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Gary Neville believes Pele is “the best name in football”, while Jamie Carragher feels he is the game’s “first global superstar” following the Brazilian legend’s death.
The three-time World Cup winner died in Sao Paulo on Thursday at the age of 82 after a long battle with colon cancer, leaving him with love and respect from around the world.
Neville and Carragher have met the Brazilian superstar and paid tribute to him.
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Brazilian sports journalist Natalie Gedra explains Pele’s influence on Brazilian football and culture
Neville told Sky Sports: “I met him at Old Trafford when he came to watch a match.
“What impressed me was his smile but also his work ethic and yesterday you saw the number of people who have met Pele.
“The fact that he will be traveling the world, watching football, meeting people, being an unbelievable ambassador for the sport.
“If you think about what he has done for football, he is the biggest name in football and someone we are proud to meet.”
Carragher told Sky Sports: “I took my son to watch the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil and was lucky enough to meet some great people.
“Nowadays we talk a lot about who is the best player of all time and you think of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now. In the past, Johan Cruyff, Pele and Diego Maradona were probably among them.
“We all grew up with people telling us that Pele was the best player of all time.
“I think he is the first global soccer superstar.”
The Premier League and EFL said as a mark of respect, all games this weekend will see players wear black armbands with a minute’s applause before kick-off.
The Scottish Professional Football League proposed that all clubs pay their respects with a minute’s applause.
Guardiola: Pele’s influence on football will be ‘eternal’
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Premier League managers including Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola, Frank Lampard, Antonio Conte and Eddie Howe paid tribute to Brazilian legend Pele
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Pele’s influence on the world game will last forever.
Guardiola said: “On behalf of Manchester City, my deepest condolences to his family and friends. Football is football because of these people.
“Neymar said a good sentence when he said that before (Pele’s) number 10 was just a number and after that it was special.
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Former Wales striker Cliff Jones played against Pele in the 1958 World Cup and he said Pele was the best player he ever played against despite being just 17 years old.
“Every top player wants to wear number 10 in their team. What has been done for football is there and will remain.
“It’s like a great movie, a legacy after so many years. We still talk about him like a great movie or a great book because he’s great.
“I think Pele, (Diego) Maradona, (Johan) Cruyff, (Lionel) Messi, (Franz) Beckenbauer, Cristiano Ronaldo – these types of players will last forever, they will last forever.
“He has done so many things over the years on and off the field and with his team and his country.
“These types of players make our business, our work, our job, but you want to say it, a better place because of what they have produced, what they have seen in the World Cup, what the team can produce can change 48 million people. country. It’s unbelievable.”
Arteta: Arsenal’s Brazilian ’emotional’
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Football commentator Martin Tyler pays tribute to Brazilian football icon Pele describing him as ‘the greatest player ever’
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said Brazilian players in the Gunners squad, including Gabriel Magalhaes, vice-captain Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Marquinhos, have mourned the death of their friend.
He said: “We were talking about (his legacy) the other day and obviously he was very emotional because he was one of the most popular figures in Brazil, and it was a big loss.
“Obviously everything I’ve seen from him and heard about him has been through videos and people who know him personally, and many relationships that I’ve had in football, but there is someone who can change the size of the single player of world football, because he can do everything.
“He’s probably the most complete player the game has ever seen, and that’s a big loss. We had two big losses with him and Maradona in the last (two years).”
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South American football expert Tim Vickery pays tribute to Pele, describing him as ‘the most perfect football machine’
Spurs boss Antonio Conte learned everything about Pele from his father.
He said: “The first person who spoke about Pele was my father. My father loved Pele because for him he was the best player in the world and many times he talked about him.
“Then I watched some games played and especially the World Cup final and some incredible situations what he did with the ball. These memories.
“Of course if I have to compare Pele with (Diego) Maradona, it’s different because about Pele I listen, I have my father and I watch on TV his quality and he is an amazing player.
“About Maradona, I had the opportunity to play against him. Then see and touch his abilities. But I repeat, Pele for my father is the best footballer in the world.”
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