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Football fans all around the world will be ready to debate about who the greatest player of all time is till the end of the world. Even people from the same generation won't agree on who the greatest player of their era is.
The beautiful game has seen so many remarkably talented players that naming one as the best to have ever taken to the field would be borderline blasphemous. But these conversations need to be had. It's important to recognize the true champions of the game.
While it might be almost impossible to pick the greatest footballer of all time, we could look at who the greatest players of each era have been. Without further ado, let's take a look at the greatest footballers from each of the last five decades.
#5 1970s - Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff is a revolutionary in the world of football. The 1970s was the 'rocknroll' era of football. It seemed like everyone had a voice. There were all types of world-class footballers and Cruyff still managed to stand out from the crowd.
Franz Beckenbauer, Paulo Roberto Falcão, Roberto Rivellino, Teofilo Cubillas, Ruud Krol, Hugo Sanchez were all exceptional talents. But Cruyff was on a different level altogether. Cruyff's genius was fashioned in Ajax.
The Dutchman had won six Eredivisie titles and three back-to-back European Cups with Ajax before he left for Barcelona. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a vital cog in the Netherlands side's total football era.
He was a standout performer in the side that embarked on an exhilarating journey to the finals of the 1974 World Cup as well. Cruyff was a visionary both on and off the pitch. He could also do almost anything on a football pitch. Cruyff was one of those players with immense tactical intelligence and vision and the technical ability to match it.
#4 1980s - Diego Maradona
One of the players with the strongest claim for GOAT status, Diego Maradona is quite easily the greatest player of the 1980s. It would have taken a genius to eclipse the rest of the world-class talents that embellished the 80s and the diminutive Argentine fit the bill.
He was already being hailed as one of the greatest footballers around during his time with Argentinos Juniors in the late 70s. He later earned moves to Boca Juniors and Barcelona as well. But it was at Napoli that Maradona found his home.
He won a UEFA Cup and two Italian league championships with the Partenopei. But Maradona's crowning achievement is almost single-handedly guiding Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title. He scored the 'Goal of the Century' in the semi-final of the World Cup against England.
Mind you this is an era that featured players like Lothar Matthaus, Michel Platini, Karl-Heinze Rummenigge, Zbigniew Boniek, Socrates, Kenny Dalglish, Zico and Franco Baresi to name a few. But Maradona was just a different beast and was at a level quite distinct from the rest.
#3 1990s - Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane bloomed in the late 1990s. But his rise to the top was so quick and replete with blockbuster moments that it was difficult to overlook him. A creative attacking midfielder, Zizou played for Bordeaux, Cannes and Juventus before joining Real Madrid in 2001.
In 2001, Real Madrid paid €77.3 million to secure his services. The Frenchman is one of the most elegant players the game has ever seen. It seemed like the game appeared in slow-motion to Zidane. His ball control, dribbling, vision and technical proficiency were unmatched.
Zidane was named best European soccer player over the past 50 years by the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll in 2004. In 1998, Zidane won the World Cup with France. He was named the man of the match in the final against Brazil for bagging a wonderful brace.
Zidane won the Ballon d'Or that year and helped France win the Euros in 2000. He seemed capable of pulling off the nearly inconceivable. He drifted past defenders with ease and always found space on the football field. He also always knew how to find a way to get out of trouble.
#2 2000s - Ronaldinho
No player has seemed to have derived as much joy out of playing football as Ronaldinho has. The legendary Brazilian always played with a smile on his face but that's as far as the niceties went if you were going up against him.
Ronaldinho was majestic to watch. His feints, stepovers, elasticos, roulette and general samba flair endeared him to the fans in no time. Barcelona were enduring a tough time at the start of the millennia. Signing Ronaldinho in 2003 helped them usher in a new era and the Brazilian was their most important player during that time.
Ronaldinho was extremely dominant at his peak. He played a key role in Brazil's 2002 World Cup triumph. He also went on to win two La Liga titles and a Champions League title with Barcelona.
The Brazilian international won the FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year Award in 2004 and 2005. He also won the Ballon d'Or in 2005.
#1 2010s - Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo
No two players have ever dominated football for as long as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have. Both continue to be two of the very best in the business and it would have been unfair to leave either one out.
Lionel Messi has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards while Cristiano Ronaldo is close behind with five. Messi won the continental treble with Barcelona in the 2014-15 season while Ronaldo won three back-to-back Champions League titles with Real Madrid.
Messi's ball control, dribbling, vision, intelligence, technical ability and burst of speed in his younger days made him impossible to defend against. Ronaldo was very similar. He also had incredible pace, a bag of tricks and incredible shooting prowess.
Taking stock of both players' achievements would take all day. They've been battling for both individual and team records for more than a decade. Only in 2010s have two players gone on a rampage to break so many records.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading men's international goalscorer with 115 to his name. In 2011, Lionel Messi scored 91 goals for club and country which is the highest of any player in a calendar year in the history of the game.
Both players have a plethora of records and accomplishments to their names that could even put some of the other names on this list to shame.
