One post just to say you'll have hard times to find people agreeing with you on this.
But Let's agree to disagree, those lists are all pretty subjective, to each his own.
Can't really argue with your statement, he was there when it mattered, and he touched the ball with finesse like no one before.
To me, he had the skills, but was never really a great leader and tactical genius.
And it's probably an unpopular opinion to have him outside top 10, but during his best days, he was surrounded by legends of the game, so it was almost impossible for him to reach Pele or Maradona level, who for example lifted an unknown Napoli side to greatness.
Messi converted his skillset as a midfielder into one of the best strikers ever, Zidane didn't have the pace to do that.
An absolute legend of the game, but for me he'll not touch the top tier in history. And after that, it's almost impossible to compare.
Fans aren't very good when it comes to neutral comparisons, they often go with reputation. He won a lot, so he's better.
No one will mention Michael Laudrup as of today, but he was a footballer as good as Zizou.
If you ask former footballers, Scholes gets 9 out of 10 votes, if you ask fans, Zidane 9/10.
I think his name is bigger than he was, but yeah, I won't try to change your mind

Some even say George Best was the greatest ever and no one really can prove why he was not, thats sports
