New Zealand’s Che Bunce, Steven Old and Noah Hickley challenge Brazilian striker Adriano during a pre-World Cup friendly at the Stade de Geneve in Geneva on Sunday. Brazil won 4-0. —Xinhua/Reuters

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday that "Brazil was no longer the land of football" with 21 of the 23-member strong Brazilian World Cup squad plying their trade abroad.

"Brazil is only the country that produces elite players. But the world's footballing nations happen to be Italy and Spain, which can afford to buy the planet's greatest players," Lula said in an exclusive interview to O Globo newspaper.

In one of his longest interviews till date, Lula bemoaned the fact that Brazilians had to watch European matches on television if they wanted to see Brazil's biggest stars.

"There are so many Brazilians on the pitch there that you have the impression that it's a local championship," he said, adding that Brazilian players were going overseas at a much earlier age than before as soccer offers them a short career.

Speaking about the current Brazilian side, he said: "It is a team in which we cannot find a single flaw. There is no one playing better football than these guys."

But he warned the team not to be too arrogant, saying it must show "humility and treat adversaries with respect and realize that the point of the game is to score goals."

Lula, who is a follower of Sao Paulo side Corinthians, also had a word of praise for Brazil's best known star Edson Arantes do Nascimiento, better known as Pele.

"Let's say that Diego Maradona was a diamond. Pele was a diamond, emerald, and ruby all rolled into one."

While Ronaldinho, who plays for Spanish side Barce-lona, "is maybe more of an artist that Pele ... Pele was the most complete player," he said.

On Real Madrid striker Ronaldo's battle with weight, Lula said that television made him look fatter. After watching Real fans whistling at him, Lula said he had sent him a card and spoke to him like a "father talks to his child."