Best football player of all time?

I've seen the best of the best with my own two eyes.Pele,Maradonna,Bobby Moore,Jim Baxter,Franz Beckenbauer,George Best,Jimmy Johnstone,Bobby Charlton(and his brother Jack).

But the best i have ever saw is Lionel Messi.Its scary.He's only 24.So basically,he's not even at his peak.Yet,he is already the all time top goal scorer for Barcelona.His three goals in last nights game were all superb.

Makes you wonder what he will achieve.

Yet another hat trick for the little Argentine last night.

Messi

It's starting to look like Messi could indeed be the best footballer of all time. Only 24, and the records he has broken were set by people over the course of their entire careers.

Eusébio... a young guy from Mozambique comes to Portugal to play and became a legend of national and international football, who scored thousands of goals, was a major star in hte 66 world cup, who cried all his heart out at the match against England...

At the moment I'd say Diego Maradona. As good as Messi is he's yet to dazzle at a major tournament unlike Maradona who was the chief reason why Argentina won the trophy back in Mexico 1986. Forget about the handball goal against England, his form throughout was simply dazzling. I've never seen another player dominate a tournament like that before or since.

His second goal against England was incredible and he scored a similar goal elsewhere in the tournament as well. Never has one player made such a difference to a team. At club level we then have him ensuring Napoli are Serie A champions on more than one occasion. Messi plays for a team expected to be champions, Maradona didn't after leaving Barca and yet still had domestic success.

[Kes]

Best player of all time? That's a bit like best guitarist of all time. Being a pioneer in anything, turns you into a model for others to follow and ultimately surpass. Carl Lewis was the best 100m runner of his era, Bolt's a better runner now, but would he have been that, had he been born 20 years earlier? Tricky one.

I agree that Messi's probably in a class of his own in 2012. Back in the early 70's, Pele. Mid 70's, Cruyff. Messi's better than both of them, but if they hadn't of existed, would he still be?

I don't know.

On some Man Utd forums there's a thought that goes:

Pele - great, Maradona - better, George - best!

There is a school of thought from older former players that George Best is the greatest player of all time purely becayse he displayed his skills on some of the worst pitches known to man in the worst weather conditions compared to the likes of Pele, Maradona & Messi. The truth is we'll never really know because like tastes in music it all comes down to individual views. I think in my lifetime to date Maradona is the best player I've ever seen with Messi second by a short distance. If Messi can do what Maradona did in a major tournment then I'll say he was better.

No doubt at all for me. Forget the club they became, when he was there he was, and they were, the Best.