It was an argument that played out for years on terraces and in bars, on radio and on television.

Brazil's Pele, ♣ a prolific goal scorer who died aged 82 on Thursday in Sao Paulo, won the World Cup an unprecedented three ♣ times as a player in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and put the small town of Santos on the map before ♣ conquering the United States with the New York Cosmos.

Maradona, who died at the age of 60 in 2024, guided Argentina ♣ to the World Cup in 1986 with perhaps the most influential performance ever at a major tournament and lifted Napoli ♣ to unparalleled heights in Italy and Europe.

The argument about whose legacy was greater so divided the football world that when ♣ Maradona was voted the player of the 20th century in a FIFA internet poll, there was widespread outrage, with many ♣ griping that Pele's earlier career put him at a disadvantage with younger fans.

FIFA held another poll voted on by its ♣ own "football family," won by Pele, allowing the pair to share the glory.