Brazilian legend Pele has insisted Lionel Messi is nowhere near as good as he or Diego Maradona was.
Messi is widely regarded as one of the best footballers in the history of the sport with some even believing the Barcelona star is second to none.
Is Lionel Messi the best player ever? Five key things to know…
- Lionel Messi was a product of Barcelona’s La Masia academy, joining as a 13-year-old.
- The Argentine made his debut for the Blaugrana in November 2003 though it would take a year for more regular first-team football to come.
- Messi has since gone on to win a plethora of trophies with Barcelona including four Champions Leagues and nine La Liga titles.
- The forward has also caught the eye with his mesmerising ability on the ball, but Pele isn’t as impressed as everyone else.
- Lionel Messi has scored 567 goals in 653 games for Barcelona, in addition to 65 goals in 128 Argentina appearances.
The Argentine has shared plaudits as the best footballer with Cristiano Ronaldo, with the pair winning 10 of the last 11 Ballon d’Or awards until Luka Modric ended their duopoly this year.
But Pele, who won three World Cups and scored over 1,000 goals throughout his career is not too impressed with Messi, claiming the Argentine is one-dimensional.
In an interview with Brazilian newspaper, Folha de S.Paulo, Pele said: “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.”
Pele also played down talks of Messi being as good as Argentine legend Diego Maradona,
He added: “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.”
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Messi or Ronaldo, who does Pele prefer?
One of the biggest debates in football among fans, and pundits alike, is the ability of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and who is the best player in the world.
Fans are often split in their opinions, but Pele has previously given his thoughts on the matter – and it’s not good reading for Messi following his recent comments.
Speaking in 2017, Pele said: “No doubt. As I mentioned, I think today there’s no doubt the best player, the best scorer and the best forward is Cristiano Ronaldo.”
But, Pele has also chosen Messi over Ronaldo in the past, for the Argentine’s all-round talent compared to his rival’s pure goalscoring ability.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a great goalscorer, but Messi is the best,” Pele said in 2016.
“You mention several names, but from the last 10 or 15 years, I think Messi’s been the most consistent player, without doubt.
“You could mention others, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s a great goalscorer, he reminds me of Ronaldo.
“In the end, Ronaldo score goals and you see Messi giving assists and creating play, as well as scoring.
“In terms of being a complete player, there’s no doubt that Messi is the best.”
This season, both Ronaldo and Messi have enjoyed fine starts for Juventus and Barcelona respectively.
At his new club, Ronaldo has 10 goals in 14 games in Serie A with Juventus top of the league unbeaten while Messi has scored nine goals in 12 La Liga matches so far.
The post Pele: Lionel Messi nowhere near as good as Maradona and myself appeared first on Squawka News.
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