Who had the greater influence on young athletes coming up, Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali?

Yeah. I am being honest, the fútbol and his players( people from USA call it soccer) improved a lot since then

 

That is very hard to determine.
In many ways, football was harder in Pele's era. Bad pitches, heavier ball, rules favoring defenders allowing them to hack opponent's legs, no "juices", etc.
In some respects, it's harder now cause all footballers are in shape and the pace of the game is a lot faster.
But it doesn't really matter whether he'd still be among the very best or maybe even no. 1, or if he'd just be an average footballer.
He must be judged in the context of his era.
Most of us here rank Joe Louis as top 2 in the HW's due to his achievements in his era. I doubt there are too many who actually think he stands a chance of beating Liston, Ali, Foreman, Homes, Tyson, Bowe, Lewis, K brothers, etc.

 

It’s just about the most absurd statement that’s been posted on here.

 

Hard one but I think Jordan was more influential sports wise.

Most if not all kids play basketball at some point. Not many are willing to put on gloves.

- The number 23
- The high flying jumping skills
- The greatness in clutch moments
- The icon pictures and moments
- Nike marketing
- Dream-team
- 82 plus games a year

He defined greatness and any kid who picked up a basketball had to deal with the greatness of MJ. It you played shooting guard you had to be something like MJ. If you wore 23, you had been be worthy.

(I actually believe the number 23 should be retired in the NBA...perhaps in all major American sports, but definitely the NBA.)

 

Blimey, I’d never thought I’d see the day where Football would be discussed here, ask most pundits, experts, historians and current players, Messi is the greatest.

Ali probably inspired a larger range of people, however his achievements and a distinct lack of knowledge shown from casual fans is means that his inspiration appears to be expiring rather rapidly. I can’t remember the last time I got into an actual debate or discussion in real life with someone within 10-15 years on my age, apart from with my cousin who boxed for his university, that went into any kind of detail about his career, unless it was incredibly one sided from myself.

 

Get real, Messi doesn't even crack the top 3.
He's an utter failure outside Barcelona and has never managed to win anything with his national team.
He's mentally weak and always cracks when there's pressure on him, just like Lebron early in his career. Both are great front-runners, but when the cards are stacked up against them, they crumble. That's why most knowledgeable persons see Pele, Maradona and M.Jordan as being superior. They were clutch and rose to the occasion.
And even with Barcelona, he often plays against far weaker opposition, which inflates his league statistics bigtime.

 

First of all, stop calling CR7 Ronaldo. There's only one Ronaldo and he's Brazilian.
Second of all, Messi is nowhere near the most skilled footballer, he has no skills whatsoever. Ronaldinho pisses on him all day long. And there are countless others that do the same.
As for goal stats, Pele, Muller, Romario, Bican, Puskas, Eusebio - all match him

 

Nice thread Mark.

 

I think both athletes were great for sports, both had phenomenal skills in their respective sport. Ali though proved that an individual can stand up for what they believe, never be afraid to voice your opinion, Michael Jordan was a very great basketball player in showing that your dreams can come true if you dedicate yourself to hard work and discipline.

 

Youre right but then he always played as central forward losing with passing of the time the good sensibility he had in touching the ball. This factor doesnt allowed him to do accurate assists for his mates as he did at Utd . Today his job is only to receive balls to score. Messi instead has always had a very good touch of the ball even now.