the way i mean is like pele is from an old era when football was at a lower standard....
Fair enough boss. Every body will look at it their own way and form their own opinion. However, I don't think it is fair to guess whether Pele coud play in this era. Most likely he could. His training, diet, ideaology etc..would be different. But that introduces too many 'what ifs'...such as, if Maradona was born at the same time as Pele, would he be the same player as he was in eighties? I would guess no. Players are a product of their eras. If you put Landon Donavon in a time machine to Pele's era he would dominate due to his superior stamina and speed...but noone ever would compare the two..so maybe not a valuable criteria. Maybe a better comparison is how much they stood out amongst their peers, how innovative they were, how consisstant they were and how much they raised the standard of the game as a whole.
I think maradona stood out more amongst his peers.
Can't say who was more innovative. I think Pele made the bicycle famous (without necessarily inventing it) while Maradona redefined the direct-free kick (without neceessarily inventing it)
Pele beats Maradona hands down for consistancy...in my opinion. He did his thing at a high level for much longer. So yes, Maradona's problems with drugs does influence how great he was to me, to answer an earlier question. It doesn't taint my view of how talented he was...but it is clear here that noone is judgeing solely on talent
Raising the standard of the game...dunno.
In the end, you cyah go wrong with either