SK Adda: Who is the greatest footballer of all time and why?

SK Adda is a platform for the readers to get involved in the daily banter on the most (un)important topics in the world of sports. Comment on the topic of the day on Facebook, if your idea is unique, quirky or a brilliant troll, we’ll publish them. Here are the top comments from yesterday’s topic.

Abhishek Kheruka

Pele is the greatest player of all time. He made it big out of nowhere. The records he made and the class he had - it's hard to find a player like him. Each player is special and has different playing styles, but when you watch Pele you don't have to think, you know he is the greatest. A living legend. Fought against all odds. People follow football because of him. No other footballer can match the records he holds with Brazil. He is that part of history which cannot be repeated. Simply the best.

SK Thinks – A man with great taste.

Saran Raj

For me, it's Ronaldinho, because he was magical from the beginning. Though he didn't start at a big club, he was a star. He was unstoppable during his time at Barcelona, which is considered his peak. He could do things with the ball which many players even today can only dream of. His peak time was short, but unmatched by any player till date. Consistency may be a negative factor here, but he is the most skillful footballer ever. If he had a start like Leo Messi in Barca or a great mentor like Sir Alex Ferguson to mould him like he did with Cristiano; Messi, Ronaldo and many others would be chasing his greatness.

Partha Pratim Deka

“I have no reason to envy Lionel. I don’t compare myself to others. I am Cristiano Ronaldo and I can win more medals than anybody else. I don’t like to relax. The fans want to see a great Cristiano Ronaldo, so I try to never disappoint.”

Shaqib Sayed

Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are not the greatest of all time. They never will be. Posting a picture of 4 players and asking who is the greatest of all time? That is not cool at all. Yes, they are great, but we have many other great players like Puskas, Yashin, Scholes, Zidane, Johan Cryuff, George Best, Zico, Van Basten, Maldini, Cannavaro, Beckenbauer, Bergkamp and so on. I see most of the comments are baseless, and there are more Messi and Ronaldo fans out there, so you cannot get an answer.

Devashish Raj Singh

Cristiano Ronaldo. Goal scoring machine. Consistent. A complete player. He plays his natural game. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is.

Bmk Khan Mandokhail

Messi is the reason the actual football fans watch T.V. through the night. I’m from Pakistan and there is load shedding and other obstacles to watching football. Still I managed to arrange a generator to watch Messi. Although our national team is ranked 194th in football, and the country loves cricket, I watched Messi in the football World Cup 2014. I converted from a cricket fan to a football fan, just because of this living legend.

SK Thinks – That’s great. Download the SK app for constant and uninterrupted Lionel Messi.

Barnidharan Iyer

Messi! The game of football is not only about scoring but also playing as a unit, involving every individual in the team. Messi does that more often than not. It's very cruel to compare Ronaldo and Messi as both of them have given the footballing world some mesmerizing moments! Not that Ronaldo doesn’t do anything from a team’s perspective, but Messi does more. He’s involved in almost every move, assisting the midfielders when needed and even tracking back. These attributes make him the best in the world! As far as Pele and Maradona are concerned - they are great - but not as great as Messi or Ronaldo. The stats will speak for themselves. In short, one may call Ronaldo the best goal scoring machine we’ve ever had in modern Football, but the best footballer on the planet at the moment is Leo Messi!

ShoMan Chaulagai

For me, it is the Brazilian Ronaldo. He is a very skillful player. Even today his passing, accuracy, shots on goal, dribbling skills etc. are unique.

SK Thinks – You speak like Andy Townsend.

Soumik Saha

A kid in Poland asked Pope Francis, "Who is better, Maradona or Pele?" Pope Francis replied, "For me, Messi."

SK Thinks – You know the Pope personally?

Ajit Kumar

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SK Thinks – Our resident Assistant Manager, Vishal has just graduated Grade 8 and is looking for a job change. Can he apply? No need to give him food. He brings it from home.

Seyad Ahamed Bashir

Alfredo di Stefano. The man is the most complete player of all time. CR7 is the most complete attacker, but Stefano was the most complete player ever. He could play as a defender, midfielder and a forward. The greatest ever. I've been a Ronaldo fan for more than a decade. He might be the best forward ever. But the best player? The greatest of all time is definitely di Stefano. Pele, Maradona and Messi are really great, but not the greatest. Di Stefano proved himself in all roles. Attacking, creating and defending. The players of his era have acknowledged the fact too.

Akshat Joshi

Johan Cruyff. The reason for total football. During his days at Ajax he was the conqueror of Europe. Is there a move named after Messi, Ronaldo, Pele, Maradona, Platini or Zidane? But there is one called the Cruyff turn, a thing only a master of skills can do. He went to Barca and changed everything. In the last 10 years we saw Barca winning 5 Champions Leagues, and it’s all because of him.

SK Thinks – Have you heard of the Ramdev Rabona?

Further Reading – Scout Report of Baba Ramdev

Harshit Sharma

None from the picture. It has to be Lord Bendtner.

SK Thinks – Resident Arsenal ‘Expert’ Rohit Vishwanathan agrees.

Kunaljit Dev

Zlatan, you fools.

Riyaj Ayaan

Pele. And now Neymar Jr.

DA Les Moletsane

The one who won more balloons.

SK Thinks – Like 99 Luftballons?

Sangram Dhang

George Best.

Ritwik Pattnaik

Pelle. Simply because he was magical with the ball at his feet.

SK Thinks – Graziano will be so happy!

Afaan Fuzail

Zidane.

Sunil Dutt

Rolando.

SK Thinks – THIS GUY??????

Kalyan Susheel

Coca Cola Pepsi. Lionel Messi sexy.

Safari Innocentt

In my opinion, Messi is the best player of all time because of his vision. CR7 is always selfish. Always hungry to take shots. I don't think his teammates likes playing with him sometimes.

Tjarco Distel

It's Arjen Robben. He may not have better skills than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi but the passion he puts into every game is unbelievable. In every game, he goes out to win, and fights for it!

Abhishek Bharti

"Messi is the best player ever. And this is said by someone who has seen Maradona and Pele play." - AC Milan chief Adriano Galliani "The only bad thing about Ronaldo’s life is Messi. If it was not for him, Ronaldo would be the best player in the world for five years in a row." - Felipe Scolari

Neelabhra Roy

Statistically, it's Pele because he has won almost everything you could ever wish for: three World Cups, best player and best young player. However, in my opinion, it's the pioneer of Dutch football, Johan Cruyff, who is the greatest ever. He may not have won any World Cup or any other trophy with the national team, but his versatility on the field leaves many greats behind. His portrayal of Total Football was phenomenal and that is the main reason why Netherlands are considered a footballing powerhouse today. He won three Ballon d'Or’s and was an excellent manager as well.

SK Thinks – Please concentrate on submitting articles on time.

Rahimov Khurshed Z

Everyone who understands a little bit about football knows that the best player ever is MESSI, because of what he does on the field. He has achieved everything and scored more than 500 goals, but even that is not all. The best proof is to see his impact on the game. How he leads the game. The second best is Pele, third Maradona, fourth Ronaldinho and fifth Cruyff. Cristiano Ronaldo is not even among the best five. Maybe he is among the best 10, but even then, maybe.

Melwyn Joseph

Mesut Ozil. Our eyes are always on strikers. If they score, all the credit is for them, and we ignore the player who assisted. Midfielders are the ones who control the game, and Ozil has great control in all part of the pitch. Messi and Ronaldo are great players, but this guy is excellent and he needs some appreciation too. There are many great players in world football and he is one of them. He is my favourite of all time.

Rahul Kalita

It's the beast Ronaldinho. He is the king. He made his debut when he was just 17 years old. He played in a league where his team defeated another team 23-0, and all the 23 goals were scored by him. He has unique skills that only he can do. No other player can do it, not even Messi or Ronaldo. Every player respects him and idolises him. Even Messi became famous because of this beast. He is the legendinho of football.

SK Thinks – Beast because of his looks?

Aman Antriya

Surely, Cristiano Ronaldo has moulded himself into one of the greatest players to play the game by starting at Sporting, getting to Manchester United, and becoming a star performer there before becoming a record-breaking legend at Real Madrid. But I would like to argue that it is Lionel Messi who takes the Greatest Player Ever trophy, because he is pure talent. Records don't matter, but performances do, and Lionel Messi does not stop at scoring goals. He starts the build-ups, creates chances, assists, and dribbles the balls out from places no other player can. There are hardly any matches where you don't see a piece of magic from the aptly named 'La Pulga'. Ronaldo is moulded, but Messi was born this way!

Rohit Das

It ain't Messi for sure. I don't remember anyone else quitting just because they did not win. Am I being insensitive? Well, truth hurts! Ronaldo is power, but Messi is precision! And I pick the talent and precision over power.

SK Thinks – Ernest Hemingway got nothin on you!

Harish Sridharan

For me, it’s not about winning, but playing beautiful football, and Messi does that in the best way. The others are also great, but I prefer Messi.

Varun Sharma

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both are best at their places. Messi has good control on the ball, and Ronaldo has skills and accuracy. Let’s not talk about these two superstars. Football will again go back to normal when these two retire. Excluding these two, I would rather vote Ronaldinho as a legend or Zlatan Ibrahimovic at present as the best offensive players. Best defenders are Puyol as a legend and David Luiz at present. Best goalkeepers are Iker Casillas as a legend and Manuel Neuer at present.

Vikram Gurjar

I really don't know what Ronaldo is doing in the talk of greatest ever!!!

Andrew Manasseh

Ronaldo from Brazil is the greatest footballer of all time.

Cöwärd Subän

Sorry guys, I have never seen Messi or Cristiano making tackles. They just take the ball from teammates and score. The most important thing is that they are the darlings of the media. For me Bale and Schweinsteiger are the best. Hard workers.

SK Thinks – The point of football is to score.

Aabhas Kumar

Zinedine Zidane has won all the competitions in which he has played. He has also won the Ballon D'or, which is rare for a playmaking midfielder. Many modern greats like Scholes, Lampard and Gerrard were in the same position and did the best they could, but they weren’t at Zidane's level.

Abhinav Panda

I'll say, Zidane, because there are players who can score goals, but there are not many players who can score spectacular goals when needed, assist at the perfect time and defend with the energy levels of Franz Beckenbauer. Zidane was complete in every sense, and even if he plays for a football team now, he is fit enough to continue his career as a senior player. Awards don't matter, but how productive you're on the field matters and that's the base of football

Nehal Biswas

As per my opinion, Marco Van Basten is the greatest footballer of all time, because he played football with dedication and hard work. Most of all, he played for his country and always made them proud. I like him and I am a big fan of his.