O/T -BBC on Pele at 80...

[Alan]

A poll on the GOAT .... not worth looking at..George Best isn't in their selection..(and I'm not a ManU fan).

Probably based their selection on what they won over their career rather than how they played.

I'm assuming most fans rate players for how they played, rather than their collection of medals...or am I wrong?

[BerlinWaller]

Would Pele have achieved as much if he had played in Europe? Yes he got over 1000 goals but he was playing domestic football in Brazil.

I am with you Alan, I was brought up watching videos of George Best and for me, he is the GOAT. He changed the game, just like Ronaldo and Messi have done recently. Mark Shirley is a distant 2nd.

[Freez]

Never saw Best live, but plenty who did who aren’t Man U say he was special.

Saw Shirls live mind, he was a treat too!!

[Westgate Wanderer]

Didn't Pele once say that Best was the erm best?

[Crazeenick]

I agree Best was best. And he would have been even better still without the booze and partying and if he had looked after his body as well as modern footballers.

He was great with both feet and with his head. He often had to play on dreadful pitches in those days with thuggish defenders knocking lumps out of him with zero protection from the ref. I had the pleasure of watching him play a few times for Man U at Old Trafford when I was a lad, alongside Bobby Charlton and Denis Law. Wow - what a trio!

Because Best played for Northern Ireland he didn't get a chance to shine on the international stage. Had he been English I'm sure he would have had a far bigger international profile.

I believe both Maradonna and Pele thought he was the best player.