The 30-year-old will spend another three seasons at Camp Nou, and his unwillingness to prove himself abroad will taint his legacy.
In 1959, Pele scored what is considered the greatest goal of his career, and perhaps the best goal of all time. From a career of 1,283 goals, a header against Juventus is praised above the rest due to the outstanding technique in the build-up.
As no video evidence of the goal exists, computer simulations based on eye-witnesses and Pele himself were used to show how the then-18-year-old chipped the ball over three players and then the goalkeeper before heading it home – all in one fluid movement in which the ball never touched the ground.
There is no doubting that the virtual goal is spectacular. But it is one that comes with asterisks and disclaimers when being discussed as the greatest ever. The simulation is partly based on how Pele described it – and the Brazilian is not a man known for his humility, as he told FIFA.com in 2012 that “I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint.”
The opposition, Juventus, was not the one known to European audiences, either, but rather a local Brazilian side that Santos easily defeated with Pele scoring five times in a 10-1 rout.
Lots of Pele’s goals were scored against inferior opposition, with the Brazilian only leaving Santos to join New York Cosmos at the end of his career, and never plying his trade in Europe.
Whenever an argument about the greatest player of all time comes up, Pele is one of the first names on everyone’s lips. But his lack of success outside of Brazil is always cited as a reason why he cannot be considered alongside Diego Maradona, who transformed Napoli into the champions of Italy, or Johan Cruyff, a three-time European Cup winner with Ajax who also claimed domestic titles with Barcelona and Feyenoord.
On Saturday, Lionel Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona, keeping him at Camp Nou until 2021. By that time, the Argentine will be just about to turn 34, having spent 20 years with the Spanish club.
Messi arrived at La Masia as a 13-year-old and has achieved everything he could ever have hoped at Barcelona. To date, he has won eight La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and five Ballons d’Or.
