Pele: 'Messi is just a prince, because football has only one king'

Former football legend Pele, often called the "King of Football", believes that Lionel Messi is only worthy of being the prince of football and cannot yet stand shoulder to shoulder with other legends.

In an interview with La Vanguardia (Spain) on May 15, Pele commented: "If I am the king of football, then Messi has only been a prince for the past 15 years. I don't call Messi a king, because football has only one king."

Pele (right) presenting the Golden Ball award to Messi. Photo: Reuters

Pele, often called the "king of football" in the 20th century, also said that Messi is not the best Argentine player in history. As he has said many times before, the Brazilian football legend also does not rate Diego Maradona highly.

"I believe Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid legend) is the most complete Argentine player. He is more complete than Maradona and Messi. Di Stefano and I are not well known because in my time, television did not film football as much as it does today," Pele affirmed.

Pele won three World Cups with Brazil, the most for a single player.

According to statistics in Brazil, Pele also scored more than 1,200 goals in his career. This former player only played for Santos Club.

According to VNE