Brazilian soccer legend and hero of three World Cups, Pele has weighed in on the debate on who is a better player between the Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi and his Real Madrid counterpart, Christiano Ronaldo.
Argentine Messi has won more Player of the Year Award and club trophies than Ronaldo.
But the Portuguese had a fantastic 2015/2016 season with Madrid, winning the Champions League and Euro 2016 with Portugal and netting more goals than Messi in total.
Supporters of the two clubs the players played for as well as their admirers are usually sharply divided on who is the better player out of the two.
But Pele who is also regarded as one of the best players in the round leather game had no hesitation in putting Messi ahead of Ronaldo when he was asked to be the judge by reporters.
Pele was quoted by sport-english.com as saying, “Messi is the best player to have played the game in the last 15 years.”
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a great goalscorer, but Messi is the best.
“You mention several names, but from the last 10 or 15 years, I think Messi’s been the most consistent player, without doubt,” Pele said.
“You could mention others, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s a great goalscorer, he reminds me of Ronaldo.
“In the end, Ronaldo score goals and you see Messi giving assists and creating play, as well as scoring.
“In terms of being a complete player, there’s no doubt that Messi is the best,” he added.