At only 24, Lionel Messi has accomplished a lot in his young career. From winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for best player in the world for three consecutive years to holding the Champions League title with Barcelona three times, the Argentinian forward should've expected the question to be asked sooner or later. Is Messi the greatest player ever?
While all the talk may still be a bit premature, why not ask the guy who has held down that title for a while? In a recent interview with French newspaper Le Monde, Pele gave his brutally honest opinion. "When Messi's scored 1,283 goals like me, when he's won three World Cups, we'll talk about it. Football changes. Records are there to be broken, but it will be hard to break mine." And he wasn't done there. "I like Messi a lot, he's a great player. Technically, we're practically at the same level. He's a great player for Barcelona, but when he plays for Argentina he doesn't have the same success." Ouch!
After disposing of all that Messi talk, Pele put the final nail in the coffin with a bit of humor. "People always ask me: 'When is the new Pele going to be born?' Never. My father and mother have closed the factory." Okay, point taken.
[via BBC Sport]
Follow @Complex_Sports for more news and commentary.
