Is Cristiano Ronaldo The Second Greatest Football Player Of All Time?

Is it ever going to end? Cristiano Ronaldo scoring goals. He is entering his 23rd season, and he’s still somehow finding the back of the net. He’s just hit 900 goals, and it doesn’t look like he’s stopping. This isn’t supposed to happen—99% of players peak in their mid-20s, transfer to a less competitive league by their early-to-mid 30s, and collect a paycheck while they watch the sunset on their career, content with their achievements. But not Ronaldo. While he has transferred to a less competitive league, he is still going strong for a 39-year-old. The more he piles up these mind-bending records, the more we must ask ourselves: Is Cristiano Ronaldo the second greatest football player of all time? And if he isn’t, is there anything he can realistically do to become so?

The Competition 

I want to start by stating the obvious: Lionel Messi is the GOAT, and there’s no argument against that. Next, we must ask ourselves who belongs in the conversation alongside Ronaldo, and I’ve come up with two names: Pelé and Diego Maradona. While players like Beckenbauer, Di Stefano, and Cruyff deserve a mention, I believe there’s a significant gap between Ronaldo, Pelé, Maradona, and those three.

G/A

Let’s start with the goals and assists of these three players' careers. 

Cristiano Ronaldo: 900 Goals, 285 Assists

Pele: 756 Goals, 340 Assists

Diego Maradona: 353 Goals, 202 Assists

(It should be noted that obtaining accurate data for Pelé and Maradona can be tricky. Fortunately, there are a few Twitter accounts that specialize in gathering data for players from before 2000, so I have used the numbers they have compiled for Pelé and Maradona.)

Obviously, Ronaldo and Pelé have far more goals and assists than Maradona, but that’s because Maradona played farther from the goal than Ronaldo and Pelé. I believe Zico and Platini are the only midfielders with more goals than Maradona. Comparing the stats between Pelé, Ronaldo, and Maradona is challenging because they played in different positions. The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo has more goals than Pelé and Maradona doesn’t necessarily prove he’s a better goal scorer. It simply shows that he was able to score consistently for a longer period, which might be his greatest asset. To accurately assess who is better at scoring and assisting, we need to look at goals and assists per game and per 90 minutes.

Ronaldo Goals Per Game: 0.728

Ronaldo Goals Per 90: 0.804

Ronaldo Assists Per Game: 0.231

Ronaldo Assist Per 90: 0.254

Pele Goals Per Game: 0.923

Pele Goals Per 90: 0.953

Pele Assists Per Game: 0.415

Pele Assists Per 90: 0.428

Maradona Goals Per Game: 0.519

Maradona Goals Per 90: 0.538

Maradona Assists Per Game: 0.297

Maradona Assists Per 90: 0.308

Ronaldo G + A Per 90: 1.035

Pele G + A Per 90: 1.381

Maradona G + A Per 90: 0.846

(It should be noted that I got the game and minutes played data from the same accounts I got the goal and assist data from) 

While Ronaldo has sustained his goal-scoring ability for a longer period, Pelé appears to have been the better goal scorer overall. This comparison, however, doesn’t take into account the strength of the teams each player was part of or the level of their opponents. Still, it’s reasonable to argue that Pelé was better at both scoring and assisting than Ronaldo and Maradona, which may be his greatest asset. But there’s another important aspect of the game beyond statistics: winning. So, let’s dive even deeper into that.

Team Trophies

When considering who is greater, team trophies play a major role in that debate. After all, the ultimate goal of the game is to win, isn’t it? So, let’s take a look at their team trophy hauls.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 

• 7 League Titles

• 13 League Cups

• 5 Champions Leagues

• 2 Super Cups

• 1 European Championship

• 1 UEFA Nations League

• 0 World Cups

Pele: 

• 10 State League Titles

• 6 Brazilian League Titles

• 2 Copa Libertadores

• 2 Intercontinental Cups

• 5 League Cups

• 3 World Cups

Diego Maradona: 

• 3 League Titles

• 4 League Cups

• 1 UEFA Cup

• 1 World Cup

Pele and Ronaldo have considerably more trophies than Maradona, but that is partially because they played in better teams. Consider the number of goals and assists each player has, along with their World Cup achievements, and that’s usually where most people end this debate. But not for us. There is one more important aspect to consider: individual awards.

Individual Awards

In theory, individual player awards are given based solely on a player’s performance. However, in practice, this is not always the case. Ideally, individual awards should be the best way to assess how good a player is, but awards like the Ballon d’Or also consider team accomplishments. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the individual awards these three players have earned and compare them.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 

• 5 Ballon d’Or

• 3 UEFA POTY

• 4 European Golden Shoe

• 1 European Championship Golden Boot

• 7 Champions League Top Scorer

• 5 League POTY

• 6 League Golden Boot

Pele:

• 7 Ballon d’Or (New Winners)

• World Cup Silver Ball

• World Cup Golden Ball

• South American Championship Best Player

• South American Championship Golden Boot

• 1 Copa Libertadores Top Scorer

• 11 State League Golden Boot

• 3 Brazilian League Golden Boot

Diego Maradona:

• 2 Ballon d’Or (New Winners) 

• World Cup Golden Ball

• World Cup Silver Shoe

• World Cup Bronze Ball

• 6 League Golden Boot

When comparing the trophies and individual awards these three players have won, it’s evident that much of Maradona’s legacy is built on his remarkable performances in international competitions. Ronaldo, on the other hand, has solidified his greatness primarily through his achievements at the club level. As for Pelé, his success is a well-balanced combination of both, though it leans more toward international competition.

The Cards You’re Dealt 

I have a major issue with the weight placed on international tournaments like the World Cup, Copa América, and European Championship in determining a player’s greatness: a player has no control over the team they play with. In club football, players can exert some influence over their career path by choosing which team to join, allowing them to position themselves in favorable circumstances to win. However, at the national level, players lack that autonomy. Cristiano Ronaldo’s prime, spanning roughly from 2006 to 2020, unfortunately coincided with a period where he was often disadvantaged by the quality of his teammates. Outside of having a top-tier center-back for part of that time, Ronaldo was deprived of elite support. The strongest Portuguese squads he played with either preceded or followed his prime, yet he still managed to win a European Championship. When it comes to the World Cup, though, a stronger supporting cast emerged slightly too late for him, and I believe this is an important consideration when evaluating his international career.

Pele’s “2nd” World Cup

While the statement "Pelé has won three World Cups" isn’t incorrect, it does require some context. In 1962, Pelé was injured early in Brazil’s second game and didn’t play for the rest of the tournament. Despite his absence, Brazil still went on to win. So, should we consider the fact that Pelé had almost no involvement in his second World Cup victory in this debate? It’s certainly debatable, but I believe it’s something that should be taken into account.

Why Maradona Is In The Debate

If you knew nothing about football and only looked at the information I’ve provided, you might wonder why Maradona is even in the debate for the second greatest player ever. That’s because in football, a player’s greatness isn’t solely based on stats and trophies. Diego Maradona is arguably the most talented player of all time—his skill with a football is unmatched, and his peak, particularly during the 1986 World Cup win, may be the greatest in history. The best way to judge how good a player is comes from watching them play, not just by looking at statistics. Maradona played in an era where he was frequently fouled and endured numerous leg injuries. Unlike Ronaldo, he didn’t have the benefits of modern medicine and sports science. Ronaldo invests hundreds of thousands of dollars a year into his body to stay in peak condition for matches, while Maradona, off the field, struggled with cocaine use. This is also something that should be taken into consideration.

World Cup 

When comparing Ronaldo’s career to those of Pelé and Maradona, the World Cup is where Ronaldo faces a significant disadvantage. The World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in sports, and a player's legacy is greatly impacted by their performances in it. Quite frankly, Ronaldo has a lackluster World Cup résumé; most importantly, he has never truly excelled in the knockout stage, which hurts his case for being considered the second greatest player of all time. 

Continental 

For as much of an advantage as Pelé and Maradona have over Ronaldo in the World Cup, he has an equally significant advantage over them in continental competitions. A player’s legacy is often defined by their performance in the biggest games, and when Ronaldo has a strong team around him, he consistently performs on the biggest stages of the Champions League. While Pelé does have one Copa Libertadores title and Maradona has a UEFA Cup, their continental résumés do not come close to that of the man known as "Mr. UCL."

Longevity 

I believe that both Pelé and Maradona are slightly better football players than Ronaldo, with Maradona being the best. But this isn’t a conversation about who is better among the three; it’s about who is greater. Pelé and Maradona were both excellent for around 13 seasons, but what if there was a player who was about 95% as excellent as they were and maintained that level for much longer? At a certain point, the amount of excellence accumulated by Ronaldo surpasses that of Pelé and Maradona. Below is a chart showing the total number of goals and assists Ronaldo, Pelé, and Maradona achieved in each season of their careers.

As you can see, both Pelé and Maradona started their careers strong but gradually declined beginning in their 13th season. After his ninth season, Pelé exceeded 35 goals and assists only two more times, whereas Ronaldo achieved this 11 times after his ninth season.

Opposition  

“Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has to overcome to reach his goals.” A great quote by American activist Dorothy Height regarding the measurement of greatness.

You know what, I’m going to say it—Pelé, when compared to Ronaldo, benefited from the circumstances and era he played in. He was part of a golden generation for Brazil, a team loaded with talent, peaking at a time when once-great football nations like Italy and Uruguay from previous World Cups were starting to decline. In 1958 and 1962, Brazil also played during a period when Germany, Spain, Argentina, England, France, and the Netherlands were far from their best. To be clear, this isn’t to discredit Pelé’s World Cup wins—those Brazil teams rank among the greatest ever assembled, and Pelé was outstanding in two of the three he won. But context matters.

Pelé and Maradona also played in leagues that weren’t as competitive as those Ronaldo faced. Pelé and Maradona had hot starts in their careers, partly because they played in leagues that were not the strongest globally. When Maradona moved from the Argentine league to Europe, he reached over 30 goals and assists only three more times in his career. In contrast, Ronaldo was up against the best player in history for much of his career and competed against the strongest club team in history for four years. On top of that, Ronaldo’s prime coincided with Spain’s dominance on the international stage, backed by an exceptionally talented squad.

I mention these nuances because, in this debate, we’re splitting hairs, and determining true greatness requires considering the full context. While many argue that Ronaldo’s lack of a World Cup win ends the debate, I believe it shouldn’t be the deciding factor.

The Second Greatest Football Player Of All Time

While the title of "greatest" will always be subjective, I personally believe that Pelé is the second-greatest player of all time due to his overall record and impact. However, I don’t think the door is closed for Ronaldo yet. If he continues to shatter our perceptions of what’s possible in a player’s career and delivers a strong World Cup campaign where he significantly contributes to Portugal, I believe he could retire as the second-greatest player of all time. Ultimately, each player embodies a unique aspect of greatness, and Ronaldo’s continued influence on the game only reinforces his place among the top legends of football history.