Goat Debate

England icon Gary Lineker picked Lionel Messi as the greatest of all time and revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo did not take it well. The debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to determine the best player of this era—and arguably of all time—has lasted for more than a decade. Fans around the world, as well as numerous experts, have shared their opinions, including England legend Gary Lineker. “He doesn’t like me very much, Cristiano Ronaldo,” Lineker admitted during a recent appearance on The Rest Is Football podcast. “I didn’t upset him by anything I said about him, other than the fact I’m honest and think overall Messi’s a better footballer.” The former England forward, who was the top scorer at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, has always expressed his admiration for Messi, whom he has often placed at the top of the sport alongside another Argentina icon, Diego Maradona. Explaining how he noticed Ronaldo’s animosity toward him, Lineker said: “He unfollowed me on Instagram.” However, he did not take the setback too seriously and joked about it: “I’ll get over it. I will always like him. I’ve met him a lot of times. I know he’s got the hump with me. But that’s OK. And on that note… Please Cristiano… give me a call. Let’s be friends again.” England legend Gary Lineker. Lineker names his Mount Rushmore of soccer players In the same conversation, Gary Lineker praised Lionel Messi, placing him above other great stars of the sport. “He’s my favourite player of all time, quite simply because he’s the best player of all time, in my view,” said the former Barcelona, Leicester City and Tottenham forward. Lineker then explained that while other players deserve special mention, they fall just short of that level, which further highlights Messi’s greatness. “Even the difference between some of the real greats, the Cruyffs, Zidane, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, the fact that you can then have another level above them, quite clearly above them, is truly remarkable,” he said. “Without his injuries, I think we’d have had Brazilian Ronaldo in that conversation. But unfortunately, he did, but he still did incredible things, and he was joyous. So, if I had four, you know, the ‘Mount Rushmore’ thing, yeah, that would be my four. So, Pele, Maradona, Messi, Fenomeno (Ronaldo),” Lineker added.

Italy legend Dino Baggio shared his opinion on why Diego Maradona is considered even better than Lionel Messi. Approaching the end of his professional career, Lionel Messi is regarded by many as the greatest player of all time. However, in that debate, other heavyweights come into play, such as Diego Maradona, whom Italy icon Dino Baggio considered the number one. During an interview with Diario AS, the former Juventus and Parma midfielder was asked about his view of modern soccer, particularly Serie A, comparing it with the 1980s and 1990s. Baggio acknowledged that it was more difficult to play in Italy back then: “Perhaps Messi could have had problems here in his day.” That led the conversation toward the differences in soccer over the years. Dino based his opinion on the fact that a few decades ago referees were more lenient when it came to physical contact, resulting in a harsher sport for talented players. “Today, fouls are called before contact, practically,” Baggio noted, before highlighting who he considered the best player in the world during those years. “Maradona, in modern times, would score a thousand goals per season. You can’t imagine what they would hit him with when he was at Napoli,” said the 1994 FIFA World Cup finalist. Dino Baggio playing for Italy vs England in a World Cup qualifier in 1997. Immediately, Dino Baggio compared the two Argentine superstars and pointed out the difference between them: “Messi, back then, would have been equally brilliant, but completely, absolutely crushed. That’s why I say Diego was the greatest. The God of world soccer.” Comparisons between Messi and Maradona Dino Baggio is not the first to highlight the contrast between the leniency of the past and the extreme caution of modern soccer. This is usually one of the arguments used to place stars from previous decades, like Diego Maradona, Pele, or Alfredo Di Stefano, above modern geniuses like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Some statistics support this view. FIFA shared an analysis on its official website a few years ago regarding the number of fouls committed in each edition of the World Cup (with records starting in Chile 1962) and the players who were most frequently fouled. There is an indisputable leader in the rankings. Diego Maradona is the player who received the most fouls in World Cup history, totaling 152 across his four tournaments (1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994). He doubles the second player on the list, Lionel Messi, who was fouled 75 times across his five tournaments from 2006 onwards. Further down are Brazil’s Jairzinho (64), Neymar (60), and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (58). The most astonishing fact is that Maradona ranks first, second, and third for the most fouls received in a single World Cup. In Mexico 1986, he was fouled 53 times; in Italy 1990, 50 times; and in Spain 1982, 36 times. Only in fourth place does another player appear—curiously also Argentine—Ariel Ortega, with 33 fouls in France 1998.

Adebayor crowns Salah over Drogba, Jay Jay Okocha, and Mikel as African Premier League GOAT Pulse Sports Nigeria

Alexi Lalas and David Mosse recapped the Copa América defending champs late winner, and a wild day in Euros Group D. Lautaro Martinez was the hero for Argentina in the 88th minute, during a very physical and exciting match. Canada secured their first win of the Jesse Marsch era, in a win or go home dual. Over in Euro Group C, England was frustrated despite topping the group, while Denmark and Slovenia advanced with two goalless draws. The teams that advanced in Group D came down to the last minute with 7 goals in two matches. Austria ultimately took the top spot over France, and Serbia missed the knockout round. (3:50) To wrap the show, the guys discussed what life would be like if Messi stayed retired back in 2016. Who would be considered “the GOAT”? Where would Argentina be? (30:10) Presented by Zillow #Zillow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to another episode of the most must listen Liverpool FC podcast on the e-streets, you are of course locked into Kop End Fracas (Brought to you by Touchline Media Group). This week, Krish is joined by Ish and Manny to discuss: The LFC GOAT and Top 5 LFC Players OAT Underrated Ballers The Future of Klopp 2.0 And much more! Be sure to follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest LFC and KEF news - https://www.twitter.com/kopendfracas Watch the latest episode of 'KopEnd Khanage' over on YouTube today - https://www.youtube.com/live/E8iFkxacpKY?si=0eIJ41DVCji1uj1h Love what you hear? Want more Kop End Fracas content? Then gain exclusive content and perks by subscribing to our Patreon, today! - https://www.patreon.com/kopendfracas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lionel Messi scored twice and Kylian Mbappe bagged a hat-trick in an epic battle that went all the way to penalties as Argentina claiming their third World Cup title. Heath Pearce joins the House of Champions crew to unpack all the drama from the Lusail Stadium. [03:25] -- The greatest ever WC final [08:42] -- Argentina's 1st half dominance [18:15] -- Scaloni's Di Maria gamble pays off [25:25] -- Mbappe shows up for France [32:07] -- Emi Martinez: The PK shootout King [43:57] -- Messi & the G.O.A.T. debate [49:08] -- Croatia v Morocco recap House of Champions and In Soccer We Trust are available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Follow the House of Champions team on Twitter: @ChampsHouseCBS, @JOYPAULIAN, @MikeLahoud, @FabrizioRomano, @Jon_LeGossip, @jamesbenge, @PartidoPooper Watch House of Champions on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7hm6TorI7BMD1-IxTqyhUg For more soccer coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Sign up to the new Golazo newsletter, your ultimate guide to the Beautiful Game as our experts take you beyond the pitch and around the globe with news that matters. https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/golazo-starting-xi/ Watch UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, Serie A, Coppa Italia, CONCACAF, NWSL, Scottish Premiership, the Brasileiro, Argentine Primera División by subscribing Paramount Plus and use offer code ALLYEAR to save 50% on annual plans: https://www.paramountplus.com/?cbscidmt=sports&ftag=ppm-18-10bec1h&promo=allyear To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Check out NordVPN using our code: nordvpn.com/LONDONISBLUE Follow London is Blue, Get in Touch! 📺 Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/33ZRQ0P ⚽️ Player Interviews – http://bit.ly/2ZrP05n 📷 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/londonbluepod/ 🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/londonbluepod 🍎 Apple Podcasts – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/london-is-blue-chelsea-fc-soccer-podcast/id914691565?mt=2 🟢 Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5I0NZIy6hdFWj6oRtpL8qI Brandon: https://twitter.com/bbbusbee Dan: https://twitter.com/dandormer Nick: https://twitter.com/nickverlaney Jessy: https://mobile.twitter.com/jessyjph Abdullah: https://mobile.twitter.com/KunAbd Joe: https://twitter.com/joetweedie Yassin: https://twitter.com/YassinJames_ 📧 Email us at [email protected] Audio Edited by Jake Perkins: https://www.instagram.com/jeremiahludicrous/ Until next time Chelsea fans, keep the Blue flag flyin’ high Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Day 23 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup brought the tension as Alexi Lalas and David Mosse have you covered with all the content that you need presented by State Farm! Lalas and Mosse break down Argentina's victory over France, with Lionel Messi and Emiliano Martínez coming up HUGE in the victory. Lalas and Mosse also analyze Kylian Mbappé's performance and debate whether Lionel Messi is now the GOAT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alexi and Mosse open the show with all things Messi’s desire to play in the MLS (07:05), including a possible link up with David Beckham at Miami FC. Then, the guys discuss American players moving to Europe (23:00), grade Christian Pulisic’s performance and Zach Steffen’s Man City first Premier League start vs. Chelsea, then debate if Pele gets his due as the greatest. The guys also touch on Mauricio Pochettino’s hire at PSG in #AskAlexi (1:01:05). Finally, Alexi caps the show with a fond farewell (1:29:36) in another remote edition of the State of the Union Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's become an age-old debate. Chicken or the egg? Blondes or Brunettes? Ronaldo or Messi? But are we finally about...

Rog and Davo do an Emergency live pod from Minneapolis Airport in which they discuss Ronaldo's GOAT-like performance against Spain in a World Cup Instant Classic. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.