The Evolution of a Royal Appraisal: How O Rei Watched Leo Grow
When a teenage Lionel Messi first flickered onto the global radar at Barcelona, Edson Arantes do Nascimento was already well into his seventies, a global ambassador whose word carried the weight of scripture. People don't think about this enough, but the dynamic between these two wasn't just about football; it was about the sanctity of the Number 10 jersey. At first, the Brazilian was glowing. He saw a mirror of his own precocity. Yet, as Messi began to rack up Ballons d'Or like they were simple trinkets, the tone shifted from paternal pride to a sort of calculated defensive posture. It was subtle. You could hear it in the interviews conducted in luxury hotels from Paris to Rio de Janeiro, where Pelé would smile, call Messi a "great player," and then immediately pivot to how he, Pelé, had scored over 1,000 goals.
The 2012 Threshold and the Question of Completeness
The year 2012 serves as a fascinating case study because that was when Messi obliterated Gerd Müller’s record for goals in a calendar year, finishing with a staggering 91 goals. One might expect a legend to simply bow down. Not Pelé. During this peak period, he famously remarked that while Messi was his favorite player, the Argentine was essentially "one-legged." He argued that to be the best of all time, you needed to be a master of all disciplines. I honestly find this critique a bit rich considering Messi’s low center of gravity and playmaking vision changed the very geometry of the pitch. But for the man who won three World Cups, the lack of a dominant right foot and a threatening aerial game was a genuine deal-breaker that kept the kid from Rosario in a lower tier of the pantheon. Which explains why he often redirected the conversation toward Neymar or even Kylian Mbappé in later years.
Deconstructing the Technical Critique: One-Legged Genius or Final Evolution?
To understand what Pelé thought of Messi, you have to look at the specific technical "flaws" he obsessed over during his various press tours. He once told the Brazilian outlet Folha de S.Paulo that he didn't think Messi was better than Diego Maradona, let alone himself. His logic? Messi only had one skill: kicking with the left. It was a bizarrely reductive take for a man who surely watched the same Champions League nights we did. Still, the issue remains that for the older generation, versatility was the ultimate metric of greatness. Pelé prided himself on being a powerhouse athlete—a player who could out-jump center-backs and blast goals with either foot from thirty yards out. Messi, by contrast, was a specialist in the sublime, a player who redefined efficiency through dribbling and vision rather than raw physical dominance.
The Maradona Comparison as a Defensive Shield
There was a period between 2015 and 2019 where Pelé seemed to use Diego Maradona as a tool to dampen the Messi hype. He would suggest that Maradona was more "complete" or had more "personality." This is where it gets tricky because Pelé and Maradona spent decades feuding over who was the greatest, yet they suddenly found common ground in their shared skepticism of the new generation. Was it genuine tactical analysis? Or was it two aging lions watching a younger predator take over the savanna? Experts disagree on the intent, but the result was a series of quotes that felt increasingly out of touch as Messi led Barcelona to the Treble in 2015 and continued to maintain a level of consistency that neither Pelé nor Maradona managed in the twilight of their European or domestic careers. It felt like a classic case of the old guard refusing to let go of the "good old days" when the game was supposedly tougher.
The Shift in Tone: The Late-Life Softening of the King
Something changed as Pelé entered his final years and his health began to decline. The sharp edges of his critiques started to wear down, replaced by a genuine warmth that seemed to acknowledge Messi’s permanence in history. When Messi finally broke Pelé’s record for the most goals scored for a single club (reaching 644 for Barça in December 2020), the King didn't reach for an excuse. Instead, he posted a long, heartfelt message on social media. He spoke about the beauty of loving the same shirt for so long. That changes everything. It was no longer about who was better at heading; it was about the shared experience of being a one-club icon, even if Messi was eventually forced out of Catalonia by financial mismanagement. The competitive fire was still there, but it was being smothered by a sense of shared legacy.
The Final Approval at the Qatar 2022 World Cup
The culmination of this relationship happened while Pelé was in the hospital during the 2022 World Cup. As Messi led Argentina to glory in Lusail, Pelé was watching from a bed in São Paulo. His daughter reported that he was rooting for the "flea" to get his trophy. Because, as a result of that victory, the final argument—the lack of an international title—was finally dead. Pelé’s Instagram post celebrating Argentina’s win was a passing of the torch. He mentioned that "Diego is smiling now," linking himself, Maradona, and Messi in a single, divine lineage. It was a rare moment of total surrender to the present. The man who once claimed Messi wasn't as good as some 1960s Brazilians was now calling him the rightful heir to the beautiful game’s soul.
Beyond Statistics: Why Pelé Viewed Messi as a Distinct Species
We often get bogged down in the 1,283 goals versus the seven (now eight) Ballons d'Or debate. But Pelé’s perspective was rooted in the idea of the "specialist." He looked at Messi and saw a player who stayed in a specific zone of the pitch for years, whereas Pelé saw himself as a nomad who mastered the entire field. The truth is, the game had changed. In the 1960s, a player could be a generalist because the tactical systems were less suffocating. By the 2010s, Messi had to become a surgical instrument to survive the low-blocks of modern European football. Pelé occasionally failed to grasp that the tactical evolution of the sport required Messi's specific, hyper-focused genius rather than the broad-shouldered athleticism of the past. Yet, he still recognized that Messi was the only player of his era who could be discussed in the same breath as the legends of the 1970 Seleção. That, in itself, is the highest praise any player could ever receive from the King.
The Neymar Factor in the Rivalry
We also have to consider the nationalistic lens. Pelé was a patriot. For a long time, he tried to argue that Neymar was technically superior to Messi. It was a take that sparked laughter in some corners of the football world, but to Pelé, it was a matter of Brazilian honor. He wanted his successor to be the one on the throne. Except that Neymar never quite reached the consistent, god-like levels of Messi. By 2018, even Pelé had to admit that while Neymar had the flair, Messi had the impact. This realization seemed to hurt him slightly, but it also forced him to respect Messi more. He stopped comparing him to Brazilians and started comparing him to himself. And that, my friends, is the only comparison that matters in the end.
Common Misconceptions Regarding the King’s Perspective
The problem is that the digital era demands polarized conflict where none truly existed between these two titans. You might believe Pele harbored a secret resentment toward the Argentine, yet the reality suggests a much more nuanced paternal admiration flavored with high standards. A recurring myth suggests that O Rei viewed Messi as a one-dimensional player because of his perceived reliance on his left foot.
The One-Footed Narrative
In 2018, Pele famously remarked that he considered himself a more complete athlete, citing his own header proficiency and ambidexterity. But let's be clear: this was not a dismissal of talent. It was the hyper-competitive reflex of a man who scored 1,283 goals according to his own records. He saw the Barcelona icon as the best of his specific era, even if he didn't view him as a mirror image of his own multi-faceted physical dominance. Pele actually praised the anomalous consistency of the diminutive playmaker, acknowledging that staying at the summit for fifteen years is a feat he respected immensely.
The Maradona Comparison Trap
Because Pele and Maradona were locked in a perpetual battle for the "Greatest of All Time" title, many assumed Pele used Messi as a pawn to spite Diego. Except that Pele often ranked Messi above Cristiano Ronaldo when forced to choose. He valued the collaborative intelligence of the Rosario native over the pure finishing of the Portuguese striker. Which explains why his praise for the Argentine was often more soulful. He saw a fellow artist. The issue remains that fans interpret any critique of Messi’s lack of a World Cup—prior to 2022—as a slight, when in fact, Pele was merely projecting the heavy burden of history he carried himself.
The Expert Lens: Tactical Symbiosis and the Santos Connection
The most overlooked facet of this relationship is how Pele viewed Messi through the lens of institutional loyalty. He spent nearly his entire career at Santos, and he felt a profound kinship with Messi’s long tenure at Camp Nou. He believed that the true measure of a king was the ability to build a kingdom in one place. And he was right. This shared monarchical stability created a bridge between the 1960s and the 2010s that few other players can claim. To Pele, the Argentine was not just a dribbler; he was a custodian of the beautiful game who protected the ball with the same religious fervor Pele once did in the Vila Belmiro.
Expert Insight: The Final Validation
If you look at the final months of Pele's life, his stance underwent a definitive crystallization. As the 2022 World Cup progressed, his social media activity—likely managed by his inner circle but reflecting his verified sentiments—moved from cautious respect to total exaltation. He witnessed the 35-year-old maestro carry a nation, much like he did in 1958 and 1970. This was the final piece of the puzzle for the Brazilian legend. In short, the "King" finally saw a successor who had completed the triple crown of longevity, skill, and global conquest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Pele ever officially state that Messi was the best in history?
Pele rarely handed out the absolute title of "Best Ever" to anyone other than himself, typically maintaining a hierarchical distance from active players. However, in several interviews between 2015 and 2020, he consistently labeled the Argentine as the most technically gifted player of the last twenty years. He often qualified this by noting that while he was the best of the current crop, comparing across eras is a logical nightmare. Statistical data shows that when Pele was asked to pick a teammate from the modern era, he chose the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner (at the time) over any other candidate. He appreciated the 800-plus career goals and the sheer volume of assists that mirrored his own playmaking evolution later in his career.
How did Pele react to Argentina winning the 2022 World Cup?
From his hospital bed in Sao Paulo, the legendary Brazilian icon sent a poignant message of congratulations to the Argentine squad. He explicitly mentioned that Diego Maradona was surely "smiling now" while watching his successor lift the trophy. This gesture was monumentally significant given the fierce Brazil-Argentina rivalry that usually dictates silence or bitterness. He recognized that the 26 World Cup appearances made by the Argentine captain represented a level of dedication that transcended borders. It was a public passing of the torch that silenced those who claimed Pele was too proud to acknowledge the genius of his neighbor.
What specific skills did Pele admire most in his successor?
Pele was fascinated by the low center of gravity and the magnetic ball control that allowed his successor to navigate congested midfields. He often spoke about the visionary passing lanes that the Argentine discovered, which Pele felt were more impressive than his scoring records. (He always maintained that scoring was a natural instinct, but passing was an intellectual pursuit). As a result: he viewed the Barcelona legend as a "complete" player in terms of influence, even if he lacked the aerial threat Pele famously possessed. He saw a player who could dictate the rhythm of a match for ninety minutes, a rare trait that separated the truly great from the merely elite.
A Final Verdict on a Royal Relationship
We must stop looking for petty jealousy where there was actually a profound recognition of greatness. Pele did not need to diminish others to maintain his throne. What did Pele think of Messi? He saw a worthy heir who operated with a different physical toolkit but a shared spiritual frequency for the game. To suggest anything less is to ignore the overflowing warmth of their final interactions. My position is clear: Pele viewed the Argentine as the ultimate validation that Joga Bonito was not dead. It is a beautiful irony that the man who defined the 20th century spent his final days celebrating the man who defined the 21st. We should all be so lucky to witness such a seamless transition of majesty.