Pele: Ronaldo unlikely to end wait for international glory

Pele thinks Cristiano Ronaldo is unlikely to lead Portugal to glory at Euro 2016 due to the strength of the other nations in the competition.

The three-time World Cup winner has been in Paris for a promotional event with Diego Maradona ahead of the tournament.

Pele was asked for his views on why Ronaldo and his club rival Lionel Messi are yet to taste international glory and he insisted it was not the fault of either player.

But he feels Portugal captain Ronaldo, 31, will not end his wait for an international honour at the Euros, with Germany his tip to win the event.

Pele told the Times of India: “Just the other day Cristiano took the last penalty to win the Champions League for Real Madrid, but there are so many national teams stronger than Portugal in the Euro. I was very happy to see him take Portugal to the semi-finals in 2012.

“Germany seem to be the best bet, along with some other nations like Spain, France, Italy and England. It is a pity that the Netherlands could not qualify. That tells you how competitive the qualifying phase of the Euro is. Keep an eye on Belgium and Portugal, too.”

On the game’s top two players, Pele added: “Lionel Messi is definitely the best footballer of this generation – no questions. 

“Messi took his team to the World Cup final in my country and a year later to the Copa final in Chile. His team did not win on both the occasions, but they are on the right path.

“Cristiano is very, very close to Messi, although he is a different type of footballer. Sometimes it is really difficult for anyone to determine who is ahead of whom and both of them are superb.”