Carlos Alberto Parreira was mainly to blame for Brazil's failure to justify their favorites tag at the World Cup finals, Brazilian legend Pele said on Monday.

Pele told daily newspaper O Globo  he hoped their exit in the quarter-finals to bogey team France would act as a lesson for future campaigns for the five-time champions.

"I really hope that this unexpected defeat will be a big lesson for the next World Cups," he added.

"The feebleness of the best players at  the most important moments did not help," said Pele, who added that despite a poor campaign Barcelona ace Ronaldinho remained the best player in the world.