Italian football legends Roberto Baggio and Marco Materazzi have offered contrasting verdicts on the sport’s greatest player, with Baggio selecting Lionel Messi and Materazzi backing Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazário.
The former Azzurri stars joined fellow icons including Gabriel Batistuta, Romario and Ronaldo himself for a roundtable discussion that turned to the contentious GOAT debate. Though both men are World Cup veterans, they diverged sharply when choosing between Messi, Pelé, Diego Maradona and the Brazilian forwards.
Baggio: Quality and Quantity
Baggio, who represented Italy at three World Cup tournaments, acknowledged the difficulty of ranking such exceptional talents. He described the exercise as “even ugly to rank” when discussing players he considers “the absolute essence of football.”
Nevertheless, the 1993 Ballon d’Or winner settled on Messi, citing the Argentine’s sustained excellence. “As of today, I’d say Messi for what he’s been doing for 20 years, in terms of quality and quantity,” Baggio stated, though he stressed that Messi, Pelé and Maradona all stand above their peers.
Materazzi: The ‘Real’ Ronaldo
Materazzi, however, selected the player seated alongside him. The 2006 World Cup winner argued that Ronaldo Nazário achieved things “nobody has done” despite career-threatening injuries.
“Because what he did without two knees, going 150 km/h, nobody has done it,” Materazzi explained. He described the Brazilian as “Martian” for his ability to dominate during an era when “defenders hit hard.” Materazzi offered respect to Cristiano Ronaldo while clarifying his choice: “To me, it was him, the Phenomenon. The Real Ronaldo.”
World Cup Pedigrees
The debate carries weight given both Italians’ distinguished international careers. Baggio competed in the 1990, 1994 and 1998 tournaments, famously missing a penalty in the 1994 final defeat to Brazil. Materazzi enjoyed World Cup glory in 2006—the only edition he played—scoring twice during the tournament including the equaliser against France in the Berlin final.
While the GOAT question remains subjective, the split between two of Italy’s most celebrated players highlights how different eras and playing styles shape such judgments.