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Former England striker, Gary Lineker has said Portugal captain and five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo is not football’s greatest ever player.
Lineker made the assertion on The Obi One Podcast hosted by John Obi Mikel and Chris McHardy.
The former Barcelona striker acknowledged Ronaldo’s extraordinary career but said the Real Madrid great lacked the unique qualities possessed by the Argentine duo of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
The 65-year-old praised Ronaldo’s goalscoring prowess but noted that being an exceptional goal scorer was not equal to being able to influence games in multiple ways.
The Leicester legend said players like Messi could do the latter, beating several defenders, escaping difficult situations and creating opportunities that appear almost impossible.
Lineker said he would therefore place Messi and Maradona at the very top of the greatest of all time debate with Ronaldo Nazario slightly ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, alongside legends like Zinedine Zidane and Neymar.
In April, Lineker revealed that the Portugal captain blocked him stopped following him on social media, apparently over the ongoing GOAT debate.
