PELE: I’d Rather Play For Arsenal Than Chelsea

I would play for Arsenal.

It is clear to see where the Brazilian is coming from here, Pele himself was subject to many robust tackles he simply had to get on with, and not helped by the nascent and incipient laws of the game that never gave players proper protection.

“Arsenal would be a good team to play for”, Pele told.

“Barcelona are the closest in style to Santos and are nearly the same style as Brazil in 1970”, Pele said.

Speaking to Agence France-Presse at the launch of an exhibition commemorating his career, the Brazil great has insisted that Costa’s antics were commonplace in his day.

Pele has weighed in on the latest controversy involving Chelsea forward Diego Costa and, perhaps surprisingly, opted to defend the disgraced hitman. “Nearly the same style”. They have only recently broken a two-game losing streak following their 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the third round of the Capital One Cup.

Pele has now jumped to his defense, saying he prefer the erratic behaviour of Costa to the biting of former Liverpool star Luis Suarez.

In Costa’s defence, Pele went on to say: “This was one moment”. “He didn’t get a red card, but he was charged”. Everybody can make a mistake.

This was the most recent incident in a string of clashes for the Chelsea striker that has seen him fall foul of the football authorities.

“But I don’t think he always used to play like that”.