They are basically the same in this context, but I would say 'said' is just more past tense than 'says'. For example, if the man in question told you something today or one/two days ago, you would probably use 'says' (even though that is technically past tense, it's still pretty recent). If they told you something longer ago than that (3+ days) it is more likely that 'said' would be used. Simply put, 'says' is used in a more recent context, 'said' is used in a more past tense context. It does not really matter in regular conversation for this case (as many people tend to use these interchangeably to an extent), so do what seems most correct to you.