Super Falcons Star Plumptre Places Messi, Ronaldo Out of Top 5 in Blind Ranking of Greatest Players
- Super Falcons star Ashleigh Plumptre has come under criticism over her blind ranking of the greatest footballers
- Plumptre left out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom are considered the greatest ever
- The defender’s countenance gave her away that she knew she had made a mess of some players in her rankings
Super Falcons defender Ashleigh Plumptre has come under fire for her blind rankings of the greatest footballers after leaving Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo out of the top 10.
Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as the greatest players of all time across all eras, having dominated football for nearly two decades, winning 13 Ballon d'Or between them.
Source: Getty Images
The former Barcelona star is considered to be ahead of his colleague, particularly after leading Argentina to win the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Their rivalry peaked during their nine seasons together from 2009 to 2018, when the former Real Madrid star departed and joined Italian giants Juventus.
Fans criticise Plumptre’s blind ranking
Ashleigh Plumptre, speaking to Filgoal after a training session with Al-Ittihad Women's team, was asked to rank 10 of the greatest players blindly.
She started with Cristiano Ronaldo, whom she placed in number eight, Thierry Henry in 10, while she put Zlatan Ibrahimovic in sixth ahead of Lionel Messi in seventh.
Kylian Mbappe in fifth place, Erling Haaland in fourth, Luka Modric in ninth, Neymar Jr in third, Harry Kane second, and Robert Lewandowski completed her ranking.
Fans took exception to her rankings, many of which called her out for starting it with Cristiano Ronaldo in eighth place despite being her first draw.
@m7md.adel_44 wrote:
“For the first time, I see Messi and Ronaldo fans united in the comments.”
@_karkarnah_ wrote:
“Zero football knowledge.”
@jooarafa96_ wrote:
“As soon as she put Ronaldo 8, I stopped watching.”
@u2i2o wrote:
“Judge by appearance.”
Plumptre speaks about moving to Saudi Arabia
According to The Athletic, Plumptre became the first player to move from the Women's Super League to the Saudi Women's Premier League when she joined Al-Ittihad in 2023.
Source: Getty Images
The Super Falcons star admitted that she received negative reactions, and she deeply hurt some people when she ran down her Leicester City contract to make the move.
“When I moved out here, the reaction was not good at all,” Plumptre told the BBC. “I had deeply hurt some people because they feel like I am representing something that makes them not feel valued, and I understand that.
The WAFCON 2025 winner admits that today she feels safer in Jeddah more than she ever felt all her life in England.
Ashleigh Plumptre responded to an online troll
Legit.ng previously reported that Ashley Plumptre fired back at an online troll who said her hijab-wearing teammate belongs in the kitchen and not on the field.
The former Leicester City Women star brilliantly praised her teammate’s cooking skills, to which she responded that she cooks both on the pitch and in the kitchen.
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Source: Legit.ng
