Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly playing some of the best football of his short career right now. His goals and all-round game are helping Manchester United keep pace with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table and most people reckon the Portuguese star is a top talent in world football.

Maybe so - but is he the best ever?

I for one would have to say no and plump for another Manchester United star of the past - the late, great George Best - for that ultimate accolade. Before Ronaldo came along, and I will go so far as to say long after he has gone, George will continue to be rated the best.

'Best would weave his magic in every direction you could imagine, sometimes making his opponents collapse through sheer dizziness as they tried to get near him'


Cristiano is two-footed, can run at people and take them on, scores goals in open play, from free-kicks and with his head . But he is still streets behind Best in terms of all-round talent.

Best could do everything Cristiano can do and more. His dribbling skills weren't just in straight lines. He would weave his magic in every direction you could imagine, sometimes making his opponents collapse through sheer dizziness as they tried to get near him. He could also head a ball, hit a great dead ball and he also did his best when it came to chasing back to help out in defence.

Indeed, I once saw him run from one penalty area right down to the far diagonal corner flag to get a tackle in on Glyn Pardoe in a Manchester derby game at Maine Road. Such was the force of the tackle when he got there, it broke Pardoe's leg.

Now I am not saying George should be lauded for that particular act, but in most other aspects of his play he does. OK, I can hear the "wasted talent" brigade bleating that Best was just a big letdown and a fool to himself because of his wayward off-field activities that eventually led to his premature death. But if George had kept on the straight and narrow he would simply have been even more awesome and would have achieved far more in terms of trophies, acclaim, fame and, of course, cash!

Cristiano has years in front of him and the future looks exceedingly bright for him. One big question is how long he will remain at Manchester United. There are very few other places to go once you have been there. David Beckham did it - and, for me, made exactly the right move at the time to exactly the right club. Real Madrid. They are the only club, over the years, that can claim to be as big as MUFC.

In terms of on-field achievement right now, other clubs such as AC Milan and Barcelona come into that category, but their history is nowhere near as big as United and Real's. So will he stay or will he go?

Going back to other players, obviously Pele, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and many, many more come into the equation when considering the best the world has seen. It's an interesting debate and one that will provoke lots of you to give your views I'm sure. Meanwhile, I'll continue to enjoy watching Cristiano display his talents, while never forgetting the inimitable Mr B!