Someone's heads been swelling, only part that has mind... Pele's put down of Messi... Brazil legend Pele says Barcelona's Argentina star Lionel Messi has a long way to go to be considered his rival as the greatest player of all time. Messi, 24, has won Fifa's Ballon d'Or for the best player in the world for a third successive year. But Pele thinks he needs to improve for Argentina and score more goals. "When Messi's scored 1,283 goals like me, when he's won three World Cups, we'll talk about it," Pele told French newspaper Le Monde. Messi has won the Champions League three times with Barcelona, as well as five league Spanish league titles. But his only triumph with the national team was at the 2008 Olympics - while Pele's Brazil won the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970. The 71-year-old said: "I like Messi a lot, he's a great player. Technically, we're practically at the same level. "He's a great player for Barcelona, but when he plays for Argentina he doesn't have the same success. "People always ask me: 'When is the new Pele going to be born?' Never. My father and mother have closed the factory.
Pele really should be bigger than that. His place in history is secure after all but he's not the best player ever. Football has come many a mile since the days of Pele, better coaching, better fitness, better pitches. It stands to reason standards are better to.
Pele's ego long since got the better of him. In his playing days, he always said George Best was better than him. When he retired, he started to claim all sorts for himself - including wanting to be President of his country (for gawd's sake - a footballer)! Pele once was the gentleman ambassador of the game, but today I'm afraid, he's just become an arrogant self-centred bore. This is the 'gentleman' who left Garincha to die in poverty, and never once went to see him - and I'm afraid I don't know how to respect him any more. The greatest all-round player I ever saw - Maradona - wrote in his book : "When I look at Pele, I see a great player and want to shake his hand. When he looks at me he always treats me like a rival. I've no time for that. At the end of the day I'm El Diego, and he can think what he likes about it." That's probably the best way to regard Pele these days - leave him to wallow in his delusions of grandeur.
Messi is undoubtedly a class act, but he has an awful long way to go to be even mentioned in the same breath as the legend that is Pele.
Aye, he's not a bad £5 million's worth, is he? Mind you, I think he does have a problem at international level. When he plays for Argentina, he always seems like he's trying too hard to be Maradona. In the 2010 game against Germany, we saw time and again, Tevez and Higuain lined up to receive a pass in front of goal, but Messi always ran into a ruck of defenders and wasted the chance. There's no way they should have lost that game 4-0. If Messi (and Silva) had made the passes that the two strikers made possible, they wouldn't have either. I think Messi can be a great international player, but he isn't, and he won't be until he forgets Maradona and gets on with being who HE is.
I think he has a point personally, he probably came across arrogant, but I do think Messi has a long way to go before he can be considered the best player ever to play the game, and I would say Argentina probably have to win a World cup with him as the star for it to happen unfortunately, I dont quite agree with that that, but it is what it is, Best/Cruyff and countless others have never won a world cup, they were great players, but not classed as the best to ever play the game.
I've got to disagree with that mate...For me Pele had it all..But as has been said many times before, if we all shared the same opinions it would be a pretty boring world...
yes, I'd have to disagree with it as well. For me, Pele never dominated whole stadiums like Maradona, but as MrRAW said, we all have opinions. But Messi is still a long way from the finished product at international level. In 2006, he was part of a team that was all running for each other - and he shone. In 2010, he was playing for himself, trying too hard to repeat Maradona's 1986 series - and he didn't shine at all. He'll have to sort his head out before he ranks alongside Pele or Maradona. He can do it - but will he?
Maradona is unquestionably the best for me. Unlike most Englishmen (obvious reasons), I never had any hatred for him, I was 6 when the 'hand of god' happened, and all I remembered after that match was the dazzling run for the second, and the Puma boots. Maradona was sensational, and the passion he has since shown for his country and his people is wonderful. The worlds number 10. Simple.
Messi is the best footballer ever for me, i am always amazed at the pace, tight control and even though he is tiny his strength is fantastic. Like most people football did not get the coverage it does now so we didnt watch Pele and Maradona week in and week out but for me with the quality, fitness levels and coaching now Messi is the best. Maybe look at like an athletic event, not many world records last more than a couple of years now.
You have to be careful with athletics records though. The margins of improvement over the last half-century are much narrower than we think. For example, Bannisters 3 mins. 59.4 secs for the mile in 1954 looks very slow compared to today's boys. But a mile is 1,760 yards. Today's records are for 1500 metres (1609 yards). In fact, Bannister was running 150 yards further! Calculate his time down to 1609 yards and it comes to 3 mins. 38.9 secs. - still pretty respectable. There has been improvement over the last 50 years, but nothing like what we think.
Yeah cant argue too much with the figures but at the same time in 1954 the mens marathon record time was 2 hrs 17 mins and is now under 2hrs 4mins, which is a dramatic improvement and shows the improvment over a longer body conditional sport like 90 minutes of football. Couple this with footballer 'diets and recovery' in 1954 which were terrible to modern methods, top footballers today have to be top athletes today before their skill can come into it, i do consede though that true natural skill is timeless, like Maradona and Messi. And i do also consede that Maradona if he was around today would be a 'better' footballer because of modern day methods if only because of the increases in fitness and speed.
