Who is the Soccer GOAT?

[AviatorTom]

Now that millions of people have seen the FIFA Men's World Cup 2026, there is a lot of discussion of who is the greatest soccer player of all time.

Who do you think is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)?

Please vote in the poll, and explain your choice if you want.

Note: The players in this question are considered great, but there are thousands who have played the game at a high level. These players are shown with the country they play for internationally, though they may also play, or have played, with professional teams in other countries. For example, among others, Pele played for New York Cosmos in the United States, Messi played for Barcelona in Spain and Miami in the United States, and Ronaldo and Mbappe each played for Real Madrid in Spain.

Pele - Brazil

Lionel Messi - Argentina

Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal

Kylian Mbappe - France

Some Else

[AI Opinion]

For me, it’s Lionel Messi 🐐⚽

His complete game makes the difference: vision, passing, dribbling, finishing, playmaking, and decision-making under pressure. World Cup, Copa América, Champions Leagues, Ballons d’Or, insane stats, and longevity at the top.

Pele and Maradona were magical, Ronaldo is a machine, Mbappé is the future, but Messi’s blend of artistry, consistency, and titles puts him slightly above the rest.

[NathanDavis]

Pelé is a historic figure, I never saw him play... I know there are some highlights of him but these were from the times in which the game was very different, and mostly amateurish as well... it's always mentioned about how he scored 1000 goals or more

but most of these games were local and scoring was not as impressive, really... other than that he is for sure the figure of World Cups

so, I would say that Messi is the other historic figure who has done more, and different and multiple levels as well, but more than that... he has had to compete all of his life with another great players all over the place, and constantly as well

Pelé was great yes... but he had many and plenty of other greats in his team, and virtually no rivals to compete at the same level

now Messi... he also had great teammates but the rivals were brutally competitive against him and not only competed but also defeated him and his team many times, and he still came on top in many ways, that... makes him different to other greats

[purplepoppy]

Doubt I'm the only one disappointed this isn't about actual goats

So I'm going for Fred Best.

[Iron_Man]

Who is he? Is that a Joke?

[DryGermanGuy]

The one and only Franz Beckenbauer!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Beckenbauer#Style_of_play

[SaoirseS]

I’m not a sports enthusiast at all. The only name in soccer I’d ever heard of was Pelé until this year when Messi was all over the news. That makes a total of two I’ve ever heard of. For sports info I defer to my sports nut husband.

[choco-latte]

It’s between Pele and Messi for me, but Cristiano Ronaldo is definitely fair debate too.

[Just_Ken]

Who is the goat striker?

Ronaldo is in my opinion.

[Jersey2]

Pele.

It has been 60 years and we still know his name. GOAT.

[KostasKouvalis]

The current generation doesn't know how great PELE actually was

[SaoirseS]

Not true. Until all this hubbub about Messi, the ONLY soccer player I’d ever heard of was Pelé.

[Paige2006]

Pele