Pele has claimed he was a much better player than Lionel Messi and remarkably said the Argentine has just one skill.
The three-time World Cup winner told Folha de Sao Paulo:
“How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn’t head the ball well?
“How can you compare? To compare with Pele, it has to be someone who shoots well with the left, shoots well with the right, and scores headers.”
He then compared Maradona with Messi and does not rate the Barcelona man in comparison to the man from his era.
"As far as I’m concerned, Maradona was one of the best players ever. If you ask me, 'Was he better than Messi?' Yes, he was. Much better. [Franz] Beckenbauer, [Johan] Cruyff were also excellent players."
Pele then went on to speak about his compatriot Neymar and warned him to cut out the theatrics from his game.
“It's difficult to defend Neymar for all the things he does besides playing football. I spoke with him and reminded him of his ability,
“He was unlucky because Brazil did not win the World Cup and he was singled out.
“I've been with him in Europe twice. We talked and I explained: ‘The God of football gave you the gift. What you do complicates it.’”
“People compare me with Mbappe and there are similarities, right? But he is already 19. He won the World Cup
“I think Neymar is a more complete player than him, but in Europe everyone speaks more about Mbappe.”
Not sure what has got into Pele recently but if he thinks Messi has just one skill then he must be losing it. Jealous of the man likely to surpass his as the greatest ever?
