PELE, arguably the greatest footballer who ever played, made a flying visit to Glasgow on Friday to meet his Scottish fans and had a few words of advice for aspiring professionals in this country.

The three-time World Cup winner was hosting “An Evening With Pele” at the Crowne Plaza Hotel - where around 300 guests had paid up to £900 for a ticket to see the legendary player.

The 75-year-old, who scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 games for Santos, New York Cosmos and Brazil during his playing career, answered questions from the floor on the only Scottish date of a British tour.

Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, explained how youngsters here could help to halt the decline in standards in the national game.

But he said: “When I was a boy, my father, who had been a striker, told me never ever to think that I was the best and couldn’t get any better. That is what I did and is good advice for any young Scottish player.”

Pele described Lionel Messi, the Argentina and Barcelona forward, as the best player he has seen in the last 15 years.

Glasgow Times:

But he stated that the Brazil team he was a member of which won the World Cup for the third time in Mexico in 1970 was the greatest of all time.

“Neymar is from Santos,” he said. “My son was a goalkeeper at Santos. He was a coach of Neymar and he is one of the most excellent players of the last four or five years.

“But, to be honest, I see a lot of good players. In the last 15 years the player who was right at the top was Messi. To me Messi is the best.”

Pele added: “That team (Brazil 1970) was one of the best teams I saw in my life. Besides being a good team it was a team that played football and didn’t miss a tackle.

“We had four or five or seven excellent players. There is no doubt it was the best team in the world. It may seem daft to say it, but maybe in all the World Cups I saw I didn’t see anything like Brazil.”

Glasgow Times:

Pele was looking fit for a man in his eighth decade - but he admitted he was troubled by health problems since he had retired from playing.

“My health is good,” he said. “But I got old and since I was a player. I get more injuries now I am retired. I broke my knee cap, I broke my hip, I have two pins in my knee. I also have a problem with my spine.

“But everything happened after I stopped playing - and I thank God for that.”

Pelé was speaking in Glasgow as part of a UK tour. Visit www.peletour2016.co.uk for more details.