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Brazilian football legend Pele has claimed that he believes Cristiano Ronaldo is better than rival Lionel Messi – because Ronaldo is ‘more consistent’.
Messi and Ronaldo have been inseparable since breaking onto the scene over a decade ago.
But former World Cup winner Pele has weighed in on who he thinks is the better player and it’s Juventus forward Ronaldo who comes out on top ahead of the Barcelona captain.
“Today the best player in the world is Cristiano Ronaldo,” Pele told YouTube channel Pilhado per Daily Mail.
“I think he’s the best, because he’s more consistent, but you can’t forget about [Lionel] Messi, of course, but he’s not a striker.”
Despite his glowing praise of the duo, Pele still arrived at a simple conclusion when deciding who is the best of all time – himself.
“It is a question that is difficult to answer,” he begun when asked who is the best.
“We cannot forget about Zico, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.
“And in Europe, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff.
“Now, it’s not my fault, but I think Pele was better than them all.”
Pele has recently undergone a hip operation and rumours had emerged he was struggling to come to terms with his reduced mobility.
His son Edinho claimed the former New York Cosmos man was ’embarrassed’ to leave home due to his hip issues which caused ‘a certain depression’.
But the 79-year-old was quick to shoot the claims down in an interview with CNN and insisted he is ‘fine’.
“This depression thing, I don’t know if they got it wrong because in the last two years I had a bruise, a femur operation and then, when I started training or making a commercial, I had to stop.
“They started to worry and I really appreciate it, but then they invented that I was depressed. I got here with a walker but, thank God, I only can’t ride a bike.
“Even some of the times when I was hurt, bruised, I did not fail to give an interview and I said that I was sad because I had been injured.
“That is exactly what I am going to talk about now: I would rather have arrived here without a walker, doing a little training, playing ball. But I’m recovering and, thank God, after everything I’ve done in sports, I’m fine. Thank goodness I’m recovering.”
Do you agree with Pele’s belief that Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi?
