The Finest Footballers: East students explain their reasoning behind who they think is the best soccer player of all time.

Only 11 days after Lionel Messi hoisted the FIFA World Cup trophy over his head, three-time world champion and Brazilian soccer legend Pelé passed away. This reignited the question: who is the greatest of all time? 

The debate over the best soccer player of all time will likely never be settled, however, the latest World Cup held a particular importance for both Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo because it offered them a chance to catch up to the World Cup title record belonging to Pelé — their primary competition for the title of GOAT. East students Ike Sheets, Sean Holland and Grace Hastert are particularly invested in the debate and explained their reasoning behind who they think is the best soccer player of all time. 

Ike Sheets: 

Q: Who is the best soccer player of all time?

A: “Messi”

Q: Why do you believe he is the GOAT?

A:  “He’s the all time La-Liga top scorer and assist leader, which is pretty impressive. He’s the most decorated player of all time and his World Cup win really cements that for me.”

Q: What do you think separates Messi from other footballers like Ronaldo and Pelé? 

A: He’s had an impact on the younger generation more so than other players. The fact that he is an incredible assister as well as goal scorer has given developing players reason to be unselfish with the ball.” 

Sean Holland: 

Q: Who is the best soccer player of all time?

A: “Messi.” 

Q: Why do you believe he is the GOAT?

A:  Statistically he is the best player of all time. You look at the data and he is the leader in almost every category, but also his performance in this last World Cup was so dominant. The fact he was the center of the Argentinian team even at his age is incredible.”

Q: Do you think Messi's performance in the world cup solidified his GOAT status? 

A: “Up until the World Cup, I didn’t necessarily think there was a single greatest player, I was still flipping between Ronaldo and Messi. So watching Messi lead his team to victory in such an astonishing final certainly made the difference for me.” 

Q: What do you think separates Messi from other footballers like Ronaldo and Pelé? 

A: “I think the way Messi has handled stardom compared to Ronaldo makes a big difference. Ronaldo’s meltdown last year with Manchester United was unacceptable for such an influential player. Then for Pelé specifically, because I’ve never really seen him play I don’t know if I can comment on that. But the fact that he never played club soccer in Europe, that he never played consistently against the top European players leaves doubts in my mind.”

Grace Hastert:

Q: Who is the best soccer player of all time?

A: “Pelé”

Q: Why do you believe he is the GOAT?

A: “He won three out of his four world cup appearances, winning his first at only 17. The fact that he was the leader of the Brazilian team — the best team in the world at that time — at only 17 years old makes him the GOAT.” 

Q: What do you think separates Pelé from other footballers like Ronaldo and Messi? 

A: “A lot of the time people compare Pelé to Ronaldo and Messi in terms of how many awards they’ve won, and that’s not fair because Pelé didn’t play club soccer in Europe which gave him a much lower chance of winning awards like the Golden Boot or the Ballon D’or. What Pelé did do was revolutionize soccer. He changed the way the game is played forever and was the first global super star. Pelé had a much more profound effect on soccer than either Ronaldo or Messi, and that’s what separates him from the two.”