Explosiveness of Ronaldo and control of Messi but Greaves is 'incomparable'

The late, great Greaves is a Tottenham, Chelsea and England legend and was a prolific goal machine throughout his brilliant playing career.

He remains Spurs' record goalscorer and scored 44 goals in just 57 appearances for his country.

Greaves was among the finest players England has ever produced and was a popular person both during his career and after when he went on to be a successful TV pundit.

Tributes flooded in to the former striker after his death at the age of 81.

talkSPORT's Danny Kelly idolised Greaves as a youngster and paid tribute to the legend on Sunday.

When asked about comparisons to modern players, Kelly said: "This morning I racked my brains. With most great players, you can see what they are doing and he had that muscle and explosiveness of Cristiano Ronaldo, the unbelievable close control of Lionel Messi.

"I'm deliberately picking these players to compare him to. I couldn't really see what Jimmy was doing in the same way, there was no one around who you could say 'oh, he was like that'.

"I heard the word instinct used as well. He had an unerring instinct of where to be and what to do.

"He did the bare minimum of effort, but he was so skilled, he could get the ball on the outside or inside of his foot, not many headers, and he would just slide the ball where it needed to be to embarrass defenders and get it across the line.

"Most of the goals I saw Jimmy score were two touches. One to kill it, the other to put it over the line with a pass.

"He could run from the halfway line as well, because that was what was required. Somehow, he always knew what was required.

"I wish I could make a modern comparison, but I can't."

Greaves' career began in the junior ranks at Chelsea and he turned professional in May 1957, scoring on his Blues debut and racking up 132 goals in total for the club.

His return of 41 goals from 40 games for Chelsea during the 1960/61 season remains a club record.

At the end of that season Greaves left Stamford Bridge to sign for AC Milan, but spent only a few months in Italy before joining Spurs in December 1961.

Nine brilliant seasons at Tottenham saw him score 266 goals in 379 appearances before joining West Ham.

Journalist Philippe Auclair told talkSPORT: "One of those players who's name was not perhaps quoted when you talked about the true greats of the game, but the Di Stefanos, Puskas, Garrinchas, he was of that calibre.

"It's unfortunate there is not enough footage of him in his pomp, but enough for people to realise that when they watch this magnificent centre forward in action, yes a player in any era would have been among the very best.

"I could hear the comparison with Lionel Messi, it is interesting because of all the people I've talked to who saw him, it's the name that has cropped up the most.

"If you want to understand what was special about him, it was the way he had a way of guiding the ball with his left foot and right foot, he was a truly ambidextrous player.

"For that, he was one of the truly exceptional players of his generation and there is no doubt he is the greatest centre-forward England has produced.

"His honours list is perhaps not what it should have been, which perhaps explains why his place isn't what it should be in the minds of most people.

"His name doesn't crop up immediately when you talk about the greats of the past."

talkSPORT will mark the sad passing of the legendary England Striker and Tottenham's all time leading goal scorer Jimmy Greaves on Monday night from 7pm.

'English Football Genius' a tribute to Jimmy Greaves is hosted by Spurs fan and talkSPORT's Danny Kelly.