Is a world cup medal needed to be considered one of the best of all time ?

Of course not! Maradona never won a European Cup and he's obviously considered one of the greatest to ever grace the sport. You can't always be expected to carry a team to glory - especially if you only get 3-4 chances to do it in a lifetime. Messi, along with Ronaldo, is up there with Zidane, Pele, Maradona, Eusebio, etc,.

Out of choice. He chose to play for Napoli when he could have gone to any club in the world. And imo he has the leadership and mean spirited tenacity that Messi lacks, he really slightly edges it for me still.

Players are judged by their stats as well Messi's stats outbeat everybody's. Messi got Argentina to the WC don't forget. You're basically saying that if Palacio would have scored Messi is then considered on Maradona's level? Doesn't make sense, Messi is the best player i've ever seen. Pele also played his whole career in Brazil so how can he be considered a great? Maradona never won the UCL either. Messi has 3 UCL's and has scored in two UCL finals.

On BBC all the pundits saying that messi can't be considered one of the best of all time till he wins a world cup.

On BBC all the pundits saying that messi can't be considered one of the best of all time till he wins a world cup. For me this is complete rubbish, as it is so dependent upon what nationality you play for and how good your international team mates are. For me Messi winning 4 balon dor's in a row is enough to be in that list of the worlds greatest of all time. People may argue that barcelona make messi look better than he is? did Pele not play in arguably one of best international teams of all time?

What do you guys think then, is a world cup medal needed to be in the list of the greatest of all time?

I'm not arguing Maradona's credentials as I personally think he's the best player ever to live. There is, however, too many factors to consider when deciding who's the greatest football player ever; I just don't believe that World Cup is enough to tip the balance.

No, it is not, of course. But, what we can use to decide to tip the balance is how Maradona and Messi reacted in high pressure situations. Maradona was a street footballer, a fighter, a leader that went beyond the football pitch and into the politics of the time. He was a much stronger "spirit" than Messi was if that makes sense. Imo, that spirit and fight counts as a quality and something which tips the balance. Maradona was bigger than football.

Messi is the best player of all time. Better than Pele. Better than Maradonna. World Cup is meaningless. Cristiano Ronaldo is an amazing player and along with Messi he's the joint best player of all time as well. Football is really amazing now, we have the 2 best players of all time in their prime.