Spanish newspaper Marca got in touch with World Cup and Brazilian legend ‘O Rei’ Pele, celebrating his 75th birthday in India, for a quick interview on modern football.
On La Liga: “We watch all of the La Liga games in Brazil and, as it stands, it’s one of the best leagues on the continent”.
On Brazil: “Brazil have the best players in the world. The problem is that most of them play overseas and that makes it difficult to build a national team capable of challenging for everything”.
Are Messi and Ronaldo on a par with Pelé? “In my honest opinion, I think that every player has his era and, right now, Leo and CR7 are the best”.
On Messi: “I think that Messi is an example of determination and perseverance. He didn’t have it easy when he was young”.
On Ronaldo: “He’s an outstanding goalscorer, he just never stops. I admire that in him”.
On Diego Costa choosing Spain over Brazil: “The modern game allows players to make a choice and I respect his decision”.
Has there ever been a better player than Pelé?“Please forgive my lack of modesty, but I’ve never seen a player as good as Pelé was in 1970”.