Pele alarmed by World Cup delays

"It was scary," he said. "It is sad and it worries me that we have to go through this even though we knew eight years ago that the World Cup was going to be held in Brazil."

He said, however, that President Dilma Rousseff was fully aware of the challenges Brazil was facing and won't let Brazil fail.

"It seems everything is being solved, there are some delays but I'm certain that everything will be ready," he said. "We have problems with transportation and communications, but the government will do everything necessary to get things ready."

Pele made the comments at a press conference to promote a research institute that bears his name and is aimed at helping children across Brazil.

He also said he thought FIFA was right to ask Brazil to sign the law that will allow Brazil to deliver the final commitments it made to FIFA in its bid to host the World Cup and the 2013 Confederations Cup.

The new law would regulate commercial rights, alcohol sales and advertising rules for the tournament, among other things. But many Brazilian lawmakers, including former striker Romario, are hesitant because the proposed law allegedly gives FIFA too many powers.

"FIFA cannot be blamed for anything," Pele said. "This is not new for the Brazilian government. It accepted all of these demands, now it has to find a solution and I know that it will find it."

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Pele also praised young Brazil striker Neymar for agreeing to stay with Santos until the World Cup, and dismissing a move to clubs such as Real Madrid or Barcelona, which reportedly tried to sign him several times.

"We always thought that it would be better for him to stay in Brazil for as long as possible and we always tried to convince him of that," said Pele, who was Santos' biggest star in the 1960s. "It's better if he stays here until he can become more mature to play in Europe."

Neymar, one of Brazil's most promising young players in years, will be 22 years old after the World Cup.

Pele said Neymar was "technically" better than Argentina's Lionel Messi, but admitted that the Brazilian still has a lot to prove if he wants to be considered the best player in the world one day.

Pele said, however, that Neymar can help lead Santos past Barcelona if the teams meet at the Club World Cup.

"Santos definitely can beat Barcelona," he said. "Obviously, Barcelona is a much more organized team today, it has been playing together for a long time, but Santos also has a good team and in one game it has the capability of beating Barcelona."