You are trying to take down the player because of the man. That's a common syndrome for women in Brazil: They hate Pele with all their heart. I don't like the man too, but I can't deny, nor can anyone, that he's not a beast. If that Golden Era Brazilian side was so "needless" of Pele, why did a 18 year old get his place during the World Cup, and score twice in the final, against the home team. At 22 he was the star of the 2 times world champion Selecao, two times world champion Santos, during their world domination era, while Messi probably wasn't even in the starting eleven. In the 50's to 70's, the midfield in some teams had 2 players, so you can't compare positional situation. If Pele could finish as the greatest, why leave him in the midfield? I think Pele is an ***, just like Maradona and other great players, but we can't let it blur our judgement of their game, and even if we did, Pele would be the stupid, and Maradona, the addict. Messi is a great guy, and will be remembered as one of the best(so should be Cristiano Ronaldo), but Pele is at a diferent level. If you say his teammates were good enough without him, so does that apply to our beloved argentinian lad. Also, the Golden Boot stuff does not "work", as Fontaine scored 13 times, while Pele, in America, would be too young to drink. In '62 and '66 he was injured, so there's nothing to be said there. In '70, Jairzinho was the Hurricane, the only time ever a player scored in all matches of a World Cup, while Pele leaded, finishing and passing(CA Torres goal!). If you say that he scored because of the passes, you should talk about his assists, and that pass to Carlos Alberto Torres is, just like the goal, poetical. He's not the greatest football player of the century. He's the ATHLETE OF THE CENTURY. It's not Ali, Gritsky, Jordan or Senna. It's Pele. Get over it.