He Pope Francisco stated this Wednesday that the deceased former Brazilian soccer player Pele “he is the great lord” of that sport and also highlighted Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.
“I’m going to say a third: Pelé”
the pontiff said in an interview with the Italian network Rai televised this Wednesday when asked if he prefers Messi or Maradona.
“They are the three that I followed. Maradona was a great player, but as a man he failed. Poor thing, he slipped with the environment of those who praised him and did not help him”the pontiff analyzed the footballer who died in 2020 at the age of 60.
“He came to visit me here the first year of the pontificate and then the poor guy died. It’s curious: many players end badly. Even in boxing,” Francisco recalled about his first meeting with “the Golden Boy.”
When analyzing the current captain of the men’s soccer team, he maintained that “Messi is very correct. He is a gentleman.”
“But for me, of these three, the great gentleman is Pelé”he later emphasized, referring to the Brazilian from teams like Santos and Cosmos.
Pelé, according to the Pope, was “a man of heart.” “I spoke with Pelé, I met him once on a plane when he was in Buenos Aires, we talked. A man of so much humanity,” he recalled.
“The three of them are great. Each one with their own specialty. Messi is good at the moment. And Pelé was good”he added.
Source: Ambito
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