Pelé is the greatest player ever, not Messi, Says Beckenbauer

Franz Beckenbauer says that while Argentina superstar Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, Brazil legend Pelé remains the greatest of all time.

Beckenbauer was left in awe by the Argentine's brilliance at Camp Nou but the Germany icon says that former Seleção star Pelé is still the greatest talent he has ever seen. He told L'Équipe: "Messi's amazing. For several months now, he has rediscovered his best form. For Barcelona, he is the one that makes the difference. Without Messi, Barcelona would be just another team. Now he is the best player in the world and of his time. However, the best ever is Pelé. He is just ahead of Messi. I've never seen a player like Pelé. I played with him at the New York Cosmos and you would give him the ball and just not see him again because he was too fast. Pelé was all instinct."