Connect with us

International Football

RONALDO IS WORLD’S BEST FOOTBALLER, AHEAD OF MESSI, SAYS PELE, KING OF FOOTBALL

Published

on

Brazilian football great Pele has described Cristiano Ronaldo as the world’s best contemporary footballer, rating the Juventus forward ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

But the 79-year-old believes neither Ronaldo nor Messi are as good as he was during a celebrated career with Santos, the New York Cosmos and Brazil.

“Right now, Cristiano Ronaldo is the best, because he is the most consistent over the past 10 years, although Messi should not be forgotten,” Pele said in an interview on the Pilhado YouTube channel.

This, despite the Juventus star having only five Ballon d’Or awards, as opposed to Messi’s six, which is a record.

The former Brazil No. 10 also cited fellow Brazilians Zico, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Nazario, Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and the Netherlands’ Johan Cruyff in his list of all-time favourite players.

Advertisement

He did not mention former Argentina forward Diego Maradona, widely regarded as Pele’s only rival for the title of the greatest player in history.

“There is only one king. Pele was better than all of them,” he said. “If I have to be honest, well, I’m telling you the truth – my father and mother closed the factory. There will only ever be one Pele.”

Pele is the only footballer to win three World Cups, and scored over 1,000 goals in a professional career that spanned 22 years.

XINHUA

Advertisement

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

Continue Reading
Advertisement