Portugal legend Eusebio believes football today cannot be compared to how it was during his career because of its commercial interests.
Portugal legend Eusebio believes football today cannot be compared to how it was during his career because of its commercial interests.
The 68-year-old, who was the leading scorer at the 1966 World Cup with nine goals, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever to grace the game.
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"It's difficult for me to make a comparison given the fact that I played so many years ago," he said. "What I can state, though, is that my generation, that of the 60s, soccer was really played and it was played all over the world.
"Today what I should say is that soccer is nothing else but a commercial enterprise.
"There are some good players, but essentially today the show is a commercial one."
Eusebio also defended some of the current household names in the game, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, who failed to deliver in South Africa.
He continued: "What I can say about Rooney is that I believe he is a great player.
"He is probably not 100 per cent up to his performance at the moment, but I believe he is a great player.
"Unfortunately for Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo didn't do too well in this championship. But I am not going to condemn him for that. "I have also played in the past and I can understand that players are on good or bad form."
The Maputo-born striker, who scored more than 40 goals in his 64 appearances for Portugal, tipped Brazil to win the World Cup, but was impressed with Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina and Spain's David Villa.
He said: "The stand-out strikers for me who have been doing well for their teams are Gonzalo Higuain and David Villa.
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