Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher agree that Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane are two of the greatest footballers of all time - but disagree on the third.
The Premier League legends were in the Sky Sports studio for Nottingham Forest's 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Monday evening.
Post-match, the duo were asked to name their GOATs, agreeing on Maradona and Zidane. One sticking point came when picking the final player.
Keane opted for former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, while Carragher chose Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi.
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After initially naming his top Premier League trio of Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney, Keane said: "I thought the question was the Premier League.
"Away from that Maradona would have to be up there, Ronaldo and then I'd probably say Zidane for me. He was amazing and I was lucky enough to play against him.
"Brilliant player, nasty, scored a goal, won the big prizes. Hard to beat that."
Carragher then discussed his picks with the caveat he must have watched them play. That immediately ruled out Pele, Johan Cruyff and others from that generation.
"Forget players I hadn’t seen, so I didn’t want to get involved with Cruyff, Pele and things like that. So, just the players that have made me go ‘wow’ since the mid-80s," he begun. "Number one, for me, would be Messi.
"I said last week, if Argentina won the World Cup it would cement him, in a lot of peoples’ eyes, as the number one."
Carragher continued: "Maradona, just what he did in 1986. I was a young kid and couldn’t believe what I was watching. And I’d agree with Roy, I’d go with Zidane from the modern generation. I just think Zidane for what he did in the biggest moments. You think of the [1998] World Cup final, the goal at Hampden Park in the [2002] Champions League final, his performances at Euro 2000. He was special."
Roy Keane & @Carra23's top 3 footballers of 𝐀𝐋𝐋-𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/rzzk86dEHx
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 10, 2022
Carragher and Keane clashing over the Messi and Ronaldo debate is nothing new. Both men were involved in a heated debate following Ronaldo's return to United.
Former Liverpool defender Carragher argued it was a poor transfer to make, while Keane claimed the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was brought back to the club to win trophies.
United are currently on their longest trophy drought in 40 years and finished last season with their lowest-ever Premier League points tally.
Who do you think are the greatest footballers of all time? Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports
Topics: Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo
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