Since the Brazilian legend retired, he has seen some greats take centre-stage in world football. In an interview with the Associated Press, the 73-year-old revealed who he would sign from the current crop of talent.
In this era, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo are scoring at pretty much a goal-a-game rate for their clubs, although Pelé finds comparisons hard to make.
“I think to compare Pelé with Messi, with Maradona, is difficult because we have different styles,” the Santos legend said.
If he were in charge of a club, who would be the first player he’d try to sign?
“I’m going to say Neymar because he belongs to us. He comes for free,” said Pelé, referring to the young Brazilian forward Santos sold to Barcelona last summer.
“But at the moment, as I was a forward, as I scored a lot of goals, I will decide: Cristiano Ronaldo.”
