Former England striker Gary Lineker has ruled Cristiano Ronaldo out of the conversation for football’s greatest player of all time, placing the Portuguese star below Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast hosted by John Obi Mikel and Chris McHardy, Lineker acknowledged Ronaldo’s remarkable career and goalscoring record but said the five-time Ballon d’Or winner lacked the unique brilliance of the two Argentine greats.
“I know that Cristiano gets upset if you don’t put him in that conversation, but you have to be honest. Cristiano is incredible, just incredible, one of the all-time greats, no question about that. His goalscoring records are right up there with Messi’s,” Lineker said.
He added: “But he can’t do the other stuff. He can’t beat four men, wriggle out of a hole in the middle of the pitch that makes you go ‘HOW did he do that?!’ He hasn’t got that vision that Messi and Maradona got. So, no, for me, and I have to be honest, he doesn’t come into that conversation.”
Lineker ranked Messi and Maradona at the very top, with Brazilian Ronaldo Nazário slightly ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. He placed the Portuguese forward in a lower tier alongside players such as Zinedine Zidane and Neymar.
