Not Messi or Pele: Nigeria’s afropop star Davido disagrees with Cristiano Ronaldo on choice of GOAT

Nigerian-American singer-songwriter and record producer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, does not agree with Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo’s choice of the greatest footballer of all time, Soccernet.football reports.

The eternal debate over who is the greatest footballer in history has often centered around the quartet of Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Brazil’s Pelé, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

While Messi considers it a source of pride simply to be mentioned among football’s legends, Ronaldo has often insisted that he is the best to ever play the game.

The former Real Madrid star is in the news again after boldly claiming that no player in history has been better than him.

During an interview with Spanish television as per Al Jazeera, Ronaldo did not hold back on why he believes he is the greatest footballer of all time.

“I’m the best player in football history. I haven’t seen anyone better than me in football history, and I’m saying the truth from my heart,” Ronaldo said in an interview with LaSexta TV on Monday.

@Cristiano responde a LA pregunta de @EduAguirre7

“Yo creo que soy el mejor de la historia”

“Sinceramente, yo no vi nadie mejor que yo” pic.twitter.com/15O9WHH5ye

— laSexta (@laSextaTV) February 3, 2025

“I’m talking about numbers,” he continued. “I think I’m the most complete player to have ever existed. In my opinion, it’s me. I do everything well in football—headers, free kicks, left foot. I’m fast. I’m strong.

“One thing is taste. If you like Messi, Pelé, Maradona, I understand that and respect it, but saying Ronaldo isn’t complete? I’m the most complete. I haven’t seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart.”

During the interview, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner also weighed in on the debate over the greatest goal scorer of all time.

“Who’s the best goal scorer in history? It’s about numbers. Full stop,” Ronaldo said.

“Who’s the player in history who’s scored the most goals with their head, their left foot, penalties, free kicks? I was looking the other day, and despite not being left-footed, I’m in the top 10 goal scorers with their left foot in history—and also with my head, my right foot, and penalties. All of them.”

✅ Most followed person on Instagram
✅ First person to score 100 Champions League goals
✅ Most Champions League goals
✅Most international caps (male)
✅ Most goals scored in international football (male)

Happy birthday to the GOAT, Cristiano Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/VAOtXtqN23

— Guinness World Records (@GWR) February 5, 2025

However, top Nigerian music artist Davido believes Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen, on loan from Napoli, is his pick for the Greatest of All Time debate.

For Davido, none of Ronaldo, Messi or Pele has outshine Osimhen on his GOAT list.

The 2023 African Footballer of the Year, Osimhen is the first African player to finish as top scorer in the history of the Italian Serie A.

The Super Eagles striker is also Nigeria’s second-highest all-time goal scorer, breaking Segun Odegbami’s 45-year grip on the spot.

Recognizing Osimhen’s impact, the first Nigerian player to be valued at €100 million, Davido took to his Instagram story to crown Osimhen as his greatest player ever.

While Osimhen has managed 154 career goals, Ronaldo remains the highest goal scorer in history with 923.