Great Pele opts Ronaldo over Messi as the best

• The three-time world cup winner, after netting the ball 1281 times, remains at the forefront of any greatest of all time debate.
• The 79-year-old icon expressed these views in a YouTube channel Pilhado: "Today the best player in the world is Cristiano Ronaldo.

Football great Pele has opted Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi, for the battle of greatest player in this generation. However, Brazilian thinks that he is still the greatest footballer of all time.

The Guinness World Record holder for most goals doesn’t think that these two haven’t lived up to his greatness.

The three-time world cup winner, after netting the ball 1281 times, remains at the forefront of any greatest of all time debate.

But when it comes to the current regime of player, Pele doesn’t hesitate naming Cristiano as the best in the business.

The 79-year-old icon expressed these views in a YouTube channel Pilhado: "Today the best player in the world is Cristiano Ronaldo.

"I think he’s the best, because he’s more consistent. You can’t forget about [Lionel] Messi, of course, but he’s not a striker.”

The 35-year-old Portuguese striker has scored 725 goals in 1000 games over the course of his glittering career.

Meanwhile, his greatest rival, Messi, three year junior, also netted 697 times in 856 games, despite Pele points out – not being a striker.

The legendary former Santos star named a host of other contenders to his self-appointed title as the sport's greatest ever... but with one glaring omission.

He continued: "It is a question that is difficult to answer. We cannot forget about Zico, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.

“And in Europe, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff.

"Now, it’s not my fault, but I think Pele was better than them all."

In the days before the seemingly endless Messi-Ronaldo debate, there was Pele versus a certain Diego Armando Maradona - which, at least between the pair themselves, got heated at times.

While things seemed to have calmed down following their public disagreement over who was the best, there seems to still be no love lost - with Pele omitting the Argentine.