“Sees things you can only see from above” - Gary Lineker snubs Cristiano Ronaldo as he picks his GOAT alongside Lionel Messi

Former England international Gary Lineker has snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo, once again naming Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi as his football GOATs. Lineker had previously declared Maradona and Messi as ‘the greatest players of my lifetime’ back in 2023.

Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Lineker hailed both Argentines but waxed lyrical about Lionel Messi’s ‘extraordinary passing range,’ saying the Inter Miami forward sees things that a lot of players can’t see.

“It would be almost impossible to choose if you took them both at their absolute prime,” Lineker began. “Now, I think if you ask me, ‘Who’s the greatest player ever?’ I think that’s a different answer. I think you have to take into account the longevity and also the fact that Diego [Maradona] had his problems off the pitch, which led to him not performing as well as he possibly could on all occasions on the pitch. He had a period of time where he was incredible, and Messi would be in terms of their abilities, very similar. You have to remember that Maradona was kicked up in the air constantly. In those days, you could get away with that sort of stuff, playing on these awful surfaces that I was saying, whereas now it’s so much easier.

He continued:

“But taking all that into account, I don’t think there’s very much to choose between them except…… I don’t know; I think I never thought I’d see a player that’s better than Diego, but I think in Messi, we do; we have. Because of and also Messi’s extraordinary passing range and… I mean, Diego used to see things, but Messi sees things that you can only see from above. It’s extraordinary. Some of the passes he picks out, his vision is just simply outrageous. They are my best. It’s mad, isn’t it? That the best two players I think of, I would say, of all time.

The former Tottenham Hotspur forward name-checked Pele, saying his verdict on who the best player is is based on who he watched constantly, admitting that he didn’t see much of the late Brazilian legend. He concluded:

“Because I don’t see much of Pele. I only caught the end of his career. You can only really judge players that you’ve seen constantly. I just never thought that anyone would compete with Diego, but those two, they do things that are extraordinary. And I think Messi, given the fact that he’s done it for 20 years and he’s still doing it now and he’s won everything. He’s ticked that box as well. But it’s mad, isn’t it? Two Argentinians, two left-footed. Both diminutive, our favorite word of this podcast, and both extraordinary.”

Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are widely regarded as two of the greatest Argentina players of all time, with both winning the FIFA World Cup for their country. However, Messi is La Albiceleste’s most capped player (196) and all-time leading scorer (115).

When Gary Lineker made his stance clear between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

In 2024, Gary Lineker put the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo debate to rest with an honest verdict. The pundit expressed his admiration for Ronaldo but insisted that the Portuguese superstar is not on the same level as Messi. He told The Rest is Football podcast:

“If you’re talking about a debate between Messi and Cristiano, well, I’m sorry. As much as I admire Cristiano – he's a wonderful, wonderful footballer and a truly brilliant goalscorer – when it comes to actually comparing them as footballers, there isn’t a comparison.”

Together Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hold the record for the most Ballon d’Or awards, but the former edges the battle, having won it a record eight times.