Cristiano Ronaldo

[Rams4Justice]

Falcao (Original) at number 6, Paul Breitner at number 7, Ernst "The Clockwork" Ocwirk at number 8, Jose Leandro Andrade "The Black Winder" at number 9 and Josef "Czech Knight" Masopust at number 10 for midfielders.

[Rams4Justice]

Alfredo Di Stefano at number 6, Sandor Kocsis at number 7, Romario at number 8, Marco Van Basten at number 9 and Arthur Friedenreich at number 10 for strikers.

[roger_ramjet]

He isnt old enough to have seen Darren Moore play, let alone Bobby

[Romanis]

He isnt old enough to have seen Darren Moore play, let alone Bobby

Erm I'm not sure what these lists of players he's parroting about has got to do with anything.

A more practical comparison would be with players we've seen.
Take Lilian Thuram for example.
Definitely one of the best ever defenders. Perhaps even the greatest right back ever.
I'm sure we've all seen him play and how awesome he was.
And remember who he kept out - Joselyn Angloma.
Those of a certain age will remember Angloma and what a wonderful player he was. Any team or club in the world would love to have him. And yet even he couldn't play right back for France, why? A certain Thuram.

[Rams4Justice]

How do you know I'm not old enough to remember Roger?

[Rams4Justice]

These list of players I'm talking about Romanis, are the top 10 best players in defence, midfield and striker positions of all time.

[Romanis]

Now onto what I said about Crissy being the greatest.
Maybe I should give myself a bit of wiggle room. And change it to be the greatest by the time he's done playing.
But let's stick to what I said and let's look at him.

1) He can dribble, shoot with both feet, cross, create and has a good header. Not to mention an excellent dead ball artist.
2) At Man Utd he swept records set by the greats Law and Best.
3) At Real, he's scored over 400, their greatest scorer.
4) He's won everything there's to win in club in which he alone played the critical part. Simply put, without him, no success.
5) He's led Portugal to their only major trophy.

Unlike Messi, he doesn't need great players around him, he can do things on his own. Of course unlike Pele, Maradona et al, he doesn't have a world cup, but look at his team. George Best has no WC either and a host of others, but had they been any of the major contenders, the chances of WC success would have increased substantially.

So yes there's some sinister bit to him, but that doesn't deflect from the fact he's a very awesome player.
Pele you may remember had great players around him for each of his WC successes. Yes he scored over a thousand but in an era where defences were not marshalled they way the are today. Football was simpler then, tactics not as keen as is today. Yes defenders were wilder then, but given the high emphasis of fitness today, Ronaldo has still thrived.
I think all great would have adapted, Pele if born now, Ronaldo if born then.

There's a lot of great players throughout history and of course there's an argument who's the best and of eras. But I honestly believe there's a good case to suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to be considered the best ever. Or at the very least in the same mould as Maradona, Zidane and Pele. Maybe we can add Cruyff, best and Beckenbauer as well. He's been consistently good, he's not even an out and out striker, everywhere he goes, he brings that spark to good teams and makes them great. He carries the whole team, and the more he's slammed or booed, the better he performs. Unfazed yet determined.
Whether you agree or not, it's subjective, but I'm sure hand on heart, you've gotta to agree the lad's something special.

I grew up watching Pele, thinking there'll never be another, then came Cruyff, then Maradona. Then ok, that's it I said. Done. But up popped Zidane and now we have Ronaldo. I'm sure we'll be fortunate to see an even greater player someday, but for now, it's Ronaldo for sure. Don't forget if there was no Messi, I don't think we'll even be having this argument.

Perhaps the 2 players that come close or better are Zidane and Maradona. Both made rather normal squads world beaters, although Zidane had a solid defense behind him. Eusebio is long thought as Portugal's greatest, but that's because we haven't closed Ronaldo's chapter yet. I'm positive when he retires, he'll be acknowledged as their country's best ever.
But perhaps Zidane should have the last words. He says of Ronaldo - 'No words can describe him.'

[Rams4Justice]

If you are a top football fan you know who generally most football players are and how they played, if you haven't seen them play before then go watch footages of them play and read their history and see why they were legends of the sport, that's why we have museums and books and the internet for people who weren't alive to see them play but know why they were the best of all time.

[Romanis]

These list of players I'm talking about Romanis, are the top 10 best players in defence, midfield and striker positions of all time.

A list that's in clear need of updating

[Romanis]

These list of players I'm talking about Romanis, are the top 10 best players in defence, midfield and striker positions of all time.

A list that doesn't include Thuram? Ignores Berti Vogts who kept Cruyff at bay in 1974? Forgets about Best, Charlton and Law? I would even suggest Platini, Cannavaro, even Rummeinege
Well that list is not worth much consideration in my opinion.