Pele says would rather have 'team player' Messi in his squad than Ronaldo

Ahead of this weekend's El Clasico, Brazilian football legend Pele has kindled the fire saying that he would rather have Barcelona's Lionel Messi as a teammate than Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo as the Argentine is a superior team player.

Pele, who scored a record 1,281 goals, mostly for Santos, has watched the two phenomenal goal hunters battling for the world's best player title but said that he preferred Argentina football team captain Messi because he was a superior team player.

Pele said that it is hard to compare Ronaldo and Messi, adding that they are different kinds of footballers, Stuff.co.nz reported.

The former forward said that Messi is more for the team, preparing the game and assisting, but insisted that Ronaldo is maybe more like the Brazilian Ronaldo and scores more.

However, he said that in his team he would decide Messi, but claimed that both are fantastic.

Pele claimed that Messi now is playing completely different to Ronaldo, insisting that the Portugal International plays only in front.

Pele, in England to attend the Liverpool versus Manchester United Premier League game on Sunday at Anfield in his role as global ambassador for sandwich chain Subway, said that both players would have scored bundles of goals in his era, even if they would have found defenders a little less accommodating.

Messi, the all-time leading scorer in La Liga with 253 at more than one a game, has struck 32 league goals this season for leaders Barcelona with Ronaldo on 30, the report added.