Pele blasts Blatter comments

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-13  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

FOOTBALL great Pele denounced FIFA President Sepp Blatter's belief that some top players are treated like slaves by their clubs.

Blatter was giving his assessment of Cristiano Ronaldo's standoff with Manchester United over a move to Real Madrid when he said that players seeking a transfer should be allowed to leave.

The top-earning Portugal winger concurred with Blatter's "modern slavery" comments, which upset football's first black superstar.

"You are a slave if you work without a contract or you don't get paid," said Pele, a three-time World Cup winner with Brazil, which abolished slavery 120 years ago. "If you have a contract then in any job you have to finish the contract. I think that when he finishes his contract, then he should be free to go wherever he wants to go."

Ronaldo has almost four years left on his Old Trafford contract and, while no transfer request has been submitted, the 23-year-old English footballer of the year has spent the summer angling for a transfer to Real.

Pele was in Stoke yesterday for a charity match in aid of former England goalkeeper Gordon Banks' foundation.

Meanwhile, United States goalkeeper Brad Guzan is on the verge of moving to the Premier League after Chivas USA agreed a transfer fee with Aston Villa yesterday.

The switch from Major League Soccer is reliant on Guzan obtaining British work permit.