Never did it in a proper league.

Couldn't perform when it mattered though, old Mr floppy.

Pele doesn't compare to Messi or Maradona

I'm in my mid 60's, so I saw Pele's impact at the World Cups he played in, but that's only every 4 years. He didn't test himself in any of the major leagues, which is why whilst he was a great player, I would definitely place Maradona and Messi above him and put him alonside players like Beckenbauer and Cruyff.

comment by Sgt Wilko 92 (U5983)
posted 12 minutes ago
I'm in my mid 60's, so I saw Pele's impact at the World Cups he played in, but that's only every 4 years. He didn't test himself in any of the major leagues, which is why whilst he was a great player, I would definitely place Maradona and Messi above him and put him alonside players like Beckenbauer and Cruyff.
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I'd put the current Portuguese variant of Ronaldo in that mix too.

This again?! Nope, nothings changed for me, Pele, hands down The Greatest.
Messi and Maradona sit next to him on the Mount Rushmore of Footballers, but Pele is still the Gold Standard.

comment by VOF - Its all about believing .... (U17124)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by Sgt Wilko 92 (U5983)
posted 12 minutes ago
I'm in my mid 60's, so I saw Pele's impact at the World Cups he played in, but that's only every 4 years. He didn't test himself in any of the major leagues, which is why whilst he was a great player, I would definitely place Maradona and Messi above him and put him alongside players like Beckenbauer and Cruyff.
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I'd put the current Portuguese variant of Ronaldo in that mix too.
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I agree, he has been outstanding in several major European leagues for 10+ years. I also think in discussions like this, there's a tendency to forget defenders and goalkeepers who had long and successful careers, but also played in the most demanding leagues, which is why players like Paolo Maldini would be in my shake up.

Agreed ..... i always rated Baresi (perhaps a generational thing) ... he was a great player, with a hint of sinister about him .....

While it would admittedly be a push to place him in a shortlist of all-time greats, but one of the footballers I've enjoyed watching the most was Michael Laudrup, pure silk.

comment by StringerBell (U11749)
posted 12 minutes ago
This again?! Nope, nothings changed for me, Pele, hands down The Greatest.
Messi and Maradona sit next to him on the Mount Rushmore of Footballers, but Pele is still the Gold Standard.
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Hi Stringer, Of course he was a world class player, and amongst the best in world that ever played, but he was never tested in a major league, where every game demanded the player be at his best over a long and grinding season. Pele only played club football in Brazil and the US, which for me goes against the claim of him being the best in the world.

back in Pele's playing days the Brazilian league was at least the equal of the major European leagues

Brazil produced more high quality players than any other nation...and they remained in Brazil for the most part

club football back then wasn't like now...with the Big European leagues stripping everyone else of their best players

it's only since the mid 80s-early 90s that the big european leagues have become far better than everyone else in terms of quality

until then the Copa Libertadores winners would regularly outplay and beat the European Cup winners in the Intercontinental trophy

You know Zico, one of the great players of the late 70s-mid 80s, played during the prime years of his career for Flamengo...he didnt leave Brazil until past his best (with Udinese in Italy)

Comment deleted by Site Moderator

Hey Sarge, I understand that, and it’s a fair conclusion to come to on what you're basing it on, if that’s the criteria, but I’m going by optics.
No, I didn’t see him play live, but obsessed with Brazil as a young’un, and listening to my dads stories, I went about finding out as much as I could. Watched tapes over and over again.
To this day, the league thing is the only thing levelled at Pele, but ask, why would his contemporaries at the time all be in agreement that he was the best?
There’s no doubt in my mind, that had he come to Europe, he would’ve lit it up. It wasn’t his choice not to come.
Held back by the Brazil federation, the Government got involved to make sure he didn’t leave.

Plus there’s was nothing Maradona, Messi, CR7 did, that Pele couldn’t do. Ok, maybe speed. And he wasn’t slow.
But he was the complete player.

how many of Brazil's 82 WC squad played in Europe ?

answer: 2 out of 22

the rest played their club football in Brazil

the most talented national team of the era..and virtually all of them played their club footy in Brazil

does that indicate the top european leagues were better than the brazilian or argentinian leagues during that era ?

If Brazilians were actually any good at football rather than just fluking a couple of world cups, how come no Brazilian has ever really made it in Europe, to my knowledge, when plenty of English players have gone abroad and aced it? England is the real marker for whether you have any talent or not. I put Mark Noble above Pele with this in mind.

Roberto Carlos?

Argentinian journalists can feel a bit safer now!..

As for best player, taking the then and now into account, most of today's players would die playing with Pele!..

Fact is, they wouldn't keep the speeds up they now have playing on the pitches Pele played, the ball they had and the boots they used, so, comparing players from the 60's/70's speeds against the 80's/90's+ is a no go, no body has any idea of how fast players would be if they swapped kits, playing conditions and ball!..

comment by peks - 1974 (U6618)
posted 18 minutes ago
the most talented national team of the era..and virtually all of them played their club footy in Brazil

does that indicate the top european leagues were better than the brazilian or argentinian leagues during that era ?
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Hi Peks, I have to admit that your knowledge is far deeper than mine. Your statistics cannot be denied. I also remember watching Brazil in the 82 WC and how they didn't win it I still don't know. I'll have a deeper look into this because as I'm sure you know, we LUFC supporters are nothing if not fair and balanced in our opinions!

Pele is still scoring goals in his back garden and claiming them to tot up his total goalscoring tally.

The 1970 World Cup Final is still the best football I have ever seen.

Two sides packed full of World Class players - Italian defence and a certain Luigi Riva.

The second half with the likes of Tostao, Rivelino, Gerson, Jairzinho and of course Pele was football from heaven.

You also forget he played in a team with Sly Stallone as Goalie and Michael Caine as Captain and didn’t lose.
Gotta get bonus points for that..

comment by StringerBell (U11749)
posted 21 minutes ago
You also forget he played in a team with Sly Stallone as Goalie and Michael Caine as Captain and didn’t lose.
Gotta get bonus points for that..
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Ossie Ardiles carried that team, Pele spent the game just looking for his Hollywood moment.

comment by peks - 1974 (U6618)
posted 1 hour, 27 minutes ago
back in Pele's playing days the Brazilian league was at least the equal of the major European leagues

Brazil produced more high quality players than any other nation...and they remained in Brazil for the most part

club football back then wasn't like now...with the Big European leagues stripping everyone else of their best players
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Very true