Donald Trump weighs in on soccer's age-old GOAT debate: 'This player was tremendous'
GOAT according to Trump Chelsea's Cole Palmer is congratulated by US President Donald Trump after being awarded the Golden Ball trophy during the award ceremony for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Champions. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP
Image: Franck Fife/AFP
US President Donald Trump has weighed in on the age-old debate over who is the greatest soccer player of all time.
Trump, who attended Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup final win over European champions Paris Saint-Germain in New Jersey on Sunday, snubbed both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are seen by modern football fans as the greatest to ever play the game.
While names like Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the conversation in recent years, the likes of Pelé, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Eusébio, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, and Zinedine Zidane have also been mentioned.
But, due to being part of the Boomer generation, His Orangeness opted for a player who graced the pitch in the 1950s and 1960s when asked who he thought was the greatest footballer of all time.
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"Many years ago, when I was young, they brought a player called Pelé to play, and he played for a team called the Cosmos. And this place was packed – it was an earlier version of this stadium – and it was Pelé,” said the MAGA president.
“I don’t want to date myself, but that was a long time ago. And I was a young guy, so I came to watch Pelé, and he was fantastic. So probably I’ll go old-fashioned – that’s like saying Babe Ruth – and say Pelé was so great."
Brazilian great Pelé died three years ago at the age of 82. He spent the majority of his career at Santos and spent his last playing days turning out for the New York Cosmos between 1975 and 1977. He is the only player in the history of the sport to win three FIFA World Cups.
AFP