Pelé: ‘The best football in the world is at Barça’

"The best football in the world is at FC Barcelona." So says Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, in an interview for GQ magazine. One of the greatest legends in the world of football, he’s spoken about the latest news from the sport, the current stars, the World Cup, coaches, teams and more. "I still watch a lot of football and I love my old team, Santos. But I also like to follow the best teams in the world and right now that's FC Barcelona,” he continued.

Speaking about Brazil’s hopes in Russia, Pelé noted: "We have good players like Barça’s Coutinho, Firmino, Neymar, Marcelo... but it’s difficult to get them to play as a strong team." In addition, he explained the changes that the World Cup has seen over time: “Before you could only follow it on radio and television, and it was special because it brought people together. Now, you can watch any sport at any time."

"In my time there were great players like Johan Cruyff, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Eusebio, Zico and Georgie Best,” 'O Rei' recalled, and with money governing the game now, the Brazilian legend suggested only three modern greats deserved such high salaries. "Now everything is different, but really only Leo Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo are worth the big amounts of money.” Finally, Pelé highlighted the coaches he believes are the best. "I like Pep Guardiola, and also Mourinho and Tite, who is a very good coach and who cares about the players.”