Is Pelé right to claim that Lionel Messi will never emulate his success?

If there’s anyone that is fit to pass judgement on other footballers then it’s the greatest footballer that’s ever lived, one Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Or Pelé as he is more commonly known. Now, the 71-year old Brazilian legend has recently spoken out about the man who many believe to be his heir to the throne – Lionel Messi of Barcelona. Speaking to French newspaper Le Monde, Pelé stated the following: “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. People always ask me ‘When is the new Pelé going to be born?’ Never. My father and mother have closed the factory.”

The closing line of the Brazilian’s words are a journalist’s dream. A killer quote which makes you stand up and take notice. It’s funny and it’s incredible bravado. Now, as aforementioned, if there’s anyone fit to pass judgement on a player then it’s Pelé, the greatest who lived. However, I’m going to stick my neck on the line and say that his opinion – while being an absolute gold nugget of a quote – is slightly misguided. Allow me to explain why.

First of all, though, let’s remind ourselves of young Lionel’s latest achievements. He acquired the Ballon d’Or for the third year running, topping a list of 23 which included a number of extremely gifted and talented sportsmen. In achieving his latest gong, Messi became only the fourth man in history to do so. In a memorable year for the Argentine, he won La Liga and the European Cup with Barcelona and scored 44 goals in only 47 games. All of this at only 24 years of age; he’s still some way off from hitting his peak. A frightening thought.

Now, many consider him to be the greatest of this generation. And many who think that would be right. Messi has everything. He’s skilful, tough, fast, has two feet, intelligent – need we go on? For Pelé to simply dismiss the brilliance of the little man, to even neglect to consider him as the successor to his throne is to be slightly ignorant of the difference in eras during which both players played. First of all, looking at it from a club perspective – Pelé spent the majority of his career at Santos and then with New York Cosmos – you could imagine that the quality of opposition wouldn’t have been the strongest. Messi has played his entire career so far at Barcelona – a huge European name, a club that plays at the highest level. Messi – in a faster and technically superior game to that of 40+ years ago – pits his wits against quality opposition in both La Liga and the Champions League.

Granted, Messi hasn’t lit up the international scene in the same way he does for his club – the Brazilian is correct in pointing this out. However, when you consider that the majority of his team mates make up one of the best international sides to have played in years then that’s going to be a tough nut to crack. There’s still time though and if there’s a man that can do it, it’s certainly Messi.

To discard the difference in eras, in the quality of football and to claim he fails to match up simply because of his lack of wow factor on the international front is somewhat short sighted. While being an absolute legend and delivering a killer line like he did, he could be made to mince his words. Messi is the world’s greatest – and he’s only just beginning.

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