Cristiano Ronaldo’s biggest claim and the problem with saying it out loud

Cristiano Ronaldo has never been one to shy away from debating his place in football history, but an old interview has brought that confidence back into the limelight.

A clip uploaded by CNN Portugal on Monday, October 12, has gone viral before being taken off, he reignited the debate over the Portugal captain’s declaration that he was the greatest footballer of all time, days after his exclusion from the national team.

Ronaldo’s comments were not new, but their re-emergence has reignited the debate about his place in football history. While his supporters point to his extraordinary goalscoring record, others argue that greatness transcends numbers, raising the broader question of whether the best athletes should declare themselves the best or leave that judgment to others.

“I am the best in history. Period. There is no debate about who is the best in history. You just have to score goals. The numbers speak for themselves,” Ronaldo said in an interview. His belief is hardly surprising given how often he has defended his own legacy, although Lionel Messi’s achievements, notably Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph and his eight Ballon d’Or awards, continue to fuel the debate.

But the impetus behind Ronaldo’s statement goes far beyond football. Sports history is littered with champions who refused to let others decide how they should be remembered. Some have used bravado to unsettle their opponents, others to build a public persona, and some have made confidence so much a part of their identity that it has become inseparable from their success.

Few have made this trust as memorable as Muhammad Ali.

MUHAMMAD ALI MADE IT HIS TRADEMARK

Before athletes could turn sound into a viral moment, Muhammad Ali knew the value of a memorable line.

“I’m the greatest!” was more than just a phrase to Ali. Muhammad Ali had no doubt that he had declared himself the greatest. (Photo: Reuters)

The boxing legend used it to announce himself before stepping into the ring, turning confidence into showmanship long before sports stars had social media to broadcast their every thought. He even stated, “I’m not the greatest, I’m twice the greatest.”

Ali had the achievements to give weight to those words. The three-time world heavyweight champion has become one of the sport’s most respected figures, with his confidence and verbal sparring as much a part of his legacy as his victories in the ring.

For Ali, the self-declaration was the best part of the show, and frankly, the performance was legendary.

ZLATAN NEVER NEEDED THE BALLON D’OR

Football has its own tradition of players who have little interest in waiting for a committee to confirm their greatness. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was one of the funniest practitioners.

In 2013, the Swedish striker said: “I don’t need the Ballon d’Or to know I’m the best.” He said it at a time when Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery were the main contenders for the award, while Ibrahimovic had just helped Paris Saint-Germain win the Ligue 1 title. Ibrahimovic did a great job of backing himself without needing the Ballon d’Or. (Photo by Reuters)

This was hardly out of character for Ibrahimovic. His interviews were often marked by the same swagger that accompanied his spectacular goals whether he was playing in Italy, Spain, France or England. During his club career, he won 10 league titles in four countries, scored 62 goals in 122 games for Sweden and finished as the all-time top goalscorer.

The Ballon d’Or or the UEFA Champions League title never came, but Ibrahimovic never lacked confidence in his own position.

LEBRON JAMES MAKES HIS CASE

LeBron James has been equally candid about where he ranks in basketball history. In 2023, as he approached Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career record, James told the Orange County Register: “I feel like I’m the best basketball player that ever played. LeBron James has openly called himself the best basketball player of all time. (Photo: Reuters)

It was not a claim made without a record to back it up. By the time he passed Abdul-Jabbar in February 2023, James had already won four NBA championships and four regular season MVP awards. He has since added another milestone to an extraordinary career, becoming the first player in NBA history to surpass 50,000 points combined in the regular season and playoffs in March 2025.

The numbers bolstered his argument, though the debate over basketball’s greatest player remains unresolved. At least James has never been shy about making his own stance clear.

USAIN BOLT CLASSES AMONG THE GREATS

Usain Bolt was always clear about where he saw himself in sports history. In a 2016 interview with TIME, the Jamaican sprinter was asked to pick four athletes for his historic Mount Rushmore. His choices were Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Pele and himself.

“I’ve done something that no one has done before,” Bolt explained of his inclusion. Bolt has been chosen alongside Ali, Jordan and Pele on his sporting Mount Rushmore. (Photo: Reuters)

Bolt’s confidence was rooted in what he had achieved on the track. His record included eight Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles. He also holds the men’s 100m and 200m world records, which were set at 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

He may have left the wider debate about sporting greatness open, but there was little hesitation in his belief that he was among the names that defined it.

WHO CAN CLAIM GREATNESS?

Perhaps the debate isn’t just whether Ronaldo has a case that can be described as the greatest, but how he chooses to make that case. His goals, records and longevity have long been compared to Messi’s achievements. However, whenever Ronaldo claims to be the best, the conversation often shifts from his record to whether he should claim the claim himself.

Ali did it, Ibrahimovic did it, and Bolt didn’t hesitate to stand alongside sporting icons. Everyone had their own way of expressing confidence in their achievements. Ronaldo’s declaration raises a similar question of where confidence ends and arrogance begins.

Whether it is the greatest will be debated, but so will the question of whether athletes should leave that judgment to others.

– The end