Pope Francis has revealed who he considers the greatest football player in history. The pontiff favored the three-time world champion, Brazilian Pele.
Sky Italia quotes Pope Francis with reference to the TV channel Rai 1:
Maradona or Messi? I would add a third, Pelé. Among these three, the greatest gentleman is Pelé. He is a man with a very big heart. I spoke to him, I met him on a plane in Buenos Aires, and he is a man of great humanity.
Pele was previously recognized as the best footballer of the XX century according to FIFA, World Soccer and France Football, as well as the best athlete of the last century according to the IOC. He was the only three-time world football champion (1958, 1962, 1970).
It should be noted that the Brazilian's name is included in the dictionary of the Portuguese language as a synonym for the word "the best".