The talk on who is the greatest player ever to kick the ball on the pitch is one that will never end, at least as long as the sport exists.
The discussion has heated up as different people try to justify who the best player in football is. The talks have seen popular names such as Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Ronaldo Nazário among others being mentioned.
In a recent interview with ESPN journalist Hugo Sanchez, 39-year-old legendary Barcelona defender Dani Alves was asked to name who the greatest player of all time is between Brazil icon Pele and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.
While Alves praised Pele for his remarkable run and influence in the game, the legend clearly hinted that Messi might the best overall player.
“Pelé because football has changed. Messi changed a generation,” he said as cited by Barca Universal.
“All those people who are more than football, I’m going to stay with them. For me, Pelé should not enter in that debate. Who is the best player in history? Messi. Pelé doesn’t fit in there.”
Pelé or Messi?
Alves: "Pelé because football has changed. Messi changed a generation. All those people who are more than football, I’m going to stay with them. For me, Pelé should not enter in that debate. Who is the best player in history? Messi. Pelé doesn’t fit in there." pic.twitter.com/dzY49yBbBC
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) September 15, 2022
Alves’s answer elicited mixed reactions as some agreed with him while others didn’t believe Messi was the GOAT.
Pele is the greatest of all time. Period. No one today is getting paid without Pele. Including Alves.
— ⛩️ Balogun Agbede Oluwasegun 🚦🌍 (@BalogunAgbede) September 15, 2022
Not even close played in a time with very little competition unlike today were football has players from japan korea africa middle east north america playing at high levels pele is irrelevant has been for while maradona is on top him..
— Gnome (@MRolmann) September 17, 2022
To be honest, usually most Brazilians say Pelé because they would get cooked for saying Messi. Even Neymar would say Pelé, which is funny considering he is such a great friend of Messi.
The reason Dani Alves speaks the truth and picks Messi is because Dani isn’t liked in Brazil
— F4ST 🐍 (@F4STFATI) September 15, 2022
What the hell is he saying man?! So confusing 😂
— Michael (@nanamykel) September 16, 2022
