Pele on Messi

AltiUn

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Doesn't Pele change his mind on this sort of thing weekly?
 

the_irish123

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He accomplished more, so its not crazy to say he was better. Don't know why millenials are so anti-Pele.
 

Peyroteo

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Thank God the biggest legend in football history won’t have to read the amount of abuse he’ll get online by football fans after such a simple statement.
 

The holy trinity 68

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He accomplished more, so its not crazy to say he was better. Don't know why millenials are so anti-Pele.
No he never. Internationally yes, but not at club level.

Pele is just trying to stay relevant with comments like these. Because all he has to cling on to is the title of greatest of all time.

The GOAT title is up for debate and always will be.
 

Adisa

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He once rated Neymar better than Messi. I would disregard his comments.
 

2 man midfield

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Thank God the biggest legend in football history won’t have to read the amount of abuse he’ll get online by football fans after such a simple statement.
What has Patrice Evra said this time?
 

harms

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He's obviously biased but he has a point in that he was a more complete attacker. Maradona was more entertaining, both were better leaders, but it doesn't make them better players though, as, despite of Messi's "limitations", he still influences the game as much as they did at their peak.

I don't think that it's possible to argue that Messi is better than Maradona, or Pelé, or vice versa, as all three are pretty much perfect. Messi's lack of international success will hurt him when we're choosing the greatest footballer of all-time, but he's definitely in the mix for the best one.

So:
— yes on completeness.
— no on the "much better" comment.
 

Abizzz

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I cannot judge Pele the player but to say Messi has "one skill" is blasphemy.
 

sullydnl

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Saying Pele was better than Messi absolutely fine. Saying Messi only has one skill is the sort of opinion I'd normally associate with the most stupid of football forum posters. This remains the case even if Pele is the one saying it.
 

dove

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So he is basically saying Messi is Valencia.
 

RedRonaldo

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“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?” Pele told Folha de Sao Paulo when asked about Messi.
I thought it's another Ronaldo vs Messi thread.
 

Zehner

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Great player, quite possibly the best ever. Unfortunately not the most humble person. Not that consistent in his opinions either.
 

Matt007a

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Pele has never missed an opportunity to tell people he's the best player of all time. He might be right to be fair, but there won't be many, if any on this forum who really know. We're comparing different eras and frankly most of his matches were not televised, so you're largely watching a highlight reel and his WC appearances.

Obviously his comments about Messi being one dimensional are nonsense. He's not technically wrong that he was more two footed then Messi and obviously better in the air, but he conveniently doesn't mention that Messi is a better passer and dribbler than he was.

He's right about Neymar and his antics though.
 

harms

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Obviously his comments about Messi being one dimensional are nonsense. He's not technically wrong that he was more two footed then Messi and obviously better in the air, but he conveniently doesn't mention that Messi is a better passer and dribbler than he was.
To be fair, Pelé himself was one of the finest dribblers of all-time and a fantastic passer as well (extrapolating on the footage that we have it’s quite easy to believe him when he says that he has twice as much assists as he has goals). While Messi is nowhere near as good with his right foot or with his head.

As I said earlier though, since he achieves pretty much the same level without using them, does it make him a lesser player? Probably not.
 

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Didnt his goal record purely based on his own admission? maybe my memory failing me but if the one who claimed the record goals based on his self count i purely doubt the rest of his claimed. Including Columbia will win the next WC, African Nation will win the next WC, Robinho was gonna beat his record, etc.
 

amolbhatia50k

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It's incredible how both Pele and Maradona seem to take shit on Messi time and time again.
Insecurity?

It's interesting in constrats how humble the past winners in tennis are and how much they support and praise the likes of Federer. and Nadal. I suppose the current generation greats in that sport are also much more likeable.
 

harms

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Didnt his goal record purely based on his own admission?
No. Here's the complete list of them, if you're interested.

Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, probably the most respected statistical source there is, has him on 767 goals — if you only count his official games (which won't be fair as friendlies had more meaning at the time, especially international ones), and on 1284 in 1375 overall.
 

Fortitude

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It's incredible how both Pele and Maradona seem to take shit on Messi time and time again.
My thoughts on this is both hate becoming a forgotten man to a new generation and so readily dismissed as part of history when thing were easier, as the modern narrative likes to push.

They've both got their backs up about Messi because of the grandstanding done for Messi by the masses, not because of Messi himself, which is quite a shame given Messi himself is just dragged through the coals time and again despite keeping his mouth shut and never actually biting back.

I don't think there's been a better footballer than Pelé, but I do think his mouth sours him to a lot of people who would think he's seriously bitter going by his comments.
 

vangagal

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No. Here's the complete list of them, if you're interested.

Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, probably the most respected statistical source there is, has him on 767 goals — if you only count his official games (which won't be fair as friendlies had more meaning at the time, especially international ones), and on 1284 in 1375 overall.
Thanks, will check it out later.
 

11101

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He's always talking for the sake of talking. I do sort of agree with him though - and Messi's legacy will always be tarnished by his inability to do anything away from a team built completely around him.

20 or 30 years from now when Pele is long gone and Messi is an old man i think it will still be Maradona everyone talks about.

No he never. Internationally yes, but not at club level.
He won every club competition available to him multiple times.
 
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Spiersey

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He's obviously biased but he has a point in that he was a more complete attacker. Maradona was more entertaining, both were better leaders, but it doesn't make them better players though, as, despite of Messi's "limitations", he still influences the game as much as they did at their peak.

I don't think that it's possible to argue that Messi is better than Maradona, or Pelé, or vice versa, as all three are pretty much perfect. Messi's lack of international success will hurt him when we're choosing the greatest footballer of all-time, but he's definitely in the mix for the best one.

So:
— yes on completeness.
— no on the "much better" comment.
Messi is arguably as good as finisher as anyone ever, arguably the best passing and vision of anyone and most certainly the best dribbler of all time. How could he be more complete?
 

harms

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Messi is arguably as good as finisher as anyone ever, arguably the best passing and vision of anyone and most certainly the best dribbler of all time. How could he be more complete?
Pelé is also arguably the greatest goalscorer of all time (and has a better claim than Messi on this, one of the very few that have), one of the all-time best dribblers and passers — plus he was stronger, had better stamina, fantastic leap and heading ability and was completely ambidextrous. That's how. Messi has weaknesses, but he is so good that they're almost never exposed. Pelé was a perfect athlete as well as a footballer.
 

Amar__

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He accomplished more, so its not crazy to say he was better. Don't know why millenials are so anti-Pele.
Millenials :lol:

He said Neymar is the best player in the world, is that right too?
 

Oly Francis

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You can attack Messi on his leadership abilities (his attitude against was a shame for such a gifter player) or the fact that he has a hard time being decisive in hard ECL games for a couple of years now but saying that he has only one trick is a huge exageration. The context of this statement is not really clear though.