I had the luck to be in Nassau Coliseum for all of those epic battles between Wayne Gretzky and Bryan Trottier in 1983 and 1984, and to see Wayne play most of his games after 1987, and I was in Dodger Stadium for Kirk Gibson's home run, but the greatest sports thrill I ever had was seeing Pele and his Santos club team play West Ham United (with Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Bobby Moore!!) on a Third-World field on Randall's Island when I was a teenager. Not Yankee Stadium, not Shea Stadium, not even the Columbia University athletic field -- Randall's Island, with no direct public transportation service and a field that looked like an empty lot in a bad part of town. The start of the match was delayed 15 minutes while groundskeepers raked rocks off one almost-bare corner of the pitch . . . I have no idea what the score was.

Greatest play of all time!

Then what is the correct answer? I think picking Lemieux was more than valid. Even Datsyuk didn't have his talent.

Well, I disagree. Ronaldo in his prime was Pele.

La Liga and the Eredivisie are both farmer leagues. Premier League is miles above it.

You should see Patrick Kane's goal in the finals vs the Flyers. That was way better.

Henry single handedly carried that Arsenal team. The only other decent player was Vieria and Campbell. That single season was the greatest performance by an individual player. He deserved 10 FIFA World Player Of The Years.

Through Ronaldo’s entire career he was overweight & untalented. He was not an influential player for his team. He struggled to make an impact playing for Inter Milan during his so called “peak years.” Serie A at the time was the least competitive & lowest level league in the world, yet he still couldn’t be a difference maker. Ronaldo took on some of the worst defensive players to ever play: Maldini, Baresi, Cannavaro and Nesta. However, he was still unable to cause them any trouble. Ronaldo will forever go down as the most pathetic player of all time. He didn’t do anything significant for his clubs & country, plus he couldn’t dribble.

Pele was as great a scorer in his prime, especially during the World Cups in 1958 and 1962. Then in 1970 he moved into the midfield (and led Brazil to a third win in four tries), where Ronaldo was only allowed to go during introductions. And after that, he had a successful career in the NASL.

LMAO Pele?

Pele is the most overrated player in history alongside Ronaldo Nazario. He had no dribbling and playmaking abilities. He was totally a one dimensional penalty box poacher who scored a bunch of tap ins from offside positions. He played against amateur level competition as he faced opponents like Moore, Beckenbauer, Fachetti and Burgnich. He dominated in an easy era where there were not many stars.

Thierry Henry was far better than him.

Pele played in the midfield when Brazil won the World Cup for the third time in four tries in 1970. He was far more than a great scorer. But I have the feeling that with the defenders you mentioned, you may be pulling my leg.

I think Pele is the greatest player of all time. He was not only a great goal scorer, but also a fantastic dribbler and playmaker. However, so was Ronaldo. I think Ronaldo was faster and stronger on the ball. He played against all the top defenders but they all feared him. Keep in mind Ronaldo was given the Golden Ball in the 1998 and 2002 World Cup as MVP.

I believe during his days at Inter Milan, Ronaldo was the number 10 (attacking midfielder) like Pele, because they had Zamarano and Vieri as the two men up front.

It is like we live in an opposite universe. Serie A at that time was filled with football's biggest stars: Zidane, Baggio, Del Piero, Totti, Rui Costa and Batistuta. Maldini, Baresi, Cannavaro and Nesta are regarded as some of the very best defenders in history. They were elegant, technical and had great defensive instincts part of some very successful clubs. However, they were all most fearful of Ronaldo because he was such a fast, tricky dribbler who could always get away and go up against the keeper. Even the great Buffon says Ronaldo was the greatest of all time.

la liga is the highest rated football league in europe. therefore, it is the premier league that is the farmers league.

if thierry henry was so good, he would've played in la liga.

Thought CapFriendly had a HOCKEY STICK in the logo! Take your soccer chit-chat out back to the woodshed and shoot it silly with a bucket-a-pucks............

LMAO You have got to be kidding. When Thierry Henry went to Barcelona for the final 2 years of his career, he absolutely tore it up. Won every possible trophy there was to win at club level. It was way too easy for him. Let's see Messi take a real challenge and come play in a physical, high level league.

Patrick Kane is by far the greatest hockey player of all time and anyone who disagrees should jump off a tall skyscraper. We need to just accept that this guy is at the top in every category. Not only is he the best scorer, he’s also the greatest playmaker as he creates space with vision no one has ever seen before. He’s the best at stick handling, deking and dangling past opponents with highlight reel worthy skills. Everything he does is out of this world, there has simply never been a more brilliant player. There should be no more doubts that this guy is number one.

One of the issues with Ronaldo was that throughout his career, he played far too deep in his comfort zone. He was never willing to take any risks or challenges to prove he was the world’s best player. After his season at Barcelona, he refused to join a club in the Premier League, which was the highest level in the world at the time. Instead he opted to join the Serie A, a farmer’s league full of amateur level players. During his time at Inter, he failed to be an impact player as he only won the Champions Cup and Coppa Italia. He was too one dimensional, his only capability was scoring tap ins and headers as a penalty box poacher, and he needed to have great players do the work and create chances for him.

when thierry henry was at barcelona, the premier league was the highest rated league in europe. sounds like thierry henry has never played in the highest level league.

The Premier League has always been the highest rated league in Europe. Henry won it twice. He's the GOAT.

based on that, wayne rooney is better because rooney won the premier league 5 times.

Like I said, the 90s Serie A was football's golden generation. All the top players were there, and the top teams were Juventus, Milan, Parma and Lazio. When Ronaldo first joined, Inter was not a world-class side. They had Djourkaeff, Zanetti and Zamarano as star players, but that was it. Inter was struggling to make the top 4 but Ronaldo made them a Champions League contender. His 1997/98 performance when they won the Champions League was one of the greatest individual seasons of all time. What'd you mean he was one-dimensional? The guy could lead the attack all by himself!

@OldNYIfan

Who do you think was better between Kaka and Rivaldo?

I didn't see them play enough. In fact, I don't even remember Rivaldo. Rivelinho, yes.

I'm a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo