Dubbed South Africa’s king of football, Jomo Sono has also praised the Brazil legend Pele who passed away on Thursday.
Sono paid a heartwarming tribute to the three-time FIFA World Cup winner who succumbed to colon cancer at a hospital in Sao Paulo.
The Jomo Cosmos owner and former Orlando Pirates player featured alongside Pele at New York Cosmos in the United States back in the 1970s.
‘The Black Prince’ labelled the late 82-year-old as his mentor, role model, friend, and teammate, saying it’s tough to describe the fallen icon.
“It is difficult to describe the man. He is my mentor, role model, friend, and teammate. We have known each other for a very long time and we shared a lot of good memories,” Sono told TimesLive.
“One of the memories that will always linger in my mind was when we played against Seattle Sounders and we beat them 3-2 in the final. After winning that match and we got the trophy, he gave me the strongest hug I have ever had.
“It was an unbelievable hug. There I was from Africa and it was my dream just to see this man, but God made it possible for me to play with him and share an emotional hug with him.
“The second memory was when we shared the bus while playing for the US on the Asia tour. They selected all the best players playing in the American league and fortunately I was one of those players and shared those moments with him.
“In 2010 he came to the country for the Fifa World Cup and one night he came to my house and refused to go back to the hotel. That night we could not sleep. We spoke about football the whole night and also reminisced about the good old days. It was unbelievable.”
As the debate rages on who is the greatest footballer to have played the game between Pele, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo, ‘Mjomana’ didn’t mince his words – saying Pelé is the best to have done it.
“For me, he is the greatest player footballer ever. There should be no comparison. You can imagine if this man was playing during the time of the Ballon d’Or. Messi has taken seven but he could have taken 10,” he added.
“Condolences to his family. They must be strong. A big tree of Brazilian soccer has fallen. It is like with Muhammad Ali in boxing. These people are immortal, these are people who are born once in a generation or lifetime.”
Main Image: Pele/Twitter
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