Pele has lent his support to re-elected FIFA president Sepp Blatter amid a corruption scandal engulfing world football's governing body.
Blatter won a fifth straight four-year term in charge of FIFA during a vote in Zurich last Friday.
The result came two days after seven FIFA officials were arrested on corruption charges as part of a US prosecution that named 14 people.
Blatter was not among those indicted but has faced calls to resign.
"I was in favour [of his re-election]. It was necessary because it is better to have people with experience," Xinhua quoted Pele as saying on Monday.
"He's a man who has been there for 25 years [with FIFA], you have to respect him, it was an election," he added.
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Pele is in Havana to watch his former club New York Cosmos play the Cuban national team at the Pedro Marrero stadium on Tuesday.
The fixture marks the first time a US professional sports team has visited Cuba since 1999.
--Indo-Asian news Service
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