Pele and Franz Beckenbauer were reunited on Friday to light up the Empire State Building in New York Cosmos green ahead of the start of the new season . As has become tradition , the top of the iconic building in New York has turned green for the weekend to celebrate the start of Cosmos ' North American Soccer League season , and the occasion was marked by two very special guests . Beckenbauer and Pele are two of the greatest footballers ever to have lived , and the pair played for New York Cosmos together in the late 1970s . As the former noted , they were pioneers at the time , bringing football to a territory that had rarely seen the game before . Franz Beckenbauer ( left ) and Pele ( centre ) were reunited in New York on Friday afternoon . The pair played for New York Cosmos in the 1970s , before the club went bankrupt in the following years . Speaking at the ceremony on Friday , Beckenbauer joked to Pele : 'Your English is better than 30 or 40 years ago when we played together . ' I told you once you were one of the reasons I signed for the New York Cosmos in the year of 1977 . Pele , he came in 1975 , and I think we were pioneers at the time because no-one here in the country played soccer . ' Brazilian legend Pele , now 74 , also had his say as the pair flicked the switch to turn on the lights . Pele ( right ) runs with the ball , while team-mate Beckenbauer watches on in the background . Ahead of the new season starting this weekend , the pair turned the Empire State Building green to celebrate . Pele and Beckenbauer joined hands at the top , and spoke of their pride at returning to New York . ' I thank God for this moment , for this help . And Beckenbauer , now my partner , is going to suffer together because the New York Cosmos come back but now we just stay on the bench . Congratulations , good luck to you . ' Following success with Pele and Beckenbauer in the 70s , Cosmos went bankrupt and stopped playing in the 1980s , only returning in 2010 with Pele as the club 's honorary president . They play in the second division of American soccer , kicking off their season with a match against Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday . Pele was asked whether he 'd prefer Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo , and the Brazil legend chose Messi . Pele , regularly voted the best player of all time , says Ronaldo is 'more forward , more of a scorer ' When lists of the greatest ever footballers are released , both Beckenbauer and Pele are familiar sights in the top 10 . Nowadays , Messi v Ronaldo is the popular debate , and the Brazilian legend has had his say on modern football 's messiahs . 'It 's not that I like one of Messi or Cristiano more , when people ask me , I always say that you can not compare them , ' he told Al Primer Toque . 'Cristiano is a great player , more forward , more of a scorer . Messi is a player who makes goals but also creates chances as a weapon in behind . 'The two would be very important , but if I had to choose one it would be Messi . '
New York Cosmos will begin their North American Soccer League season this weekend with a match against Tampa Bay Rowdies . Pele and Franz Beckenbauer were in New York on Friday to turn the Empire State Building green ahead of the start of the season . The pair played for New York Cosmos together in the 1970s . The club went bankrupt in the 1980s and only returned in 2010 .