If you were to ask the average football fan who the best footballer of the 21st century is, you could bet your bottom dollar that the majority would pick Lionel Messi – but not Piers Morgan. He believes there are four footballers better than the Argentine.
Messi, now 37 and plying his trade for Inter Miami, has taken the world by storm since breaking his Barcelona duck in November 2003. He’s won a record eight Ballon d’Or and, thus, is widely recognised as one of the greatest to ever grace the turf.
ESPN have ranked the top 25 players of the 21st century and, in turn, have placed Rosario-born Messi at the top of the list. The record-setting icon was quickly followed by Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane and Luka Modric.
Between 5th and 25th – in ESPN’s list – are the likes of Kylian Mbappe, widely regarded as one of the best players in world football, Ronaldo Nazario (in 9th), Sergio Ramos (in 14th) and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney (in 22nd).
In response, Morgan – who has not shied away from admitting his affinity for the aforementioned Ronaldo over the years – offered his list of four players better than Messi, who somewhat ‘completed football’ in 2022 after winning the Qatar-based World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo
As alluded to, Ronaldo is the best footballer of the 21st century in Morgan’s eyes. The Portuguese has been a talisman of the highest order throughout his career and has taken his goalscoring exploits to the Middle East for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
He made a name for himself while earning his corn at Portugal top flight outfit Sporting CP and then Manchester United, when he arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2003 as the most exciting teenager in world football. What has followed is nothing short of the stuff of legend, isn't it?
Ronaldo Nazario
Irrespective of how many injuries Ronaldo, commonly monikered R9, accrued throughout his career, he’s still recognised as one of the best to ever do it – he was potent in front of goal, dribbled in and out of defenders with relative ease and was the archetypal striker.
As alluded to, injuries to his knee prevented the centre-forward – commonly admired as one of Brazil's greatest ever footballers – from hitting the heights. That said, his career is still envied by the masses given his accolades from a team collective and individual perspective.
Thierry Henry
One-time World Cup winner Henry may be widely recognised as one of the best footballers to never win the Ballon d’Or, but Morgan’s decision to name him as the third-best player of the 21st century could be cited to his Arsenal allegiance. The Frenchman, who played for Arsenal, Barcelona, AS Monaco and New York Red Bulls throughout his career, plundered 360 goals and 168 assists in his 794-game career.
Ronaldinho
In fourth spot, one ahead of Messi is Ronaldinho. Formerly of Barcelona and AC Milan, the one-of-a-kind magician encapsulated everything joyous about the beautiful game: trickery, agility and creative nous. To put the Brazilian’s brilliance into perspective, he received a standing ovation from rival fans in the Santiago Bernabeu in 2005 after his dazzling display on Los Blancos soil.