Pele Thinks Cristiano Ronaldo Is Superior Over Lionel Messi But Asserts He Remains GOAT

Brazilian football icon Pele has joined the raging debate on who is the better player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The latter started on their blockbuster rivalry while playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona, and according to Pele he tends to favor the striker if asked to pick only one.

In an interview with YouTube channel Pilhado, Pele said he was impressed with Ronaldo's incredible achievements on the pitch and made clear that since the Portuguese is a striker and a prolific goalscorer like him, his vote will be for the Juventus star.

"Today the best player in the world is Cristiano Ronaldo ... I think he's the best because he's more consistent," The Sun reported the football legend as saying.

However, Pele was quick to add that his fellow South American Messi cannot be brushed aside, noting that the Argentine has been exemplary even when not a natural striker.

"You can't forget about [Lionel] Messi, of course, but he's not a striker," argued the Brazilian great.

Indeed, Messi's total goals so far are nothing short of spectacular at 697, which the Little Magician has accumulated while competing with opponents trained to focus on scoring. The numbers were only surpassed by Ronaldo's 725 goals, which likely is Pele's reason for placing him at the top.

And in terms of who is the greatest of all time, Pele went on to nominate football giants, easily pointing to past superstars that emerged from South America.

"It is a question that is difficult to answer. We cannot forget about Zico, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo," said the former Santos main man.

He reminded that there are contenders coming from Europe as well, such as Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff, but in the end, the flamboyant Pele pointed to the one man he is convinced was and still is the most dominant figure in football.

"Now, it's not my fault, but I think Pele was better than them all," said Pele, whose official career goals stand at 643, all of which cleared while bannering for Santos.

However, Pele has never backed down on his claim that the real numbers are much higher if the friendly matches he figured with would count. The 79-year-old Brazilian is convinced his total goals stand at 1,281, which if officially acknowledged will indeed become the highest of all time.

And Pele's greatness is further underpinned by the fact that during his prime, he led Brazil to three World Cup wins, which should be hard to match now even by Messi or Ronaldo.

One notable omission on Pele's list of great footballers is his Argentine rival Diego Maradona, which came as no surprise because the two had "a frosty relationship ... in the past," according to the Daily Star.