Federer has won more Grand Slam titles than any other man to have played tennis.
The Swiss legend, 36, has four more majors than his nearest rival Rafael Nadal and became the oldest man ever to be world No 1 last week.
But Clarey reckons because football is more global than tennis, the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo should be mentioned ahead of Federer.
“You have to put it into perspective as to where tennis fits,” Clarey said on The Tennis Podcast.
“Tennis is a popular sport, number two or number three in many countries but rarely a number one.
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“So inevitably the people who are playing the number one sport, which would be soccer and some places basketball, you have to bring them into the conversation.
“I caught the end of Pele, I’ve obviously seen people like Lionel Messi and Ronaldo going at it now.
“That’s a sport, there are millions upon millions of kids trying to get to that level.
“So in my pantheon of who goes where I’d have to put those great global soccer stars probably at the top.
“But I think Roger Federer comes in very close after that.”