25/10/2025
Can Messi be better than Pele?
Messi is better than Pele in every way. Pele is the most overrated footballer in history. Some inconvenient facts
Pele scored 1281 goals
A popular argument to show that Pele was a total goleador and no one scored as many goals as the famous Brazilian. Well, yes, Pele scored 1,281 goals, but he didn't score that many in official matches. Pele, boasting about his achievements, counted the goals scored in unofficial matches, such as pre-season matches, friendly or charity matches, and even ... matches against military personnel. According to IFFHS, his official career record is 767 goals. It's a really amazing number, but ... another Brazilian, Romario, scored 772 goals
"Pele won the world championship three times!"
Another equally popular argument - Pele was the only footballer to win the World Cup three times. It would seem that this is a decisive argument in favor of Pele. The Brazilian as the leader of his team led her to three titles. Really?
Not completely. Here's the problem: at the World Cup in 1962, Pele was injured in the second group match and did not play in the decisive knockout stage afterwards. The team leader was Garrincha, who led Brazil to the title. Pele's contribution to that title is marginal, not to say none, as Pele watched his team play from the height of the stands. Pele has won the World Championships three times, but has actually contributed to only two of them. He was not the best player on these teams, definitely standing above the rest, but one of the most important players on a par with the other superstars. That Brazil was so good that it won the 1962 World Cup without Pele's help.
Pele in club football
Pele has never played in Europe and we will not find out how he would fare in the Old Continent. Pele played for the Brazilian Santos from 1956 to 1974. He won the Brazilian league six times - 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1968. It's impressive, but Messi, for example, has won the Spanish league nine times. Santos was full of great players, but Pele has led them to the title six times in over 15 years. Pele also won against Santos Copa Libertadores in 1962 and 1963. Impressive but once again: C. Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times and Messi four times.
Pele and his rivals
Was Pele any better than players like Eusebio or Gerd Muller? People often forget the 1966 World Cup in England. Pele came to England as the favorite, but ... Brazil was sensationally eliminated in the group stage. Yes, that's right, Pele didn't even make it to the knockout stage. Brazil lost to Hungary and Portugal. In the match against Portugal, Pele was completely overshadowed by Eusebio, who scored two goals and played an amazing match. Overall, Eusebio scored nine goals during the 1966 World Cup, leading Portugal to third place, despite Portugal being an average side overall in the 1960s. It's worth mentioning that Eusebio was just as goal-scored as Pele. He led Benfica to the European Cup title in 1962, as well as to three consecutive finals in 1963, 1965 and 1968. He scored 473 goals in 440 Benfica games, so his goal-to-game ratio was even better than Pele's.
Would Pele cope with today's more physical football?
This question also remains unanswered. Modern football is definitely more demanding, professional, physical, with better defense than it was 60 years ago. Pele brought back to our time could have huge problems, although he would probably still shine in front of his rivals.
All in all, Pele was a great footballer, but too many myths grew up around his character.
