The reason why Pope Francis chose Pelé over Maradona and Messi

Pope Francis, while being the spiritual leader of the Catholic church, never hid his passion for football (even describing sport as a "universal language". As a football fan, he followed (and was a member) of San Lorenzo de Almagro, a club that last won the Argentinian league in 2013 (Inicial), the year Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope.

In 2023, in an interview with Página 12 in 2023, Pope Francis was asked about who was better, Messi or Maradona... and he chose neither. Surprisingly, he asked to add a third player, and he chose Pelé over his compatriots. He explained why.

"Maradona was big as a player, but failed as a man", he said. "Poor thing, he slipped up with the people who praised him but didn't help him", remembering that he met him before his death.

About Messi, he only said that he is "absolutely correct, he's a gentleman." However, he had more praise towards the Brazilian. "For me, of these three, the greatest man is Pelé", describing him as "a man of great heart."

"I spoke with Pelé, I met him once on a plane when I was in Buenos Aires. We spoke. A man of such humanity". He later added that "all three are great. Each with his own specialty".