Ex-Man United striker Andy Cole has chosen in the ongoing debate over football’s greatest player, naming Diego Maradona as the best of all time, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
While many ex-United players have sided with Ronaldo in the GOAT discussion, Cole revealed he has a different view, pointing to the legendary Argentine as the ultimate football icon.
Cole, who left United in 1995, two years before Ronaldo joined the club, has always spoken highly of CR7. In 2021, when Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford, Cole praised the forward’s enduring talent and hunger, saying:
As reported by Planet Football on Tuesday, Cole said, “The goals that he’s got. He’s done almost everything in his career. To still have that hunger and desire – that tells you everything.”
But despite his admiration, Cole insists Ronaldo is not the greatest player ever.
When asked by ESPN to name the best player of all time, Cole replied simply: “Diego Maradona.”
Cole also praised Messi, describing him as one of the best dribblers ever alongside Maradona. Yet his loyalty to Maradona is rooted in his upbringing and the era he grew up watching.
Cole, who came of age in the 1970s and 1980s, has often said he feels it would be unfair to judge players like Pelé or George Best because he never saw them play live.
In a 2010 column for The Independent, Cole explained: “In the perennial debates about the greatest player of all time, I take the view that I cannot judge Pele or George Best, because I never saw them play in the flesh…
I don’t doubt their genius, but I grew up watching another, Diego Maradona.”
Cole’s respect for football’s greatest talents extends beyond the GOAT debate. When asked about the best striker he ever played against, he named Ronaldo Nazario, the Brazilian legend, as the most complete forward he ever faced.
Recalling a match against Inter Milan, Cole admitted he was starstruck at the sight of Ronaldo in the tunnel at the San Siro.
“I’m not gonna lie, I nearly wet myself,” he said on The Beautiful Game Podcast.
“This is the guy I’ve watched for years… he had everything in the locker.”
He added that looking back at his own career, he feels proud of what he achieved, telling his sons:
“I’ve done alright. I’ve half made it!”
