The first ever winter World Cup out in Qatar has now kicked off and football fans across the globe will have already indulged in a good few hours of television watching given the games that have already taken place and there have already been some absolutely cracking goals scored despite all the obvious concerns that people had when it came to how players would adjust and cope with the heat.
With plenty of media build up in the last few weeks ahead of the World Cup kicking off, Betway Insider took quite a novel approach in an effort to answer the question – who is the greatest player of all time?
Having compiled a list of five well known, and hugely successful potential G.O.A.T’s in the shape of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, and Pele, Betway then gathered a team of real goats (Billy, Jerry, Benny, Jacob and Betty) to take on the aforementioned five to pick their true G.O.A.T.
You can do your own puns on this one!
Although things have not gone quite to plan for Ronaldo since he returned to Old Trafford and Manchester United for a second time, he is now a free agent having agreed to mutually terminate his contract with the Red Devil’s after his now infamous Piers Morgan interview, but there will be few who do not agree that his greatest World Cup moment came against Spain way back in 2018.
“His versatility on the pitch, goalscoring prowess and cheetah-like speed on the ball undoubtedly place Ronaldo among the best players ever. His hat-trick against Spain in 2018 is undeniably one of the greatest World Cup performances off all time, as he scored a flawless free-kick in the 88th minute to earn a point in a 3-3 draw and become the oldest player to ever score a World Cup treble.”
With the other players on the list, fans will undoubtedly be torn on whether or not that performance makes it to the top of the list of greatest ever World Cup performance and moment from an individual player, or whether or not Ronaldo is the true G.O.A.T of our beautiful game, but on a performance front, all the other players shortlisted have valid claims of their own.
Betway pick out Messi’s performance back in Brazil 2014. Potentially the greatest dribbler that has ever taken to a football pitch, Messi finished that competition as Argentina’s top scorer, he was also named the best player of the tournament and lifted the Golden Ball award.
Fans who do not really follow European football probably best remember Zidane for his more head strong moments in major competitions, but he was far much more than that, as admirably proven in the 1998 World Cup final. Two headers against Brazil helping France to lift their first ever World Cup deserves its place in the history books.
Maradona’s controversies speak for themselves but sadly his performance at the 1986 World Cup has to feature. Five goals and five assists (including one goal that never should have counted), also saw one sublime moment as he scored his second in the Quarter Final tie with England.
Pele’s talents truly speak for themselves, and having lifted more World Cups than any other player, he more than deserves his place on the list. His greatest moment, arguably as a fresh faced 17 year old, as he announced himself on the world stage becoming the youngest scorer in World Cup history is hard to top. He finished the 1958 final against Sweden with one of the greatest goals ever as they again lifted the trophy.
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