‘Ronaldo Is Better Than Messi,' Says Brazil Legend Pele Before Naming Another Player As Greatest Of All Time

Brazil legend Pele has picked Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Lionel Messi as the current best soccer player in the world before he termed himself as the greatest player of all time.

Messi and Ronaldo have a combined 11 Ballon d’Or awards and have dominated the sport for more than a decade now. The two have been surrounded by the never-ending debate in regards to who is the greater player among the two.

Even though Messi pipped Ronaldo by clinching a record sixth Ballon d’Or award earlier this year, the Brazil veteran would still rather have the Portuguese in his team.

“Today the best player in the world is Cristiano Ronaldo. 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,” Pele told YouTube channel Pilhado.

Despite Pele heaped praise on Ronaldo, he also mentioned that there have been other legendary players in the history of soccer before Messi and Ronaldo. When he compared the duo to the other legendary names, he ended up terming himself as “better than them all.”

When he was asked who is the greatest of all time, Pele replied, "It is a question that is difficult to answer. 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.”

Last week, Pele denied reports that stated he was suffering from depression. Pele revealed that he chose to hardly venture out of his house because he had mobility problems after undergoing a hip operation.

“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,” he had told in an interview.