Football fans are playing the ‘Player v Player’ game to decide the best footballers

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By Rob Swan

Published Sep 5, 2019

A thread on Reddit has sparked plenty of debate among football fans

Football fans love nothing more than comparing players.

It constantly happens these days, especially on social media. Type ‘Ronaldo v Messi’ into YouTube or Twitter and the results are endless.

Prior to the eternal Cristiano Ronaldo v Lionel Messi debate, everyone discussed whether Diego Maradona or Pele is the greatest footballer ever. It’s fun pub talk, at the end of the day, with no right or wrong answer.

Over on Reddit, one user decided to get football fans to compare various players at the same time - and the thread has attracted hundreds of comments.

“The rules are simple, you put two or more players against each other and people will comment underneath which player was superior in their opinion,” EureMutter, the Reddit user who created the thread, wrote. “It can be a currently active player or a retired one.”

Let’s take a look at some of the most commented-on player comparisons…

(All numbers are at the time of writing).

Mohamed Salah v Antoine Griezmann

Salah 8 - 10 Griezmann

Close one, this. Both are excellent forwards, among the best in the world, but the majority of fans who have replied so far would prefer Barcelona’s Griezmann over Liverpool’s Salah.

Slightly surprising?

Joao Felix v Jadon Sancho

Felix 4 - 6 Sancho

Sancho has set the Bundesliga alight with Borussia Dortmund over the past 12 months, while Felix has looked every inch like a future superstar since joining Atletico Madrid in a £113 million deal from Benfica this summer.

But most football fans are leaning more towards Sancho, it seems.

Nicolas Pepe v Wilfried Zaha

Pepe 1 - 4 Zaha

A lot of people probably haven’t seen enough of Pepe to make a firm judgement, but they prefer Zaha right now.

Mohamed Salah v Sadio Mane

Salah 10 - 10 Mane

Now this is very interesting, especially after last weekend’s incident at Burnley.

This comparison has split football fans right down the middle, with half opting for Salah and the other 50 per cent choosing Mane.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang v Harry Kane

Aubameyang 1 - 6 Kane

A much more one-sided comparison. Both are top Premier League strikers but Tottenham star Kane has received almost all of the votes.

Alexandre Lacazette v Roberto Firmino

Lacazette 6 - 12 Firmino

This particular comparison has sparked plenty of debate.

The majority have gone for Liverpool’s unselfish forward Firmino, although others are making the point that Arsenal’s Lacazette is probably better as an out-and-out striker.

Raheem Sterling v Mohamed Salah

Sterling 8 - 5 Salah

The third player comparison that Salah finds himself involved in and it’s the third time he’s failed to emerge victorious, surprisingly.

Sterling continues to improve and the majority of football fans believe the Manchester City star is even better than Liverpool’s prolific Egyptian forward.