The Ballon d'Or award started in 1956, and Stanley Matthews became the first player to win the award. It was open to the players who were from Europe only. Thus, soccer players from other continents were ineligible for the award, including the soccer greats Maradona and Pele.
Diego Armando Maradona received the Golden Ballon d'Or, which also honoured players from outside of Europe, in 1995.
Pele was a three-time World Cup winner but never played European football nor won trophies like the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or which many see as the ultimate goal.
France Football conferred each player with an honorary Ballon d'Or, but Pele was retrospectively deemed the 'alternative winner' of seven Ballons d'Or in 2016, whereas Maradona was the 'alternative winner' twice.
"If I had to decide, for my team, I'd start Messi," Pelé said. Along with Messi, Pelé named the players he believed were in the ranks of greats of all time including Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Zinedine Zidane, Zico, and more.
An analysis of the players' statistics reveals that Ronaldo was labelled the undisputed GOAT of soccer with the most overall goals, Champions League goals, club goals and assists, and international caps and goals.
Despite multiple run ins throughout time, Maradona and Pele had a good relationship in which they showed mutual respect.
The Argentine has scored more World Cup goals - 13 - than his two rivals, though he's played more games. Pele hit 12 goals at the World Cup and Ronaldo has notched eight times. Pele's ratio, though, sees him come out on top again; 0.86 compared to Messi on 0.5 and Ronaldo on 0.36.
Jan 17 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi has surpassed Diego Maradona as the greatest player of all time, Argentina's World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni has said.
I think Pele was more successful in the International circuit. He scored a multitude of goals and won the World Cup three times. Maradona, on the other hand, had a better club career, which saw him play at Barcelona and Napoli. Pele was more confined to Brazil and the Brazilian League.
Brazilian football icon Pele (1940-2022) is the only player in the history of the game to win three World Cups, achievements that helped earn him legendary status. Pele, among football's most prolific scorers, spent nearly two decades mesmerising fans and dazzling opponents with his skills.
It was first awarded in 1956. The most recent winner was Real Madrid's Karim Benzemais in 2022.
Pele, the legendary Brazilian footballer, is considered the football god of all time. No player has won more world cups (3) than him.
Beckham did finish runner-up in the race for the Ballon d'Or in 1999, but unbelievably the former Manchester United and Real Madrid man never got closer than that to the coveted prize despite receiving ten nominations during his career – a record for English players.
Lionel Messi has surpassed Diego Maradona as the greatest player of all time, Argentina's World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni has said.
Maradona will always be the greatest," the Frenchman said. "He won World Cup in 1986, narrowly lost in the final in 1990 and then in 1994 maybe would have won it again had he not been banned. "The crucial difference with Pele is that Maradona wasn't surrounded by great players; he had to carry the team himself.
Wait a minute. To all those who're here barking maradona claims Messi over Ronaldo as "Best" player, well for all of u, maradona himself claimed Ronaldo is better than Messi.
"Messi isn't much better than Ronaldo. Let's be clear, he isn't much better. But if I had to pick, I'd pick Leo," Maradona said. Maradona also said he can't remember the last time Messi played poorly, while also noting he doesn't need to win the World Cup to validate his greatness.
Who is better Messi Or Ronaldo? Ronaldo has scored a record number of international goals and appearances, but Messi has won more Ballon d'Or awards (7). Messi has spent most of his playing career in Spain and France, while Ronaldo has played in Portugal, England, Spain, and Italy.
Cristiano Ronaldo - The King of Football.
Mbappe tops the league scoring charts with 13 goals and Messi is tied with PSG teammate Neymar for the most assists (10). Mbappe is co-top scorer in the Champions League with seven goals, while Messi again heads the assists chart with four.
Lionel Messi has scored the most goals for one club. Pelé held the world record for around 50 years. Josef Bican is credited by FIFA with 805 goals.
One of the greatest ever to grace the sport, Lionel Messi has made a massive impact on any team he has donned the jersey for and his dribbling skill is the major reason for it. Whether playing for the Argentina national football team or Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Messi produces brilliance in every match.
Pele was happy to counsel the budding star, and Maradona excited to be fulfilling his dream of meeting the Brazilian. But their relationship soured in 1982 after Pele criticized Maradona when he was sent off for stamping on a Brazilian in a World Cup tie in Spain.
Messi's dribbling runs most times ends with a good final pass or through ball or a good shot, while alot of maradona's dribbling runs didnt end with a shot or a good pass hence his average goal record for his legendary standard.