(EUROSPORT) – Pele has said that Lionel Messi is nowhere near as good as he was and that he hopes Neymar doesn’t turn out like the Barcelona star.
After watching his former club Santos win the Copa Libertadores, the Brazilian was asked whether he thought Messi was at the same level as he.
“Messi better than Pele? To get there he needs to score more than 1 283 goals,” said the 70-year-old Pele who scored 1 283 goals throughout his career for Santos, New York Cosmos and Brazil, while Messi, who has just turned 24, has so far scored 180 senior goals for Barcelona and Argentina.
The latest Brazil star Neymar scored in Santos’ win over Penarol in the Libertadores final and has been linked with Real Madrid and Chelsea but Pele used his opportunity to talk about the 19-year-old by having another swipe at Messi.
“Neymar has great talent. I hope Neymar doesn’t end up like Messi, who plays so well for his club but does nothing for his country,” said Pele.
Earlier this year Pele spoke about himself in the third person to reveal how he rated his own achievements.
“Nobody did what Pele did. Being champion of the world at 17 years old, won three World Cups, scored more than 1 208 goals – only him! Then until now, nobody did this … to me, Pele is the best,” he told CNN in April.