"I would like to take this chance to apologise to Pele for what I said," he told reporters before taking part in a friendly match in Rio de Janeiro. "I didn't mean to say what I said. He's still the King."

The controversy began earlier this week when Pele was reported as suggesting that Romario, who will be 39 at the end of this month, should retire now to avoiding blighting a career which includes winning the 1994 World Cup.

On Friday, Romario hit out at Pele and said he was 90 percent certain to sign a deal with Vasco da Gama, the club where he began his career.

"When Pele's quiet, he's a poet," Romario told reporters on Copacabana beach after training for a beach soccer match. "But he just talks shit."

"On the field, he was the greatest player in history, he was our king. But he should put a shoe in his mouth."

Romario has been without a club since he was fired by Fluminense in October, following a season in which he has struggled for match fitness, clashed with his coaches and been involved in controversy about his much-publicised privileges.

Earlier on Saturday, Pele tried to defuse the situation.

"I'm a fan of Romario," he told Brazilian television. "If he thinks I've offended him, I'm sorry."

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