Pele, Cruyff, Maldini and Maradona out of Legends World Cup

The semi-finalists for Goal's reader-voted competition have been decided, with Cristiano Ronaldo winning his last-eight tie in the most nail-biting way possible.

Goal's inaugural Legends World Cup has seen four star contenders eliminated at the quarter-final stage, as 118,977 votes were cast over the 24-hour period.

The biggest shock was perhaps Real Madrid and Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas completely surpassing Diego Maradona at the races. His compatriots came together - over 12,000 of them - to give him an 8,464-vote cushion over the World Cup 1986 winner.



Puskas, who only made it out of the last 16 by the absurdly slender margin of six votes against Marco van Basten, has been rewarded with a clash against another Madrid legend: Zinedine Zidane.



The two-time World Cup finalist, who won the Fifa tournament on home soil in 1998, battled hard against Pele, one of the favourites heading into the Legends World Cup. Ultimately, he defeated the Brazilian by the slender margin of 9,900 to 8,926 votes.

On the other side of the draw, the late Johan Cruyff was unable to defeat Lionel Messi, whose legacy the Flying Dutchman is partially responsible for due to his La Masia brainchild in the late 1970s.



World Cup finalist and four-time Champions League winner Messi conquered the legendary Cruyff by 10,386 votes to seal a semi-finalist match-up against his eternal Clasico nemesis: Cristiano Ronaldo.



In the closest clash of the quarter-finals, Ronaldo and the Italian defensive icon jostled for the lead over much of the voting timeframe before Real Madrid's current No.7 claimed a victory by just FIVE votes! The final tallies were 19,773-19,768.

Semi-final ties on Monday: Messi vs Maldini/Ronaldo (kick-off at 9am UK time), Zidane vsPuskas (12pm). Check out the full draw graphic below and make sure you log on to Goal tomorrow to cast your votes!

Pelé: "Messi is the best player of the last 10 years"

Pelé has come out and labelled Leo Messi the "best player" of the last decade. "A lot of people compare Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but they're different types of players. They're both fantastic, though", the Brazilian legend added.

The three-time World Cup winner also ruled out the idea of him replacing Sepp Blatter at the helm of FIFA. "No, I have no intention of running for the post of FIFA president", 'O Rei' stated.

Capello: Messi like Di Stefano, Pele & Maradona

The Italian coach says he knew the forward was destined for greatness after watching him for the first time back in 2005

Fabio Capello says Lionel Messi has defined an era and believes the Barcelona ace is on a par with Alfredo Di Stefano, Pele and Diego Maradona.

The Italian got his first glimpse of the Argentine back in August 2005 when he took his then Juventus side to Camp Nou for the Joan Gamper Trophy.

Capello was so taken with Messi's talent that he tried to sign him on the spot, so convinced was he that the diminutive forward was destined for greatness.

"Twenty-five minutes into the game, I approached [then-Barca boss] Frank Rijkaard about taking Messi to Juve," the ex-AC Milan coach told El Mundo Deportivo.

"I knew about some bureaucratic problems [at Barca] and I thought that he might not start the season in Barcelona.

"So, then it occurred to me to take him to Turin. But Frank told me that in three or four months everything would be all settled, and that Leo could play with Barca.

"But I remember when I saw his name in the line-up and then, he blew my mind.

"I could not believe that a player of his age could play like that, before 90,000 spectators, undeterred by [being marked] by someone like [Federico] Balzaretti.

"His personality, quality, dribbling, fantasy - he took the ball and went straight for goal with an unusual audacity.

"The likes of [Franco] Baresi or [Paolo] Maldini, they were players who already knew they would reach the 'top' because of the great talent they had.

"From there, much depends on the head of the player. But I noticed something different from what I had seen so far. With what he showed in that game against Juve, I no doubt that Messi would reach the top.

"You can talk about the best player in history, because football has had several different times and each player has excelled above the rest.

"First, it was Di Stefano, Pele, then later Maradona, and now Messi."

Messi inspired Barca to a treble last season but he was ably supported by Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Capello believes the Blaugrana will not have things all their own way in 2015-16, but says their strikeforce is capable of firing them to more silverware.

"I like Barca's coach a lot," the ex-England manager added. "Luis Enrique has offered great football: great passing but also speed.

"This season will be a bit more difficult, but the key will again be Messi, Neymar and Suarez.

"If all three return with the same team spirit and sense of sacrifice, they can continue to do great things."

Messi is the Pele of this generation - Belletti

The former Barcelona and Chelsea defender has hailed the Argentine's quality and says he will define the current era of football

Juliano Belletti has says his former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi is the "Pele of this generation".

The 28-year-old returned to his best form in the second half of last season to inspire the Catalans to the treble but was criticised back in Argentina following the Albiceleste's Copa America final defeat.

Belletti, who won two La Ligas and one Champions League with Messi at Camp Nou, believes he is unrivalled in the modern era and does not deserve the jeers in his homeland.

"Messi is the Pele of this generation," he told Sport.

"I do not understand the criticism of him in his own country. You cannot criticise a player like Messi.

"But it also happened to Ronaldinho in Brazil."

Belletti also leapt to the defence of fellow Brazilian Neymar, who was sent off in this summer's Copa America during the group stage and subsequently missed the rest of the tournament.

"He's young. People think he's older than he is. He still has time to mature.

"He should rest well and have a good holiday because he deserves it."

"Is Messi greater than Pelé?"

France Footballhas started a debate going by asking who the best football player of all time is,Leo MessiorPelé.

The French magazine poses the following question:"Is Messi greater than Pelé?"

"With Lionel Messi about to fight for his fourth Champions League title this Saturday in Berlin,his record, his stats and his growing impact make a comparison between him and the man that has always been considered the best player of all time, Pelé, unavoidable", assures the magazine, although it also accepts that comparing these two football maestros is akin to comparing Elvis with Mozart or Rembrandt with Dalí.

But there is certain information that is comparable, such as for example goals scored.When Pelé turned 20 he had already scored 300. In his entire career, he put the ball in the back of the net 1,281 times, 784 of them in official matches.

The Argentine, who will soon be celebrating his 28th birthday, has played eleven seasons as a professional. In that time he has racked up 500 strikes for Barcelona and the Argentina team.

Pelé's record for a season was 66 in 1956 (100 in 1959 and 110 in 1961 if we include exhibition games), while Messi scored 91 goals in 2012 (96 including friendlies). Four-times Ballon d'Or winner Messi usually scores in the finals, but has a lower strike rate than 'O Rei' did, revered by many as the best football player of the 20th century.

According to France Football, the overriding difference between the two players is that "Pele's name is always linked to the World Cup." The Brazilian ace will always be remembered for setting the World Cup on fire in 1958, when at just 17 years old he scored twice in the final, for his magic in 1962 and "above all for the 1970 edition, when he opened up the scoring in the final."

"The last World Cup that Pelé played in is the stuff of legend, while Messi's present last World Cup was a bitter disappointment", when Argentina lost the Brazil 2014 final to Germany.