Jomo Sono has paid an emotional tribute to Brazilian football legend Pelé, who passed away on Thursday, whom he described as his mentor, role model, friend and teammate.

Sono, who is widely regarded as the best player South Africa has produced because of his outrageous talent, played alongside Pelé at New York Cosmos in the US during the 1970s.

“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 on Friday morning as tributes continued to pour in for the legendary Brazilian who died at the age of 82 due to multiple organ failures resulting from the progression of colon cancer.

“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 the strongest hug I have never 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.”

The debate about who is the greatest player to have played the game has been top of the agenda since Lionel Messi led Argentine to the World Cup title earlier this month, but Sono maintained 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 Ballon d'Or. Messi has taken seven but he could have taken 10.

“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.

“This guy could play football. One thing I learned from him was humbleness. He was very humble. He was one of the most famous human beings but he was so humble. It is difficult to fully describe him.”