Cristiano Ronaldo named as FIFTH best player of all time by La Liga superstar
Argentinian star Julian Alvarez has recently given his list of the top five footballers of all time, and Cristiano Ronaldo only just crept into last place.
There was a lot of love for South American players on the forward’s list, particularly those from his own country.
Indeed, the top three were all born in Argentina, with a Brazilian star also beating Real Madrid and Manchester United legend Ronaldo.
When speaking to Ibai Llanos, here were the five players that Alvarez named as the best of all time.
1. Lionel Messi
It is unsurprising that the top of the list was Alvarez’s Argentina team-mate Messi.
The Barcelona legend is his country’s top scorer, with 114 goals in 195 games, and has won the Ballon d’Or a record eight times.
Alvarez has seen Messi’s quality up close, as the pair have played 38 games together for the national team, only ever losing three of them. Messi has assisted Alvarez on three occasions, while the Atletico Madrid man has assisted the legend twice.
2. Diego Maradona
Maradona is also regularly included on people’s lists of the best footballers of all time, and him being Argentinian will surely help in Alvarez’s eyes.
One of the most technically gifted footballers of all time, Maradona played 91 times for Argentina, scoring 34 goals. He also won the World Cup with them in 1984 – one of a number of trophies he won in his life.
3. Alfredo di Stefano
Di Stefano was born in Argentina but represented Spain in international football. He scored a remarkable 23 goals in 31 games.
His talents as a goalscorer were particularly evident in club football. He ended as the leading goalscorer in a competition on 10 separate occasions – six of those in LaLiga.
Di Stefano won the Spanish top flight title on eight occasions with Real Madrid, and during his time there, he won the Ballon d’Or twice.
He was also a two-time Argentinian champion and three-time Colombian champion, with River Plate and Millonarios respectively.
4. Ronaldo
Fourth on the list was another top goalscorer, Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario.
He burst onto the scene as a teenager and quickly scooped two Ballon d’Ors – the first coming when he was 21 years old.
He was also part of two World Cup-winning sides, the first as a 17-year-old in 1994, though he played no part, and the second in 2002, when he scored eight of his 62 goals for Brazil, including both goals in the 2-0 final win over Germany.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo
Despite winning five Ballon d’Or trophies, five Champions Leagues, and scoring over 900 career goals so far, Ronaldo only features fifth on Alvarez’s list.
Ronaldo has also been the European golden boot winner in four separate seasons, won 22 top scorer awards in leagues, been named a league’s player of the year on nine occasions, won the European championship and seven domestic league titles.
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