From Alfredo Di Stefano in the 1950s, to Johan Cruyff in the 70s and Ronaldinho throughout the noughties, there have been some truly outstanding individuals down the years.
And when it comes to naming the greatest ever, it’s purely subjective.
Unlike Messi and Ronaldo, the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and George Best didn’t have the privilege of playing on inch-perfect football pitches and with hundreds of pounds worth of footwear.
One thing that can be used to compare players past and present, though, is natural ability.
That’s according to Zlatan Ibrahimovic anyway who, in an interview with ESPN Brasil (see below), explained what separates Brazilian Ronaldo from Cristiano Ronaldo.
He said: “I think Il Fenomeno [was the best]. For me, Il Fenomeno was an example of football. Whatever he did, it was ‘wow’.
“The way he did the dribble, the way he was running, the way he was scoring goals. That was the real Fenomeno.
“Ronaldo was natural. He was not built, he was not made, he was born to be what he was. That is not something you train to become.
“That kind of player is not made, they are born. There is only one.
“And [Cristiano Ronaldo], I didn’t play with him. That is something different. That is a trained player. The others were natural.”
By “others”, Ibrahimovic refers to Ronaldinho, who he also lauded as a player with natural talent.
“Gaucho was phenomenal also,” he added. “But I played with him in Milan, he didn’t have his best moments like he did before, but I liked when the hair was waving and he did his running and his dribble.
“When he wanted, he made everyone look like kids, when he wanted to play his game.”
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