Gerson, who won the 1970 World Cup with Brazil alongside Pelé, told Reuters in an interview from his home in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, that playing with him was “knowing victory would come.
The 81-year-old Gerson said, “He was the best, the king of football. Edson Arantes do Nascimento passed away, but Pele is eternal.” He and Pelé both scored in the 1970 final, when Brazil beat Italy 4–1 to win their third world title.
José Macia, nicknamed Pepe, participated in the two previous tournaments, in 1958 and 1962, and also played alongside Pelé for club side Santos. He praised his former teammate, whose skills would never be seen again.
In an interview at his home in Socorro, a small town near São Paulo, 87-year-old Pepe said: “I joke that his mother threw away the formula she used to make him. There will never be another like him. “
“Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Maradona are all extraordinary, wonderful players, but they are human. Pele was not human, he came from Saturn.”