Pele Taps Kaka as Best Player in the World

By: Bob | June 18th, 2007

Never one to shy away from a microphone or an opinion, Pele has thrown his two cents into the endless pub debate over who should be labeled the best footballer in the world. No, the King did not throw his weight behind Romario, but he did select another one of his countrymen, Ricky Kaka.

Said the man who has a brand of coffee named after him :

‘Kaka is the best player in the world, without a doubt,’ said Pele in Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.

‘Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in England,’ he added. ‘But from that to being the best player in the world there is still some way.

‘Kaka is a player with great quality and that makes him stronger than Cristiano Ronaldo and that will help him become one of the best players ever.’

Usually such proclamations from Pele are the kiss of death (ask the 27 countries he predicted would win the World Cup last year), but it was just a year ago that Pele labeled Francesco Totti the best in the world and he’s been a-ok during the past 12 months.

Knowing full well that there is no correct answer to this question, who do you think is the best player in the world?

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Category: English Premier League, Serie A, World Football

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mvt

haha you guys are all dumb. fades in and out of games kaka.....did anyone witness champions leauge on what he did to manchester united....ronaldo sucked. hes a pussy. he flops everytime...if he doesnt flop hell do a gay little move that dose not need to be done. the top 5 soccerplayers in the world in order are KAKA . RONALDINHO . MESSI. TOTTI. PIRLO......maybe even buffon.....
alberto

ok pele

i know pele is the best one in the world

and forever

but he cant not say that kaka

is the best player in the world cuz his not is c. ronaldo!

just becuz kaka

is from brazil and pele is from brazil

and c.ronaldo is not from brazil does not mean that his no the best one

not only brazil ppl.can play soccer !C.ronaldo!best player ever!07-08
maea

It's true. . KAKA is the best in the world , Ronaldo have to wait and 3-4 year to be the best in EUROPE , but and KAKA 3year ago he started to play in european football and now is the best .. .^^ . You can say what do u want , but again , KAKA is the best in the world , ronaldo the best only in england not i world .. u have to understand that !
Mounir

You guys talk about how Kaka 'fades too much'. Perhaps, he does 'fade' but who is better than him at the moment?

C. Ronaldo is in England, Kaka is in Italy. You can't compare the two in their respective leagues. However, you CAN compare them based on their CL performances, a cup where both players participated and undoubtedly Kaka proved himself.

Totti is an awesome player, I agree, but if I had to choose b/w him and Kaka I'd go for Kaka any day.

Messi? Phenomenal, netting 14 goals this season. Undoubtedly an amazing prospect for the future, but currently, I believe Kaka is better, and by better I mean more effective. By saying that, I am not in any way doubting Messi's abilities; in fact, he has the potential of becoming better than Kaka, someday.
Joe

Although I will agree with the comments regarding Pirlo and his exceptional ability, I have to agree with Pele regarding Kaka. What Kaka can do for a team no other player in the world can! I know this sounds vague but let's ask ourselves...can anyone run with ball at the same pace?...can anyone really be such an effective attacking midfielder?...can anyone with soooo much talent be as disciplined and patient on the ball?...can anyone carry a team that has no world class striker for a full season and win the most important competition in the world?...If you answered yes to all of these questions, then anyone can say that Pele should stick to bicycle kicks?!
Clint

You people are all crazy. Who is this Kaka you're talking about? All I see in that photo are four shmokin hot chicks... wait a minute. HEY!!
Luis

First of all, nobody listens to what Pele says. Kaka does fade too often to be the best in the world. He shows up for Milan and Brazil from time to time, but there are too many no show games.

Ronaldo is the biggest stand out of the year for me. Tough to find anyone that made more of a mark and I don't think there's anyone out there that had such a big impact on their club or national team. Whether he's the best in the world is a more complex issue, but he certainly was the best this year, in my book.
Gianfranco

I would have to agree with Chris on this one. Kaka tends to fade in and out of matches and does not always have the constant impact that is asked of truly world class players. There are players on Milan, such as Pirlo, who have way more touches and playmaking duties than Kaka will ever have. I will give credit where credit is due though, and that is that Kaka is truly an effortless baller who looks almost unstoppable on the ball with his speed, his touch on the other hand falls short of both Messi and CRonaldo.

He also has a bad habit of passing when he should shoot and shooting when he should pass. I would not be all that upset if Real sent over a bag full of money for Ricky, Robinho would be nice as well.
Lenses

First of all, I think Kaka wins over C. Ronaldo every time, but I don't know if he's the best in the world.

Pirlo's amazing though! I agree with Chris and Ian.
Anne

Messi, Ronaldo, and Kaka all take turns. Form is such a flighty thing- who the best is- that's a moving target.
Eddie

I'd take Ronaldo over Kaka. They both are great but Ronaldo is more consistent.
Ian

Chris - Agreed, Pirlo is a stud and almost no one lists him highly. There's no one in the world I'd rather have taking my set pieces.
Chris

If I'm not mistaken the reigning Ballon D'Or winner has only slept with one woman in his life and is also captain of the current world champions. I know I've heard him say it before, and he has been with his wife since they were 15. He's pretty good, too.
Chris

I have a question, who tapped Pele as the know-all and end-all in the pantheon of football knowledge? Between the FIFA 125 and all the pub his comments get, why does his opinion matter so much? I know exactly how great he was, I have DVDs of the old days when he was unbelievable, but I don't think his talent means anything in terms of knowledge. I mean, this is the same guy who went bankrupt which forced him to go play for the NY Cosmos and had affairs which resulted in out-of-wedlock children. He isn't exactly the king of great decision making.

I'd rather hear from Rafa Benitez or Arsene Wenger, two people who obviously have great knowledge and talent recognition, who they think is the best. Their opinion should matter more than Pele's.

....stepping down off the soapbox.......

Kaka disappears too much for me to say he is definitely the best, I completely agree with Ian here. I also think people tend not to realize how ridiculously good Andrea Pirlo is and how much he impacts everything at Milan. But if I had a gun to my head, I would choose Totti.

Because I'm not a homer at all.
Bruno Romani

a man who has f*cked only one girl in his life with all the money, fame and looks that he has does not deserve many glories in football. this guy cannot be the captain of the brazilian team, for instance.
Ian

I'm just not sure that there's a standout right now. I'll take the least popular choice of all in the pub debate - I don't think anyone is the best player in the world right now. No one stands out enough over the rest. I think Kaka's in the top 5, though. So is Totti.