top4 without order: Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele, Zidane.
Pele- we must accept that he was voted GOAT at the end of a millennium.
3 WCs, 1000+ goals. dedicated life to soccer. But he never played in Europe. In tough English league he would be injured half a season. In defensive Italian league he would not score so much.
Zidane - hell of a player, won it all. 2 goals in WC final 1998. 1 goal in 2006 (Panenka penalty shot in 2nd minute, and then red card for knockouting Materazzi). Crazy winning goal in Champions league overtime agains Leverkusen. First 3 years as a coach he won 3 CL titles. Charizmatic. crazy technique, fun to watch. He could be GOAT, but on the paper other players had more trophies as a players.
Messi - if he wins WC 2022 he will be GOAT without a doubt. He needs win at least Copa America to be GOAT in my eyes. 6 Golden Balls are great, but not much different when you compare it to 5 of Ronaldo. At least 1 or 2 GBs of Messi were controversial. If I had a gun in my head I would choose Messi as a GOAT.
CR7 - Showed his skill in England, Spain and even in Italy. I would not care about the fact he won 5 GBs against 6 GBs of Messi. That system of voting is not very objective. He became real GOAT consideration after he won EURO 2016. If he win another trophy with Portugal, he will be my GOAT.
Hardworking, but his celebrity lifestyle and crybaby style does not help in GOAT consideration. Winning CL with Juve would also help very much.
It is hard to evaluate players I saw only on youtube highlights. (Cruyff, Platini, Beckenbauer, Maradona, Van Basten,...) But we must respect them.
Other phenomenal players deserving top 15, maybe even top7 spot: Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Neuer, Pirlo.
Ronaldinho was most fun to watch player ever. He won it all. Unfortunately he lost motivation. After Barca it was not it anymore. And also before Barca he was great but not considered as best in world. He had very good 3-4 years, but that is not enough.
I totally respect
Neuer, for me he is the best keeper ever. Revolutionize GK position. But not really
as no big change happened, because no other GK can do the same. Maybe in next years we will see more GKs playing 25-30m outside the 'net'. He won it all. Not as big charisma and leader as Buffon, but in Germany it is about team and not about ego.
Beckham was also fun to watch, many thinks he was marketing product, but that is not true. His long passes to Yorke/Cole were astonishing. Even his last season at Madrid, he was the best player there for last 2-3 months, before going to US.