When Pele Named His 12 Greatest of All Time Footballers Including Messi, Cristiano

• Pele was asked in 2020 who he believed was the greatest footballer of all time
• The Brazil legend went on to name 12 players who he contended fit the bill
• The likes of Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario featured on Pele's list

Brazil football icon Pele is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to ever walk the pitch.

While he never plied his trade outside his native Brazil, Pele did enjoy an illustrious football career, especially with the national team.

The legendary forward won an incredible three World Cups with the South American football powerhouse in 1958, 1962, and 1970.

Sportbible reports that despite his exploits that saw him ink his name as one of the greatest footballers of all time, the former Santos star had his favourite players as well.

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Football

Pele names his top 12 players

Back in 2020, Pele had a sit down with MadristaReal.com and revealed his top 10 footballers of all time.

At the time, the Brazil legend was asked to name the player he believed to be the best.

Spoilt of choices, the football great went on to name 12 players, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Pele started off by naming Argentina legend Diego Maradona alongside Real Madrid icon Angel Di Stefano.

Next on his list were Italy's Giovanni Trapattoni, and his Brazil teammate Mane Garrincha.

Johan Cruyff was also included in the list, as was Bayern Munich legend Franz Beckenbauer.

The list also featured France icon Zinedine Zidane as well as Ronaldo Nazario before he gave Messi and Ronaldo special mentions.

“Today we are lucky. Cristiano [Ronaldo] is great. [Lionel] Messi is incredible," he noted.

Nadal stylishly settles GOAT debate

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Sports Brief previously reported on Rafael Nadal stylishly settling the GOAT debate, mixing honesty with diplomacy due to his association at various levels.

The tennis star picked Messi as the best but admitted he should have probably kept quiet as a fan of Real Madrid - a club Ronaldo starred at for nine years.

According to a video recirculated on Twitter by AlbicelesteTalk, the 22-time Grand Slam winner made a confession but buttressed his reply with logic.