Messi is the best player in the world: Pele

Pele believes Celtic faced the greatest player in the world when Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick against them in Barcelona’s 7-0 thrashing of the Hoops on Tuesday night.

Parkhead boss Brendan Rodgers had pointed out Uruguay’s Luis Suarez as the top man in Barca’s much-vaunted three-prong attack which also includes Neymar, reports Daily Mail Online.

While Pele’s fellow Brazilian scored once and Suarez grabbed a brace, the Argentinian superstar again showed his class on a night where the Scottish champions were swept aside.

For many people Pele, who won the World Cup three times, is the best player the game has produced.

Speaking at a packed media conference in a Glasgow hotel before he was star guest at ‘An Evening with Pele’, where he was to face a question and answer session with football fans from across Scotland, he was asked who was the number one in the world this year.

He said: ‘I could mention some names but what has happened in the last 10 to 15 years, I think Messi is the player who was the most consistent all those years, no doubt.