Rio de Janeiro, Aug 10: Pele says Neymar does not deserve to be rated among the top three footballers in Santos' history.

Neymar is the club's top scorer in the post-Pele era with 138 goals, but the Brazil legend says the 21-year-old is still behind his former teammates Valter Vasconcelos and Coutinho, reports Xinhua.

"I think it's an exaggeration to say that he (Neymar) is the second best," Pele said Friday.

"We had Vasconcelos and Coutinho, who were excellent players. It is now another era with much more media hype than during our time."

Earlier this year, Pele described Neymar as an "ordinary player" who needed to focus less on his haircut and public image.

The striker joined Barcelona in June after five seasons with Santos in a deal worth 57 million euros.

IANS