Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo Still Not On Pele's Level, Brazil Legend Says

A Brazil legend hailed Pele as the greatest of all time and claimed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could not compare to him at their current conditions.

Soccer has been divided by experts based on eras. By doing so, pundits have determined ways to figure out who the greatest player is. However, instead of coming up with only one answer, experts often conclude that there’s a greatest in every era.

For the previous era, it’s Pele, while others have said it’s Diego Maradona. For the current one, it has always been a debate between Ronaldo and Messi.

In a recent interview with Fifa.com, Brazil legend Tostao, who has witnessed all these players perform inside the pitch, gave his detailed thoughts about the subject.

According to the 73-year-old, Pele “was on another level to everyone” and had all the qualities of a prolific forward. Shockingly, Tostao even thinks that his fellow Brazilian had no holes in his game.

“I think Pele was better than all of them. For me, there’s no comparison. Pele was far more complete. He had every quality that a forward could have. He didn’t have one defect,” Tostao said.

As for Maradona, Tostao concluded that he “was spectacular, but he wasn’t on Pele’s level physically.” He also pointed out that Maradona has never reached the number of goals Pele managed to score.

When talking about the greatest, it’s hard not to mention Messi and Ronaldo. But while the pair evidently dominated modern soccer, Tostao still believes Pele is way ahead of them.

The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A champ also claimed that Messi and Ronaldo can only climb to Pele's level if they combine all their attributes.

“Messi’s spectacular, but he doesn’t head the ball like Pele did, he doesn’t shoot as well with both feet, he doesn’t pull off the moves that Pele did. Cristiano Ronaldo is an exceptional player, but he doesn’t have the ability that Pele had and he doesn’t pull off the incredible passes that Pele did,” Tostao explained.

“If you take the qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, put them together, then you’d have a player to compare to Pele!” he continued.

But according to Pele himself, Ronaldo is the best player in the world. The Brazilian once said that “Leo” is a great player, but he’s behind the Portuguese as he isn’t a striker.