Lionel Messi Declared GOAT Of Football By IFFHS; Ronaldo Ranked Fourth Behind Maradona

Lionel Messi has been officially named the greatest footballer of all time by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), leapfrogging legends of the game like Pele and Diego Maradona, as well as arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo. (More Football News)

IFFHS announced its list on 18 May, and it has fuelled the long-running debate between fans of Messi and Ronaldo on which player is the GOAT (greatest of all time) in football. The IFFHS is a football statistics firm that is based in Switzerland.

However, Messi secured the top spot in IFFHS’s list due to his record-breaking career at all levels. The Inter Miami player has amassed a brilliant trophy haul throughout his career, including eight Ballon d’Ors, four UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup for Argentina.

The Argentine has thus left behind his primary rival in the GOAT debate, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been controversially ranked fourth by IFFHS. The Portuguese superstar has over 900 strikes to his name, along with five Ballon d’Or wins. He has also won five Champions League titles with Real Madrid and a European Championship title in 2016 with Portugal.

The two players to take second and third places are another set of rivals – Brazil’s Pele and Argentina’s Diego Armando Maradona. Pele secured the runners-up place due to his World Cup wins in 1958, 1962, and 1970, as well as being the only player to have scored more than a thousand goals in his career.

Maradona had to settle for third place, despite single-handedly leading his country to a World Cup win in 1986, as well as earning almost God-like status in Naples after guiding Napoli to two Serie A titles.

Other than Messi and Maradona, another former FC Barcelona legend has made the top five – Johan Cruyff. The Dutch player and manager has been one of the most influential people in all of football, and is credited with revolutionising the game with his idea of ‘Total Football’.

Following Cruyff is Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazario in sixth, followed by Zinedine Zidane in seventh place. Franz Beckenbauer, ranked eighth, was the only defender on the list. Real Madrid icon Alfredo Di Stefano is ninth, and Ronaldinho completes the top 10 all-time greats list of IFFHS.