Pele slams Lionel Messi, calls him a ‘one-skill’ player

Brazil legend Pele says there’s no comparison between him and Lionel Messi as the Argentine sensation “only has one skill”.

Pelé who netted over 1000 goals in his career and won the World Cup on three occasions slammed Messi during an interview with Folha de S.Paulo after he was asked what he thought of those who said the 31-year old was the best ever.

“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?

“How can you compare? To compare with Pele, it has to be someone who shoots well with the left, shoots well with the right, and scores headers,” said Pele.

Pelé even went on to praise his frequent rival, Diego Maradona.

“As far as I’m concerned, Maradona was one of the best players ever. If you ask me, ‘Was he better than Messi?’ Yes, he was. Much better.

“[Franz] Beckenbauer, [Johan] Cruyff were also excellent players.”

Messi is widely considered as one of the greatest ever players alongside Pele. The Argentinian has won the Ballon d’Or five times though international honours have proved elusive, having suffered final heartache at the World Cup and Copa America.

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