How many forums are there with the same question?
Who is the Greatest Player Ever?
The same number of atoms in the universe and beyond... Everybody wants to read the name of theirs idols.
he is better then all the ones batgirl and alcervik posted, he ist better then all of those together..
but the best is still

who is that guy anyway???
The Most Interesting Man in the World
The Dos Equis guy.
ScottRF has him in his avatar, as well. Very funny.

@BigPoison: can you tell me who those three man are? I can't recognize one of them. Here are imo three of the biggest champions in random order:
the Cannibale
The Great One
Pele

I had to choose one of three: Pelé, Maradona and Messi. In the Netherlands we have Johan Cruijff, who is an outstanding player, but I still think that those three men were even better than he is.
Pelé was a new level of playing football. Some of his goals display an amazing level of football skills. He has made goals never seen again, like controlling a ball from a corner with his chest and then volleying in the goal.

I saw both Pele and Maradona play live. Pele was far better than Maradonna, and cleaner too. Yeah, Maradona could dribble like a demon, but Pele made everyone around him better.
But the greatest footballer of all time is Messi. I don't know whether he'll ever win a World Cup, but that's not the best measure. Just take a look at how much better Barcelona is with Messi compared to the team without him. Even opposing managers who have been around longer than I have agree that Messi is the greatest ever.
loek Pele wasnt greater then Maradonna
Pelé has the world record of goals of all times (+1000). He is the only soccer player three times world champion. He won his first world championship when he was 17 years old. Maradona is great but not as Pelé. His records talk.
I'll take your word since I don't follow sports.