Pele: How Brazil’s Football Icon Compares to Messi, Maradona, Ronaldo

• Football fans will never agree on who the greatest football player of all time truly is
• Brazil's great Pele passed on, giving the football world a chance to recall his legacy
• Pele is rivalled by the likes of Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

The passing on of Pele has thrown the world into mourning. The curtains fell on the life of the Brazilian on December 29, after a long battle with cancer.

His death has reignited the never-ending debate of who is the greatest player of all time.

It is a debate that is always subjective, but many football fans agree that Pele ranks highly in the list of GOATs.

As Manchester City's hotshot Erling Haaland perfectly puts it, everything that is being done by footballers today, Pele did it first.

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He was the trailblazer for the football greats like Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who followed in his footsteps.

Pele the king

From the onset, Pele is usually disadvantaged in this debate, given that he did not play in Europe.

European football is often considered the epitome of the sport. However, a case can be made that South American football was equally at the top with European football during Pele's time.

But even if you take away the European factor from him, you cannot argue with Pele's three World Cup trophies - the only man to achieve this feat.

His goal returns for Santos were also staggering, as he found the back of the net 643 times in 659 appearances.

Pele's legacy was moulded around his international career, with his ingenuity, assists and goals playing a key part in Brazil's World Cup triumphs of 1958 and 1970.

Maradona the god

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Diego Maradona isn't far away either. Maradona almost singlehandedly dragged Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 and repeated the same trick with Napoli in the European cup.

Maradona was unstoppable once he began his mazy runs towards the goal area.

It has been argued that Messi was a reincarnation of the player Maradona was.

Talking of Messi, he is the only player on this list to have won every trophy considered supreme. He recently 'completed' football by leading Argentina to their first World Cup since Maradona's in 1986.

Messi the myth

Lionel Messi is a legend who lets his football do the talking for him.

From his defence-splitting passes to his rasping shots from way out to his dribbling skills, Messi has perfected the art of football over the years and it's no surprise he has won seven Ballon d'Ors - the most in history.

Perhaps the biggest chunk of his success comes from Ronaldo constantly pushing him to be the better version of himself. For lack of a better word, Ronaldo is the least talented on this list. But for what he lacked for in talent, the Portuguese star supplemented it tenfold with his hard work.

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Ronaldo the man

I mean, five Ballon d'Ors don't just come your way because you are favoured. Something has to give. And for Ronaldo, his ridiculous goal tally (especially at Real Madrid), the five Champions League titles, and the 2016 Euro title win have seen him cement his place among the GOATs.

His chances to win the World Cup seem to have run out and his career has taken a disappointing turn, but he deserves a fair shoutout in this debate.

So, who's your GOAT? Just know whoever you pick, you'll never probably agree with your next-door neighbour or friend. Perhaps they will even have other greats like Zinedine Zidane or Johann Cruyff on their list.

The Pele-Maradona header

Sports Brief had earlier reported that a nostalgic footage of Maradona and Pele demonstrating sublime football skills on a television show has resurfaced.

The video surfaced following the heartbreaking news of the Brazil legend's passing on Thursday, December 29, after a long battle with cancer.

Pele and Maradona have long been touted as football's greatest rivalry, long before the emergence of the Ronaldo versus Messi debate.