Ronaldo, when he was at Sporting Academy was labelled the new Quaresma. That's how good Quaresma was.

Sneaking In PAUL MCSHANE Like Nobody Will Notice.

I’m supriced that Alexandre Pato didn’t even make the honorble mentions

the Rooney-Ronaldo comparison is completely arcuate. When Rooney scored that hattrick, on his Man Utd Debut, he stood head and shoulders above Ronaldo. I remember watching the game as a child and just thinking United had signed the greatest player that generation. But it was Ronaldo who went on the define that Man Utd team for the next 5 years. Rooney just didn't have the desire and dedication of Ronaldo. But then again most people don't and he did win everything at United. So can you blame him?

5:11 We should really have a "top 7 best individual performances across a PL season" video. Suarez 13/14, Kante 15/16, etc.

Gotze: Multiple injuries. Rooney: Humanity. Bale: Golf. Owen: One injury. Ben Arfa: Lazy. Ronaldinho: Parties. Neymar: Born in the wrong era

Ronaldinho was one of the most joyful and magical players to watch. He made professional football “entertaining”. Players like Henry in their prime cut through teams like a hot knife through butter, but Ronaldinho in those few prime seasons was beautiful to the eye and soul.

Adriano was a beast with Inter, no one could tackle him, he could score from anywhere in any way, power shot free kicks headers dribbling he had literally everything to become the next phenomenon

Quaresma could've been on Ronaldo's level, but why would he want to step down to it?

How are you going to show Ricardo Quaresma on the cover but don't even include him in your 7?! I've been bamboozled

How about '7 ways to make the MLS a better league' for your next US themed video? Like introduce pro-rel with the USL, reduce the number of expansion teams, give Don Garber the boot, etc.

I don't think Reus could've pushed Messi and Ronaldo, but I'm pretty sure he would've pushed Neuer as the best German player of this era, had he not been so unlucky with his injuries.

Ben Arfa's potential was explosive

I feel like there is an Arjen Robben shaped hole in this list...

I like Alfie's style...informed but entertaining

Jeremy Swazz Lynch

7 Greatest Attacking Center-Backs of All-Time

Day 25: 7 best own goals ever scored.

Video everyone wanted : 7 players who could have been as good as lord lingardihno😒

I assume you forgot a beast called Adriano, he was a force of nature.

Personally I'd have said Marco Reus over Götze, Reus is easily Dortmund's best player (yes, I think he's more key to them than even Sancho when fit) and a truly amazing talent... just a shame he's been as unlucky as he has with his injuries that's really prevented him being called world-class 🥺

Before this era we used to have 2 strikers or just the one up top with a number 10 behind. Wingers in those days typically were 1 dimensional/directional. Nowadays we all play 3 up top with 'wide forwards', effectively killing the number 10 role. The number 10 peaked with Totti/Del Piero. And you can see whose careers really suffered at the tail end, the likes of; Mata, Özil, James Rodriguez, Coutinho etc. have been surplus to requirements. And who flourished as wide forwards; Hazard, Bale, Sterling. Messi and Ronaldo are freaks who defy conventional form and formations. Zlatan too to be fair. But if we are really talking about this generation's greats we should give credit to the one other world class talent curiously ommitted from this list, the player who invented the modern goal creating, goal scoring, number-10-career-ending, deadly wide forward. Not just cutting in from the right onto his left. For me Arjen Robben is up there with these 2 purely for reinventing a position and changing the nature of the game. Imagine a wide player like David Beckham today with his limitations? So it's not just the conventional no.10s who've been disrupted by the innovation that is Robben.

Rooney is of course a world-class talent in his own right, but I think a lot of England and Manchester Utd fans (myself included) were slightly disappointed that he turned out to be no Ronaldo -- that, as Ronaldo grew tall and powerful, Rooney became sluggish and lethargic, no longer able to beat his man, no longer able to pull of those fancy little tricks that he was once capable of in his teens. After his pre-world cup injury in 2006 he was basically never been the same. Credit to him: he changed his game in the latter part of his career and learned to keep the ball well, passing to wings with precise long-balls and, in the final third, developed decent one-touch play to account for the lost acceleration. Not to mention his eye for goal/penchant for a worldie (Petr Cech maintains Rooney is the trickiest striker he's had to face in his career). But still -- this is a man who won FIFA World Young POTY in 2005 beating out both Messi and Ronaldo. A player who, by 23, had scored 100 premier league goals. Someone who won 5 PL titles, a Champion's League (and our best player in both lost finals to Barcelona) and has several nominations to the EPL, European, and World XI teams of the season. The guy scored 86 club goals between 2009/10 and 2011/12, registering nearly 30 assists in that time (only three players in Europe beat that record over that period -- you know two of them, but can you guess the third?). He became England's top scorer of all time. He scored -that- goal against Man City, -that- goal against West Ham, and -that- goal against Newcastle, among a few others... By almost all comparisons apart from Messi and Ronaldo (and his own prodigious talents as a teenager) he's been a huge, huge success. At his second peak (I'd say the first was from 03-06, and the second from 09-12) he was among the best 10-or-15 players in the world, and one of the most feared strikers in Europe. It's only disappointing because, at 18, it looked as if he'd be considered among the top 2-or-3. Despite all that, an all-time PL great and a legendary player.

I loved Queresma! Always felt I was unbeatable in FIFA with Portugal with him and Ronaldo on the squad

Would’ve put özil in this. He was unreal at Madrid and now doesn’t even make the arsenal team ahead of elneny

Last 7 people Neymar slapped. Where are they now??

Those who laugh at your suggestion of Rooney weren't around when he was ripping the Premier League up in the early 2000s (or are extremely biased). Quality footballer, then as he got older dropped deeper and showed incredible heart, passing/shooting range and football IQ.

You mentioned that bale had in (your opinion) one of the top 10 individual seasons in the prem, I think that would be a interesting concept for a video, 7 best individual seasons (either in a certain league or of all-time)

Götze is at PSV now 😮 but if you think about it, it should work out cos Dutch football is technical, he's close to home as he's nextdoor to Germany and he's joined a big club that challenges for titles and aims for champions league football which all footballers aspire to regardless of the level so I hope it works out for them. 🇩🇪⚽

class video as always

I'd have had Kaka in there somewhere

Arjen Robben could have been close without all those constant injuries

The Irish guy will make sure we never hear of Alfie

Possibly the best video on this channel

I agree heavily with Michael Owen, not because I'm a Liverpool fan but his level in his teens was phenomenal. Also he did win the Ballon d'Or as a EPL player which for some reason is rare. @HITC make a list of Top 7 players who left liverpool and failed after! Coutinho, Torres, Emre Can, Stirling!

out of this list, in my opinion at least... neymar and ronaldinho were the only ones who showed glimpses of potentially becoming, or actually briefly being at the level of, cronaldo and messi. the others on the list were very talented footballers no doubt, but i don't think they ever showed any hints that they would get to that level. like sure rooney was considered a better prospect than cronaldo early on, and he might have achieved more considering his abilities, but i don't think he ever showed he could possibly become a player capable of banging in 50+ goals 6 seasons in a row, and dribbling past entire defenses of top teams for fun every week.

"Lived like Pete Doherty and trained like Meset Ozil" best diss in football.

You're just the best football channel I swear to god.

Rafael van der Vaart as a teenager was unstoppable, I remember him scoring the winning goal for Ajax week after week for a while. In his 2nd and 3rd season combined he scored 39 goals in 57 games, from midfield. Eventually Sneijder kind of overtook him and Koeman didn't want to play both of them together, and he left for Hamburg, where he became a Bundesliga star, earning a move to Real Madrid. In hindsight he wasn't even the best Dutch player of his generation, with Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder all edging him, but as someone who has seen players like Van der Sar, Seedorf, Davids, Kluivert, Sneijder, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Eriksen, Van de Beek and De Ligt coming through the Ajax academy into the first team, none of them made the immediate impact and looked destined for greatness like Van de Vaart did, although De Ligt came close.

If Eden hazard had ronaldo’s work ethic he could have been at that level imo

Can't believe Vinnie Jones isn't on this list with his sublime skills and an all conquering career 👊

Absolutely spot on about Rooney. He’s like an English Ronaldinho, in that both players could’ve been in the top 5 greatest ever, if not THE greatest ever but cared too much about partying and their social life rather than honing their craft

Great video

X1 of footballers that performed at international level but struggled at clubs or the other way around (x1 of players that performed at club but struggled at international level.)

Seeing that Owen is in this video I will ask again for the 7 youngest ballon d’or winners and how their career turned out.

Can you imagine if Ronaldo or Messi had a bad injury earlier in their careers and never progressed? There could have been so many unbelievable talents that we missed out on due to injury.

He started the list with someone I was wondering if they would make it. Gotze. So much potential. And we seen plenty of glimpses.

Finnaly someone said reuth about Rooney.. 🔥.. He is still my fav ❤️

Robben without injuries would also be a monster

Video idea: Ranking all the players that scored the first goal of a PL season

Can you do a video of players who were on the CM01/02 game - greatest ever footy manager game - and which players on that game are still playing in 2021

Video idea: France's 4 man wall VS THAT roberto carlos free kick: what happened to them after that.

Wesley Sneijder

I personally think that as well as fitness and injuries of course, the players intelligence is also a factor in whether they keep improving and then keep performing at the highest level. I'm not saying they need to have huge IQs but if they are a bit thick then they'll usually get distracted and/or make bad desicions. Gareth Bale is a good example!

Honorable mentions: Ronaldo Nazario (injuries), Nicolas Anelka (relationship with press, coaches), Jeremy Menez (work), James Rodriguez (nightclubs), Antonio Cassano (signin Real)

Owen did not deserve the Ballon D'Or that year. It should have been Figo.

Retired Xi that would still be able compete in the pl

Ronaldinho was surrounded by legends not just from his team but world. Legends during his era .

2 ideas top 7 players who hate big games and top 7 players that love big games

What about ibrahimovice.?!

neymar 2016-17 (especially pre PSG transfer) was for me the best player in world. He was unbelievable

I think football has changed... in the past there was a lot squads full of 11 legendary players or recognizible as legends (ex. AC Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, Liverpool, Barcellona, Bayern Munchen, Manchester Utd and many more). In these days is more about a player or a couple of them. If ronaldinho, kaka, totti or ronaldo ,for example, were born in this era they would have won a tons of ballon d’or just like messi and ronaldo did.

I don't know about others but Adriano, he was something else. I used to admire him a lot, but then suddenly i don't see him or hear anymore.

Day 13: 2012-2013 and 2019-2020 Bayern Munich Combined XI

Adriano could have been the goat u shud have included him

Should do a vid about players that could’ve been world class if not for injuries

Thanks for saying sporting clube de Portugal I appreciate it very much

Rooney!!!!!!!....for the life of me I can't make an eleven without putting him on ....gets disrespected way too much ...he is literally everything for you apart from full back and centre back....brilliant technique and athleticism(surprising) ....he is the highest goalscorer in Manchester uniteds history n the 3rd highest assists man in premier league history

you forgot Marco Reus

For any kids who don't remember him, of England's golden generation circa 2002, Owen was probably our best player.

quaresma had so much potential it is rare to see a player with that much skill on the ball he kind of reminded me of ortega.

"It would be ludicrous to suggest Rooney wasted his talent or lacked professionalism" 3:58 Will bean unpopular take but Rooney was very unprofessional --- He's cheated on his wife multiple times with escorts. Has been caught for drink driving over three times the alcohol limit - www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41298649 Is a known and been pictured to be an heavy drinker and smoker. Handed in two transfer requests - one of which a statement happened to come out during a matchday for Man United. ---- He's very naturally talented for sure but there is a reason Ferguson wanted to get rid and he might've done if he didn't retire and that his form deeply declined during his late 20s.

While I can agree with Gotze, Bale, Neymar and Rooney on the list, Owen, Ronaldinho and Ben Arfa don't make sense at all to me. In Owen and Ronaldinho's cases, they're a whole generation before Messi and CR7, and Ben Arfa, though talented, never once came close to the levels that so many others did. The likes of Robinho, Pato, Di Maria, Torres, Falcao, Sneijder, Ribery, Robben, Suarez, Ibrahimovic and Lewandowski should all make the list easily going by the criteria you've used in the picks. All around the same generation as Messi and CR7, all reached levels or had potential to reach levels close to Messi and CR7, but either didn't maintain it or didn't improve like those 2 did and so didn't have the careers they did.

This does make one wonder if Messi and Ronaldo would have excelled at the level they have and the have the longevity to keep it up for more than a decade if it wasn't the competition between them to be the best that drove them to remain at the top. Very interesting.

Ben Afra does indeed have God given football talent, just check out his highlights from his one season at OGC Nice.

You missed. Bojan,,,

7 English managers that coached other countries

Surprised to see Torres not being on the list considering his achievements and how his form took a hit after injury problems and his transfer to Chelsea. Or even Kaka for the same reasons, considering he even won a ballon d'or

Day 17 :Ranking every barca transfer since Neymar's sale

don't know what hitc obsession with ben arfa is, he's closer to adel taarabt than messi or ronaldo. quaresma, saviola, balotelli, adriano or joe cole would have been better picks

Hear me out. Harry Kewell. I know I'm totally biased because I'm an Aussie but that guy was literally ruined by injuries. When he was fit back at Leeds in his early 20's, especially that cl season he was an absolute beast. Was voted for the ballon dor and let's not forget he turned Vidic into fruit salad 😂

Besides their talent and their dedication to their craft they have been incredibly lucky not have suffered any major injuries. So many greats suffered serious injury and were never 100% the same again.

How about next the top 10 who could possibly become the successor of Messi and Ronaldo in the future?

I could’ve been the next pele if it wasn’t for my damn knee

wilfred bony?

Do more videos on derbies across the world and maybe do a best of across Europe/World

Liked for the original title in the intro lol

Wayne Rooney could have been good as Messi and Ronaldo

Pls make a video about the Egyptian golden generation which won 3 afcon's in a row (2006-2010).

I cant agree more with the Neymar part. I always say that when he was in his last year at Barcelona he reached his prime, very close to Messi's level imo. I just cant imagine what would happen if he stayed in Barcelona, or went to a more competitive league.

Idea that could have been done already but I don't think so. Rank the ballon dor (equivalent award for aeasoms it doesnt apply) winning seasons by how good the season was for that player. So messi/Ronaldo will have multiple entries. But overall you see the best season ls of football ever by each individual, in order.

Zlatan?

Anderson of Man Untd. Was unstoppable at youth level. Wasted talent

Third best footballer would not be Neymar...it would be Lewandowski at the moment. Neymar got lost in the woods when he moved to PSG

Just outside the cutoff was Iker Muniain who pretty much was Mario Gotze situation but with an earlier high peak playing in La Liga at 16 and being the 10th highest value teen compared to Messi himself both in play style, stature, and valuation. Then Iker's calf injury which took him out for just 2 games became a precursor to two knee ligament ruptures, a torn abductor muscle, and an undisclosed muscle injury before 27. Make this video in January and Iker jumps in there as a barely eligible December birth.

Robben, if he wasn’t so injury prone.

Mann kaka should have been here

KDB is also way underrated at his level, he has the vision of prime ozil and the passing ability of his own kind. He has a rocket of shot with both his feet just as good, has incredible workrates and is one of city’s biggest influences this decade. Of he wins the ucl soon i think people Will finaly start to realise how much of a monster he is period.

Pretty solid list. I would have included Diego Forlan on the list.

kaka?