How Do Messi & Cristiano Compare Against Pelé?
Pelé's 3 World Cups and 0.84 goals per game still eclipse Messi's stats, despite a "tougher era."
The world has been mourning the death of Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, who passed away last week after a battle with cancer.
Pelé grew up in a poor neighborhood in São Paulo. Despite his challenges, he loved soccer from a young age and spent hours daily practicing his skills, often in poor conditions.
As he got older, Pelé's talent for soccer began to shine. He played for his local team and eventually on Brazil's national team, leading them to an unprecedented three World Cup victories. Despite attempts by European teams to recruit him, Pelé decided to stay home and undoubtedly helped shape one of the most prominent soccer cultures in the world.
Pelé became known for his incredible speed, precision, and scoring ability, earning him the nickname O Rei (The King). He's considered by many to be the best player ever to play the sport.
However, with Argentina's recent World Cup win at the hand of Messi, some have been contending that Leo deserves the "greatest of all time" title. How is that possible if Pelé won three World Cups and averaged 0.84 goals per international match, while Messi has averaged 0.57?
The argument goes that despite Pelé's World Cup wins and superior goal-scoring record, Messi has played "in a tougher era, with many more games and much more pressure."
We're not sure we buy that idea: sport continuously evolves and gets more demanding, but that doesn't discredit the accomplishments of the past. Michael Phelps didn't earn the title of greatest swimmer ever until he surpassed Mark Spitz's medal count, though having considerably better swim times much earlier.
One thing is for sure: the world will miss Pelé's brilliance, which extended beyond his soccer career. UNESCO named him a Goodwill Ambassador, Queen Elizabeth II gave him a knighthood, he composed music, and served on several anti-corruption campaigns in Brazil as minister of sport.