From Roy Keane to Kylian Mbappe, some of the biggest names in football have declared Cristiano Ronaldo the GOAT.
With five Ballon d'Or awards, five Champions League titles, seven league titles, a Euro and countless other trophies to his name, there is little debate that Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time.
He's just 109 goals away from 1,000 career goals and, despite being 39 years old, shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Here are 13 big names in football who consider Ronaldo to be the greatest player of all time.
Frank Lampard
The Chelsea legend previously considered Lionel Messi to be the GOAT but has since retracted his original opinion.
“The truth is, I've always been a Messi guy,” Lampard told The Overlap in 2021.
“In fact, when you look at Ronaldo's production, his actual numbers and the goals he's scored in big finals and semi-finals like we've seen, I think I might give him the edge.”
Steven Gerrard
Like his England team-mates, Gerrard has changed his view on the GOAT debate in recent years, with the Al-Ettifaq manager recently ranking CR7 as the greatest player of all time.
“The arrival of Cristiano, who we call the 'GOAT'. He arrived in January, obviously a big signing and still had a lot to offer in football. I spent six months observing Cristiano Ronaldo's performances from afar, watching some of his matches and highlights.
“I think from that moment on, the league became a very popular topic for everyone around the world.”
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Roy Keane
Even when things took a turn for the worse with Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford, Keane, as a pundit, always seemed to have his back.
“I think there was a big debate about him. [Ronaldo] “He's not comparable to Messi but I think he's reached a new level in the last six months. Ronaldo is on his own. He's brilliant but it's through sheer hard work, not natural talent,” Keane said during his coverage of the 2018 World Cup.
“He's courageous, brave and a genius. Looking at his form in the last few months, I think he's better than Messi.”
Gary Neville
Neville and Ronaldo don't always see eye to eye, but the former Manchester United captain consistently names CR7 as the greatest player of all time.
“There's no doubt that Messi has scored an incredible number of goals,” Neville told Sky Sports in 2021. “He's an incredible player.”
“[But] Ronaldo is probably scoring 30-40% more goals with his weak foot and taking more penalties, so he has just become more complete in the most important parts of the game.
“More decisively, the international record for the most goals scored in an international match. The fact that he has won the Champions League five times with teams that were not as strong as Messi's…”
Iker Casillas
When asked who the best player of the modern era is, Casillas gave a simple and succinct answer: “Cristiano.”
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Roberto Carlos
“These days when we talk about football, we talk about Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo, but from my perspective, Cristiano has been trying to improve,” Carlos told Fox Sports in 2017.
“I watch him train every day and the way he works is inspiring. He wants to improve every day. That's the difference with Messi.”
“Leo is phenomenal, but Cristiano's training, professionalism, focus, motivation, success… Cristiano is above everyone else.”
Kylian Mbappe
It's no secret that Ronaldo is Mbappe's idol, with the French forward calling CR7 the GOAT on social media on multiple occasions.
Zinedine Zidane
Shortly after Ronaldo won his fifth Ballon d'Or, the former Real Madrid manager hailed the Portuguese star as the greatest player of all time.
When asked if Ronaldo was the GOAT of 2017, Zidane replied: “Yes, his numbers speak for themselves, both in what he has achieved and what he will achieve in the future.”
“There are no better words to describe Cristiano. What he does is phenomenal.”
“A player can come here and play for this team for 20 years and not achieve what they've achieved so far.”
Thomas Muller
When asked if he would choose between Messi and Ronaldo, Muller replied: “I would choose Ronaldo. I have a good record against Messi, but against Ronaldo, I'm not so good.”
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Ryan Giggs
“Well, of course I'll play Cristiano because I've played with him,” Giggs said in 2017.
“Cristiano did it in Portugal, of course he did it in England, La Liga and with Portugal. For me Cristiano is better, but only slightly.”
Giorgio Chiellini
When asked which of the two greatest players of the modern era he would choose, Chiellini told ESPN: “Ronaldo.”
Marcelo
“I've played with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Van Nistelrooy in Brazil and Cristiano is the best player I've played with,” Marcelo told reporters in 2017.
“He's the most complete player I've ever seen.”
Pablo Sarabia
Sarabia has been fortunate to have played alongside the likes of Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar but clearly has a preference between the three.
“It's fantastic because it's a dream to play with these players,” Sarabia told talkSPORT.
When asked who the best player he has ever played with was, he replied: “That's a very difficult question. Cristiano. His way of thinking is really good. That's a very difficult question.”
