I'm curious. What's your argument for Di Stefano ahead of Ronaldo?
Ronaldo's better IMO - but Di Stefano's special and alone in the history of world football in that he literally changed how club football would evolve.
From the Civil War in Spain onwards, Real had won no championships until 1953.
Atletico won 4, Barca 5, Sevilla, Valencia, but not Real.
What changed was Real (and their president Santiago Bernabeu) building a seemingly stupidly big and unnecessary stadium - that would later prove vital in drawing in players, and then decided - in addition to building their own academy, the cantera - to try and sign international stars.
They first tried with Kubala, but failed, as he went to Barcelona - much of the vitriol that Barca fans would later have with Di Stefano choosing Real, Real fans had with Kubala choosing Barcelona.
There were calls of foul play, Barca agents getting him off the train when he was travelling to Madrid for negotiations, etc. - naturally, everything unconfirmed.
When Real and Barca went after Di Stefano, he was playing in Colombia, for Millionarios - where he went after a strike in Argentina, and he was still under contract with River Plate.
So Barca made a deal with River Plate (even paying part of an agreed fee up front) and Real made a deal with Millionarios.
FIFA wouldn't allow him to play in Spain until all 4 sides gave consent (Millionarios, River Plate, Barca, Real).
It was a mess, and it didn't get resolved right away - up went a ban on foreign players, then taken down, then a comission suggested Di Stefano plays 2 years for Real, 2 years for Barcelona etc...
In the end, Real got him and it changed where club football went from there.
The vitriol after the signing went the other way this time, Barca upset and angry, Real feeling vindicated after the Kubala thing.
In the end, both players chose who they played for, even though there was different pressure on them (in the Di Stefano case, there were rumors of political influence, but as with Kubala, nothing ever confirmed).
They ended up later playing together at Espanyol in their later years, funnily enough.
Combined with the stadium, having Di Stefano and a decent local core (the great Paco Gento for one), they got in Raymond Kopa, Puskas, etc.
They went from a club struggling to win a title in Spain to winning Spanish titles and winning 5 straight European Cups (and Di Stefano scored in every one of those finals).
Di Stefano did for Real what Cruyff would do for Barcelona 35 years later - take them over the hump from a big club in their own right, to a super club that was always going to be a top contender and a lure for top players.
(at the risk of sounding repetitive, Sid Lowe's "Fear and Loathing in La Liga" is an absolutely fantastic book, with insight into both teams, countless statements and interviews from players, managers and club officials in question - and is as unbiased as you can get on the subject of the Barca-Real rivalry.
If you're looking for a good football book, check it out - it can give you another dimension and appreciation for these two clubs, each magnificent and each flawed in their own way... There really is nothing like it in the rest of the football world)
...
It's very hard to judge as there's very little footage from that era, and football then was quite different back then - but by all accounts, Di Stefano was the world's best for a number of years; and again, the biggest reason why the club football (even today) looks the way it does.
When you compare him to his peers, he's definitely up there with the greatest players who ever played.