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”I’m Number One, Not Pele” Maradona

Former Argentina captain Diego Maradona has discredited the Ballon d’Or prix d’Honneur given to Brazilian idol, Pele by the world football governing body FIFA.

The Argentina legend said that Pele will always be second-best to him.

Although, there is the built in Argentina-Brazil rivalry, but the former world footballer of the year seems to be taking this too far.

“How can you say that Pele received the Ballon d’Or before me? I received the award in Paris [in 1996]. So to make Pele the first one to receive the award before me is a huge mistake,” Maradona said.

“According to me, Pele will always remain second best in football when compared to Maradona. Look at it this way, in his own country, Brazil, Pele is the second best sportsman after Ayrton Senna [the former F1 driver].

“Pele will always be second, be it in international football or in Brazilian sports. The sad thing is that he is second best and he will continue to stay in that position. While presenting the award [this year’s Ballon d’Or] to Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele uttered his name as ‘Cristiano Leonardo’. This just shows where he belongs.” He added.

Fifa decided to honour Pele with the award years after his career due to the Brazilian’s ineligibility to receive d ballon d’Or during his playing days, as it was meant for Europe based players.