Many people address this question as if it were a matter of opinion. Well, it is not. Most questions like this can be addressed in a pretty scientific way by analyzing the data. And, if you do that, the answer is pretty clear: Yes, the best football player of all time is Lionel Messi.
If you don't believe my words, take a look at the very detailed analysis that FiveThirtyEight did during the last World Cup: Lionel Messi Is Impossible
Lionel Messi outperforms everyone, and in particular Cristiano Ronaldo, who appears mostly as second in many statistics in the following aspects:
Overall Scoring Production
Shooting Efficiency
Goal percentage from any given distance
Unassisted Goal Efficiency
One-on-one success rate
Assists per game
Number of long balls played per game
Through-ball passes
Passes by forwards
Value added per offensive action
Goals plus assists per balls played
Plays defended per opponent possession
Given his current performance in Barcelona this year, I am pretty sure the stats are even higher now.
So, no, Messi being the best is not an opinion, it is a fact proven by hard data.
Messi in the 2014 World Cup
Some people will argue that Messis has had a poor performance with the Argentinian national team and in particular in the 2014 World Cup. I also personally agree that Messi did not play his best in the World Cup. Still, he came out of the group stages as being rated number 1 by many (see World Cup 2014 in statistics: the 10 players who excelled in the group stage for example). So even in this relatively negative part of his playing, he stands out as one of the best
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