Some media commented on the top 100 athletes in history: Messi is only third! James is behind Jordan!

November 2nd. The foreign media Global Statistics selected their standard top 100 athletes in history. However, it is full of loopholes, is too unscientific, not professional enough, and lacks authority. For example, I am particularly partial to American athletes. For example, Messi is definitely the number one in history. If political factors are taken into account, Ali is the number one. James surpasses Jordan. There is no Maradona, but there is Beckham.

The absurdity of this list is staggering. Simply and crudely comparing individual sports such as swimming and track and field, as well as baseball, a non-global but less influential sport than football, with global team sports such as football and basketball is an impossible task in itself. What’s even more ridiculous is that the selection criteria are obviously dominated by “America-centrism” – this can be seen from the fact that American athletes occupy six seats in the top ten of the list and that Babe Ruth and Phelps are in the top ten.

The rankings in the football field even expose the selectors' ignorance of the history of this sport. Pele - officially certified by FIFA as the "Best Player of the Century" and one of the top three football players in history - was demoted to 18th place. However, Klinsmann, who has never proven his coaching ability, and Beckham, whose commercial value is far higher than his competitive achievements, were able to be among them. The real genius Maradona was completely absent. This ranking not only insults the game of football, but also reveals the selectors' ignorance of the historical evolution of the program.

If we really want to select the top ten athletes in history based on global cultural influence, I think they should be: Messi, Ali, James, Maradona, Jordan, Pele, Bolt, Brady, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Federer.

Messi's rise to the top is not only due to his unprecedented football skills, but also because he represents this era's dual yearning for pure talent and humble character; Ali's value far exceeds the boxing ring, he is an athlete role model and a symbol of the social movement of the century; James was selected not only because he is the first person in basketball history, but also because he has redefined the social role of modern athletes and transformed the influence of sports into a real driving force for social change.

Maradona symbolizes the profound connection between sports and national identity, Jordan shaped the paradigm of modern sports business, Pele is the promoter of football globalization, Bolt represents the eternal pursuit of human limits, Brady shows the possibility of lasting excellence, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has made full social contributions, and at the competitive level, he combines the peak of sports and social thinking. Federer embodies the perfect combination of the beauty of sports and the image of a global citizen.

The value of this list does not lie in the order of ranking, but in that it reminds us: truly great athletes not only win games, but also continue to participate in and change the world we live in through their choices, actions and values. And those rankings based solely on data accumulation and full of regional bias will eventually reveal their true colors in the test of time.