Is Cristiano the best European player ever?

Since we are living the last elite years of CR, this is as good a time as ever to look at this question. Is CR the best player in european football ever? i want to avoid the Messi vs CR angle, so if we look at his goals, trophies, ballon d'or, etc..., how does it compare with the likes of Zidane, Cruyff etc... ?

Nah, well maybe

Probably the most accomplished one though

What separates him from the rest is his consistency at the highest level coupled with his unparalleled professionalism, talent and unquenchable hunger to win.

Those factors have made him a demonic, ruthless goal machine with a  guaranteed (at least) 50-goal a season number and one of the very best and deadliest marksmen in the history of the game.

Honestly, I have lost count how many times I vehemently criticized this guy over the years and especially ever since he wore the white of Madrid, but there's not a shred of doubt in my mind that this man is one of the greatest of all-time and the huge gaping void he's going to leave behind will never be filled.

A tremendous player that I personally think is only second to Messi in this era and definitely in my personal top 10 of all-time.

Kommander, thank you for everything you've done to this club. You're a hero and goddamn legend.

I must remember to hire you for the rousing pep talk speech when me and my slacker friends need to fight and win the decisive battle in the war against alien invaders someday

thinking about it, who are the direct competition? Platini, Zidane, Cruyff and? does DI Stefano count as european or south american?

Gerd Müller >>>

He has surpassed all of those easily years ago. I would say yes, he is the best European player ever.

Mr Nick09 wrote:thinking about it, who are the direct competition? Platini, Zidane, Cruyff and? does DI Stefano count as european or south american?

Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Platini, Meazza, Van Basten, Eusebio from the top of my head. You add in more defender + keepers to the debate you'll have Yashin, Baresi, Maldini, Scirea etc.

I don't think he is better than Cruyff though.

Hapless_Hans wrote:Gerd Müller >>>

Hapless_Hans wrote:Gerd Müller >>>

muller was a evil player

Nah, Cruijff is still the best.

zigra wrote:Nah, Cruijff is still the best.

he was a tad overated tbh.

what would have the the stats adjusted era for Cruyff if he was leading today's barca? harmonica come here to be useful, for once Messi is excluded from the debate

He has to be the best at something. Let's at least give him that

Most overrated European easily, Gerd Müller did more and was better goal scorer yet didn't win even half of his accolades.

Do you care to explain what you mean that "did more" ? In terms of achievements, in europe, he is damn near unmatchable.

what are you talking about by he "did more"?

Won World Cup playing great, Cronaldo has neither won, nor played great in any World Cups. Won Euro's playing great, Cronaldo wasn't even top 50 players in it when his team won it. In club football their scoring and accolades are pretty much even. Yet Cronaldo has 5 times the Ballon d'Or's.

one would argue that CR played great for portugal in the euros and was key in them getting to the finals. And you can hardly compare the quality of both teams, muller was playing with monster in his team. This portuguese squad is pretty weak all things considered

He's undoubtedly the best player since Cruyff, and in terms of accomplishments he may very well be the best ever. 3 CLs, winning the 2 hardest leagues of his time, winning and scoring in a Euro Cup final, etc. He's done it all.

He probably had the best career, but talent wise he is not even top 5.

but talent without achievements does not matter, so how do you find/define the balance?

Unreal disrespect for Cruyff, the Messi before Messi.

He's in the conversation for sure but just no lol.

in terms of achievements, trophies, goals scored, titles etc... CR is the best in european football imo. That being said, trophies and number are sometimes a factor of the team, position and the era you played in. How is he greatness of Zidane quantified vs the greatness of Ronaldo?

CR is not just in the conversation, he has some serious arguments for being the top euro player ever, even ahead of Cruyff.

It's difficult to put weight into titles because that's a team achievement. I mean, is Ramos the best defender ever? Quite clearly on accolade you can make a case for it being a focal point for Spain 2008-12 and for Real Madrid for the last what? 10 years?

No, no one will ever call Sergio Ramos the best defender ever



[just needed an excuse to post this meme.jpg]

Not to mention people only rate forwards in the top player category. Sometimes you see Zidane because he did a couple roulettes and hit a screamer in the CL final but the sport is much more than scoring goals, its just not nearly as recognized

Mr Nick09 wrote:in terms of achievements, trophies, goals scored, titles etc... CR is the best in european football imo. That being said, trophies and number are sometimes a factor of the team, position and the era you played in. How is he greatness of Zidane quantified vs the greatness of Ronaldo?

CR is not just in the conversation, he has some serious arguments for being the top euro player ever, even ahead of Cruyff.

Cruyff has every bit of of the achievements that Ronaldo has and he's much more talented footballer.

If Cruyff had a shit career in terms of honors you might have a case but that's not the reality here.

Ronaldo is fantastic, probably the best goalscorer i have ever seen but discussions like these severely underrate players of years gone by unless they are called Maradona or Pele.