” Real Madrid honorary president and former player, Alfredo Di Stéfano, opined: “The best player ever? Pelé. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better”.Pelé wearing the Cosmos’ No. 10. The number was retired in his honor.Presenting Pelé with the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, former South African president Nelson Mandela said, “To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full.