Pele was he even a good soccer player. Nobody knows. He never played in a European club or tournament against and with the world's best players. He choose to spend he entire career playing in the USA. The US, at that time, was not big into soccer. Had no good players or soccer environment. They had a lot of amateurs and showmanship and if you were just a little above the performance and skills on an average European player you could easily run around the corner with the American player and that was what Pele did. There exist no proof that he was particlar good a playing soccer. He might have been but your guess is as good as mine but his marketing skills must have been amazing. He soccer skills probably not so much.

Maradona on the other hand. He was an amazing player. RIP