Europe, where club football is generally more competitive than that in South America. Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has won all major trophies in Europe with Barcelona and has also seen extensive domestic success too.

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Lionel Messi has completed football

There's a meme going around on social media that compares Lionel Messi to Pele, Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, etc., while making a case for why the Argentina captain is the greatest of them all.

Pele, for all his achievements, never played in Europe, whereas Maradona could never win the Copa America with Argentina. Ronaldo, meanwhile, has conquered Europe but lacks the World Cup trophy. Messi, though, has won it all, completing football to leave little scope for debate.