Pele caused a serious stir when he criticised Lionel Messi this week.
Despite praising the Barcelona star in the past, Pele embarked on a remarkable rant criticising him for only having 'one skill' and ranking him below players like Diego Maradona and Franz Beckenbauer.
"How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn't head the ball well?" said Pele, according to Goal.
"How can you compare? To compare with Pele, it has to be someone who shoots well with the left, shoots well with the right, and scores headers.
"As far as I'm concerned, [Diego] Maradona was one of the best players ever. If you ask me, 'Was he better than Messi?' Yes, he was. Much better.
Reaction to Pele's criticism
"[Franz] Beckenbauer, [Johan] Cruyff were also excellent players."
It's no surprise that these comments have caused such outrage in the footballing world and no matter who you consider the GOAT (greatest of all-time), his verdict is far too harsh.
Videos have since emerged showcasing Messi's ability with his weak foot and in the air, while football fans have generally fought his corner across social media.
Barcelona's damning Twitter thread
Pele is yet to respond to the reaction but he certainly won't be happy about it and it seems an apology is only a matter of days away.
Nevertheless, with fans still waiting for a response, one Barcelona fan has constructed a remarkable Twitter thread to outline exactly why Messi was better than Pele.
It sounds a daunting task, yet they've truly delivered and with over 4,000 'likes' at the time of writing, floods of supporters are agreeing with their verdict.
You can take a look at the finest tweets from the thread - titled 'Pele: the biggest fraud in football history' - below:
The full chain of tweets is too long to include here, so follow this link for the full set.
No matter where you stand on the controversy, it's a convincing argument and really makes you think twice about Pele's legendary achievement of 1,000 goals.
It seems by modern standards their record in front of goal would be very similar and there are plenty who don't think Pele would have thrived in the modern era.
For many, though, the World Cup will always be the defining factor and even Messi's closest supporters have to hold their hands up there.
Pele lifted the prestigious trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970 but the closest Messi has come to winning the competition came in that agonising final defeat of 2014.
That being said, the argument listed by the Barcelona fan certainly sends cracks through the World Cup debate and Pele's comments still look as bizarre as ever.
The Brazilian will always be considered as one of the greats, but his quotes haven't done him any favours.
Do you think Messi is the greatest player in history? Have your say in the comments section below.