Maradona hits out at Pele for Messi

Posted Friday, December 02, 2011 by ESPN

Diego Maradona has hit back at his old foe Pele in defence of compatriot and Argentina star Lionel Messi.

The Argentina legend has sarcastically accused Pele of taking the 'wrong medication' following the Brazilian's claims that Santos striker Neymar is a better footballer than Barcelona's Messi.

Pele said that Neymar was a more complete player than Messi and unlike the Argentinean has been able to produce results for both club and country.

Maradona rejects this notion.

"He took the wrong pill," said Maradona, who is now coach of Al Wasl, at a press conference on Thursday.

"Instead of taking the pill for before bedtime, he took his morning pill.

"He got confused and he doesnt know what he's saying... I suggest that next time he takes the right medication before he starts to speak, and that he changes his doctor."

This is not the first time Pele has aimed a potshot at Messi, who has gained worldwide acclaim as the best footballer on the planet and possibly the best ever in the history of the game.

Pele and Maradona are widely considered to be rivals for the mythical tag of football's greatest of all-time because of their heroics for their respective countries at World Cups. However, Messi has so far failed to translate his success with club side Barcelona to the Argentinean national team - even when Maradona presided as coach at last summer's FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Both Neymar and Messi were among the 55 players shortlisted for the FIFA FIFPro World XI 2011 on Thursday.