Football not in a golden age at present, says Pele

Cristiano Ronaldo and Pele attend a media event. File / AFP

Football may be going through its richest phase right now financially but Brazilian football legend Pele feels that we are currently not in a golden age as far as the quality of players is concerned.

The three-time World Cup winner, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, said that there are not as many truly great players in countries that are strong in the sport.

“Once, you found two or three in every country with a great football culture,” Pele told SportStar. “Eusebio, [Antonio] Simoes, [Johan] Cruyff, [Franz] Beckenbauer, [Diego] Maradona, Garrincha, Didi. How many did I say? There were so many.”

“Today, we have two or three in all. (Lionel) Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, I would say Neymar — who in Brazil has not yet managed to become a great figure.”

Neymar was considered as the player who would take over as the best in the world after Messi and Ronaldo phase out. The Brazilian even finished third in the race to the Ballon d’Or in 2015. However since his word record transfer from Barcelona to Paris St Germain, injuries have led to the 28-year-old not attaining that heights that were expected off him.

Pele has criticised Neymar in the past but he feels the Brazilian has what it takes to make it.

Pele however believes that Neymar is an excellent player and hopes that he comes good at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. “I hope that at the next World Cup he is in good physical condition,” he added. “People criticise him, I even did it a few times, but we forget that he is a product of ours, of Santos.

“We always want the best for him. I talk about him often with his father. Technically, he is an excellent player.”

Known for his on-field antics that has irked many, Neymar has done remarkably well for PSG ever since he moved to Paris. Despite on and off-field controversies, he still remains PSG’s talisman.

Both Messi and Ronaldo are in their 30’s but continue to dominate football. Pele said that he considers Messi as the most complete player and that he would have loved to play alongside him.

“He [Messi] is a skilled player, gives assists, passes, scores, dribbles well,” he said. “If we were in the team together, the opponents should worry about two players, not just one! Today, Messi is the most complete player.”

For the record, David Beckham and Wayne Rooney earlier in the week made their contributions to which of Messi or Ronaldo is the first name onto a team sheet as soccer’s greatest.

“Ronaldo doesn’t reach the level of Messi,” Beckham told the Argentinean News Agency Telam. “They can have similarities in their technical skills and talent and it is hallucinating for football to have them both present but Messi is simply the best player in the world.”

Beckham’s former Manchester United and England teammate, Rooney, was as emphatic in his appraisal of both players.

Rooney, in his London Sunday Times column, wrote: “Ronaldo wasn’t as focused on goals when we started playing together but you could see that all he wanted was to be the best player in the world. He practiced and practiced and began to produce.

“Cristiano has become an incredible scorer and he and Messi are the best two players the game has seen. But, despite my friendship with Cristiano, I’d go for Messi. It is the different things in Messi’s game. I’ve talked about composure and I can’t remember seeing Messi score when he has hit the ball as hard as he could. He just rolls them in and makes it so easy.

“Ronaldo is ruthless in the box, a killer. But Messi will torture you before he kills you. With Messi you just get the impression he is having more fun. The two have completely changed the game in terms of goalscoring numbers and I don’t think they will ever be matched.”