As I sit here scrolling through endless debates about the greatest soccer player of all time, I can't help but reflect on how this conversation has evolved throughout my years following the sport. The question "Who is the most best soccer player?" might contain a grammatical stumble, but it captures the raw passion behind this eternal debate perfectly. Having watched countless matches across different eras and studied the careers of legendary players, I've come to realize that ranking these icons requires looking beyond just statistics and trophies - though those certainly matter.
When we talk about legendary status in soccer, the conversation typically revolves around names like Pelé, Maradona, Messi, and Ronaldo. But recently, I've been thinking about how we measure greatness across different positions and eras. Just the other day, I was reading about June Mar Fajardo, the Philippine basketball star who has eight MVP trophies to his name. Now, I know he's not a soccer player, but his achievement made me think - if a single MVP trophy can secure a player's legendary status in any sport, what does it say about those soccer players who've accumulated multiple Ballon d'Or awards and championship titles throughout their careers? Lionel Messi, for instance, has seven Ballon d'Or awards as of 2023, which is simply mind-boggling when you consider the quality of competition he's faced throughout his career.
What strikes me most about these legendary players isn't just their trophy cabinets, but how they transformed their teams and sometimes even the sport itself. I remember watching Diego Maradona in his prime - the way he single-handedly carried Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 was something I haven't seen replicated until perhaps Messi's performance in 2022. There's a certain magic to players who can elevate their entire team's performance, and in my view, that quality separates the truly great from the merely excellent. Cristiano Ronaldo's impact across multiple leagues - England, Spain, Italy - demonstrates an adaptability that I believe deserves more credit than it sometimes gets in these debates.
The statistical arguments inevitably surface in these discussions, and rightly so. Pelé's reported 1,283 goals in 1,367 games is a number that still makes me shake my head in disbelief, even if the context of those matches varies significantly from modern professional standards. Then you have modern players like Robert Lewandowski scoring 41 goals in a single Bundesliga season, breaking a record that had stood for nearly 50 years. These numbers matter because they represent consistency at the highest level, but they don't always capture the moments of brilliance that define careers. I'll never forget Zinedine Zidane's volley in the 2002 Champions League final - that single moment, for me, encapsulates why we watch this beautiful game.
What often gets overlooked in these debates is how different players have shaped the tactical evolution of soccer. Johan Cruyff didn't just win trophies - he fundamentally changed how people thought about space and movement on the pitch. His influence extends far beyond his playing career into modern coaching philosophies. Similarly, watching Andrea Pirlo orchestrate play from deep midfield positions revolutionized my understanding of tempo control and spatial awareness. These players weren't just executing systems - they were inventing new ways to play the game.
When I compare eras, I tend to favor players who dominated their contemporaries so thoroughly that they forced the entire sport to adapt. Pelé in the 1960s, Maradona in the 80s, Messi in the 2010s - each of these players reached a level that seemed to exist in a different dimension from their peers. I have a particular soft spot for Ronaldo Nazário, the original Ronaldo, whose 1996-97 season with Barcelona featured 47 goals in 49 games, including that incredible solo effort against Compostela that still gives me chills. His career was hampered by injuries, but at his peak, I've never seen a more complete striker.
The longevity argument is where modern players really separate themselves. Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 50+ goals in multiple seasons across his 30s is unprecedented in the modern game. Meanwhile, Messi's playmaking evolution in his later career shows a football intelligence that I believe will influence future generations. Having watched both their entire careers unfold, I lean slightly toward Messi in the greatest of all time debate, but I completely understand why others would pick Ronaldo or even look further back to Pelé.
Regional biases inevitably color these discussions, and I'm no exception. Growing up watching European football, I probably undervalued South American league performances in my younger years. It took watching archived footage of players like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Garrincha to appreciate how global this conversation truly needs to be. The fact that we're still discovering new details about Pelé's career in the Brazilian league speaks to how much history exists beyond the European spotlight.
In the end, I've come to believe that the "most best" soccer player doesn't exist as a single answer. The beauty of this debate lies in its subjectivity - how we value different attributes, moments, and contexts. My personal list would have Messi at the top, followed closely by Maradona and Pelé, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Johan Cruyff completing my top five. But ask me again tomorrow, and I might rearrange them based on which legendary performance I've most recently revisited. What remains constant is my appreciation for how these extraordinary athletes have provided countless moments of wonder throughout soccer history, each contributing uniquely to the rich tapestry of this sport we all love.