Pele Dig: Brazilian Legend Asserts That Messi Is Not Better Than Neymar

In one of the more eyebrow-raising stories of the day, Pele has taken a shot at Lionel Messi.

Pele, the Brazilian legend who is often one of the top two players in a ranking of the greatest football players of all time, went so far as to put Messi behind the young talent Neymar.

After recent great seasons for Messi, many have begun to make the case for his being the greatest player of all time, putting him in the same breath as the likes of Pele and Argentinian great Diego Maradona.

However, the Brazilian has never been coy at taking shots at Messi.

Despite Messi racking up club honors at Barcelona and three straight FIFA Player of the Year awards, Pele has often said that the little forward does not stack up favorably to Brazilian greats, let alone the nearly consensus greatest of all times in Pele and Maradona.

Today, Pele pushed the envelope even further, putting Messi behind not only an active footballer, but one that is young and inexperienced:

"Now everyone is talking about Messi; he is a star. But [to be the best ever] he must first become better than Neymar...[a]t the moment Messi is just more experienced."

What Pele dislikes about Messi's abilities is unclear; perhaps he was taking a shot at his lack of credentials on the international stage, but that is just speculation (plus, Neymar similarly lacks credentials in this area).

Now, Pele is not the most unbiased source on the matter, as he has even often taken shots at Maradona's abilities.

However, these certainly make for some polarizing remarks.