The 10 Most Overrated Footballers In History Named By Fans In Controversial Rankings

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been bizarrely named as two of the most overrated footballers of all time in a controversial top 10 rankings.

Messi, 34, has spent the majority of his senior club playing career with Barcelona before switching to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer on a free transfer.

The Argentine forward, who scored an incredible 672 times in 778 appearances for Barcelona, lifted a staggering 35 trophies during his time at the Camp Nou.

The PSG superstar also captured his first major international trophy in the summer after Argentina’s Copa America triumph.

Messi is the outright Ballon d'Or record holder with six to his name, with Ronaldo one shy of him.

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Ronaldo, who returned to United in the summer, has built a remarkable playing career and established legendary status at both Real Madrid and the Red Devils.

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The 36-year-old Portuguese superstar has won 32 major trophies in his illustrious career across club and country.

And Ronaldo holds the distinguished accolades of top goalscorer of all time and the leading international goalscorer.

Despite their phenomenal on-pitch achievements, TheTopTens held a poll and fans cast their votes for the most overrated footballers of all time.

Ronaldo astonishingly ranked at No 3 in the rankings, while Messi finished in fifth place behind fourth-placed Ronaldinho.

PA

Brazil legend Pele, who is regarded as one of the best footballers of all time, placed ahead of Ronaldo at No 2.

United legend David Beckham came out on top of the star-studded list of players, despite a prolific playing career in the sport.

The 46-year-old shot to superstardom during his time on the pitch and played for the likes of United, Real Madrid, PSG and AC Milan in his career.

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Beckham, who went on to become the co-founder and president of MLS side Inter Miami, collected an impressive 19 major trophies before his retirement in 2013.

Posted below are the fans’ (unusual) picks for the 10 most overrated footballers in history.

PA

10. Michael Owen

9. David Trezeguet

8. Thierry Henry

7. Carlos Tevez

6. Frank Lampard

5. Lionel Messi

4. Ronaldinho

3. Cristiano Ronaldo

2. Pele

1. David Beckham

Topics: David Beckham, Pele, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Frank Lampard, Carlos Tevez, Thierry Henry, Michael Owen, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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