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Pelé

January 08, 2023

"Pele" redirects here. For the Hawaiian goddess, see Pele (deity). For other uses, see Pele (disambiguation).
"O Rei" redirects here. For the Portuguese footballer with the same nickname, see Eusébio.
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Arantes and the second or paternal family name is Nascimento.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈɛdsõ(w) aˈɾɐ̃tʃiz du nasiˈmẽtu]; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), known mononymously by his nickname Pelé (Portuguese pronunciation: [peˈlɛ]), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA,[1][2] he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.[3]

Pelé
Pelé with Brazil in 1970
Born
Edson Arantes do Nascimento

(1940-10-23)23 October 1940
Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died29 December 2022(2022-12-29) (aged 82)
São Paulo, Brazil
Resting placeMemorial Necrópole Ecumênica, Santos, São Paulo
Occupations
  • Footballer
  • humanitarian
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Spouses
Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi
​
​
(m. 1966; div. 1982)​
Assíria Lemos Seixas
​
​
(m. 1994; div. 2008)​
Marcia Aoki
​
(m. 2016)​
Children7, including Edinho
Parent
Association football career
Position(s) Forward, attacking midfielder
Youth career
1953–1956 Bauru
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1956–1974 Santos 636 (618)
1975–1977 New York Cosmos 64 (37)
Total 700 (655)
International career
1957–1971 Brazil 92 (77)
Honours
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
1st Minister of Sports
In office
1 January 1995 – 30 April 1998
PresidentFernando Henrique Cardoso
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byRafael Greca (as Minister of Sports and Tourism)
Signature

Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16. During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, the only player to do so. He was nicknamed O Rei (The King) following the 1958 tournament. Pelé is the joint-top goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games. At the club level, he was Santos's all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games. In a golden era for Santos, he led the club to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, and to the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup. Credited with connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football, Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world, and his teams toured internationally to take full advantage of his popularity.[4] During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world. After retiring in 1977, Pelé was a worldwide ambassador for football and made many acting and commercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the honorary president of the New York Cosmos.

Averaging almost a goal per game throughout his career, Pelé was adept at striking the ball with either foot in addition to anticipating his opponents' movements on the field. While predominantly a striker, he could also drop deep and take on a playmaking role, providing assists with his vision and passing ability, and he would also use his dribbling skills to go past opponents. In Brazil, he was hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in football and for his outspoken support of policies that improve the social conditions of the poor. His emergence at the 1958 World Cup, where he became a black global sporting star, was a source of inspiration.[5] Throughout his career and in his retirement, Pelé received numerous individual and team awards for his performance on the field, his record-breaking achievements, and his legacy in the sport.

Early years

 
Born in Três Corações in Minas Gerais state in Brazil in 1940, Pelé has a street named after him in the city – Rua Edson Arantes do Nascimento. A statue of Pelé is also prominently placed in a plaza near the city's downtown.

Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on 23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, the son of Fluminense footballer Dondinho (born João Ramos do Nascimento) and Celeste Arantes. He was the elder of two siblings,[6] and was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison.[7] His parents decided to remove the "i" and call him "Edson", but there was a typo on his birth certificate, leading many documents to show his name as "Edison", not "Edson", as he was called.[7][8] He was originally nicknamed "Dico" by his family.[6][9] He received the nickname "Pelé" during his school days, when, it is claimed, he was given it because of his pronunciation of the name of his favourite player, local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé, which he misspoke, but the more he complained the more it stuck. In his autobiography, Pelé stated he had no idea what the name means, nor did his old friends.[6] Apart from the assertion that the name is derived from that of "Bilé", and that it is Hebrew for "miracle" (פֶּ֫לֶא), the word has no meaning in Portuguese.[note 1]

Pelé grew up in poverty in Bauru in the state of São Paulo. He earned extra money by working in tea shops as a servant. Taught to play by his father, he could not afford a proper football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with string or a grapefruit.[11][6] He played for several amateur teams in his youth, including Sete de Setembro, Canto do Rio, São Paulinho, and Ameriquinha.[12] Pelé led Bauru Atlético Clube juniors (coached by Waldemar de Brito) to two São Paulo state youth championships.[13] In his mid-teens, he played for an indoor football team called Radium. Indoor football had just become popular in Bauru when Pelé began playing it. He was part of the first futsal (indoor football) competition in the region. Pelé and his team won the first championship and several others.[14]

According to Pelé, futsal (indoor football) presented difficult challenges: he said it was a lot quicker than football on the grass, and that players were required to think faster because everyone is close to each other in the pitch. Pelé credits futsal for helping him think better on the spot. In addition, futsal allowed him to play with adults when he was about 14 years old. In one of the tournaments he participated in, he was initially considered too young to play, but eventually went on to end up top scorer with 14 or 15 goals. "That gave me a lot of confidence", Pelé said, "I knew then not to be afraid of whatever might come".[14]

Club career

Santos

Main article: Os Santásticos

1956–1962: Early years with Santos and declared a national treasure

 
Pelé in 1962, by then rated the best player in the world[15]

In 1956, de Brito took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city located near São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos FC, telling the club's directors that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world."[16] Pelé impressed Santos coach Lula during his trial at the Estádio Vila Belmiro, and he signed a professional contract with the club in June 1956.[17] Pelé was highly promoted in the local media as a future superstar. He made his senior team debut on 7 September 1956 at the age of 15 against Corinthians de Santo André and had an impressive performance in a 7–1 victory, scoring the first goal in his prolific career during the match.[18][19]

When the 1957 season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of 16, became the top scorer in the league. Ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazil national team. After the 1958 and the 1962 World Cup, wealthy European clubs, such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, tried to sign him in vain.[20] In 1958, Inter Milan even managed to get him a regular contract, but Angelo Moratti was forced to tear the contract up at the request of Santos's chairman following a revolt by Santos's Brazilian fans.[21] Valencia CF also arranged an agreement that would have brought Pelé to the club after the 1958 World Cup, however after his performances at the tournament Santos declined to let the player leave.[22][23] In 1961 the government of Brazil under President Jânio Quadros declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.[11][24]

Pelé won his first major title with Santos in 1958 as the team won the Campeonato Paulista; he would finish the tournament as the top scorer, with 58 goals,[25] a record that still stands today. A year later, he would help the team earn their first victory in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo with a 3–0 over Vasco da Gama.[26] However, Santos was unable to retain the Paulista title. In 1960, Pelé scored 33 goals to help his team regain the Campeonato Paulista trophy but lost out on the Rio-São Paulo tournament after finishing in 8th place.[27] In the 1960 season, Pelé scored 47 goals and helped Santos regain the Campeonato Paulista. The club went on to win the Taça Brasil that same year, beating Bahia in the finals; Pelé finished as the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals. The victory allowed Santos to participate in the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club tournament in the Western hemisphere.[28]

1962–1965: Copa Libertadores success

"I arrived hoping to stop a great man, but I went away convinced I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us."

—Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira following the loss to Santos in 1962.[29]

Santos's most successful Copa Libertadores season started in 1962;[30] the team was seeded in Group One alongside Cerro Porteño and Deportivo Municipal Bolivia, winning every match of their group but one (a 1–1 away tie versus Cerro). Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the semi-finals and met defending champions Peñarol in the finals. Pelé scored twice in the playoff match to secure the first title for a Brazilian club.[31] Pelé finished as the second top scorer of the competition with four goals. That same year, Santos would successfully defend the Campeonato Paulista (with 37 goals from Pelé) and the Taça Brasil (Pelé scoring four goals in the final series against Botafogo). Santos would also win the 1962 Intercontinental Cup against Benfica.[32] Wearing his number 10 shirt, Pelé produced one of the best performances of his career, scoring a hat-trick in Lisbon as Santos won 5–2.[33][34]

 
Pelé with Santos in the Netherlands, October 1962

Pelé states that his most memorable goal was scored at the Estádio Rua Javari on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rival Clube Atlético Juventus on 2 August 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal.[35] In March 1961, Pelé scored the gol de placa (goal worthy of a plaque), against Fluminense at the Maracanã.[36] Pelé received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, and ran the length of the field, eluding opposition players with feints, before striking the ball beyond the goalkeeper.[36] A plaque was commissioned with a dedication to "the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã".[37]

 
Pelé before facing Boca Juniors in the 1963 Copa Libertadores Finals at La Bombonera.

As the defending champions, Santos qualified automatically to the semi-final stage of the 1963 Copa Libertadores. The balé branco (white ballet), the nickname given to Santos at the time, managed to retain the title after victories over Botafogo and Boca Juniors. Pelé helped Santos overcome a Botafogo team that featured Brazilian greats such as Garrincha and Jairzinho with a last-minute goal in the first leg of the semi-finals which made it 1–1. In the second leg, Pelé scored a hat-trick in the Estádio do Maracanã as Santos won, 0–4, in the second leg. Santos started the final series by winning, 3–2, in the first leg and defeating Boca Juniors 1–2, in La Bombonera. It was a rare feat in official competitions, with another goal from Pelé.[38] Santos became the first Brazilian team to lift the Copa Libertadores in Argentine soil. Pelé finished the tournament with five goals. Santos lost the Campeonato Paulista after finishing in third place but went on to win the Rio-São Paulo tournament after a 0–3 win over Flamengo in the final, with Pelé scoring one goal. Pelé would also help Santos retain the Intercontinental Cup and the Taça Brasil against AC Milan and Bahia respectively.[32]

In the 1964 Copa Libertadores, Santos was beaten in both legs of the semi-finals by Independiente. The club won the Campeonato Paulista, with Pelé netting 34 goals. Santos also shared the Rio-São Paulo title with Botafogo and won the Taça Brasil for the fourth consecutive year. In the 1965 Copa Libertadores, Santos reached the semi-finals and met Peñarol in a rematch of the 1962 final. After two matches, a playoff was needed to break the tie.[39] Unlike 1962, Peñarol came out on top and eliminated Santos 2–1.[39] Pelé would, however, finish as the top scorer of the tournament with eight goals.[40] This proved to be the start of a decline as Santos failed to retain the Torneio Rio-São Paulo.

1966–1974: O Milésimo and final years with Santos

In 1966, Pelé and Santos also failed to retain the Taça Brasil as Pelé's goals were not enough to prevent a 9–4 defeat by Cruzeiro (led by Tostão) in the final series. The club did, however, win the Campeonato Paulista in 1967, 1968, and 1969. On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1,000th goal in all competitions, in what was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil. The goal dubbed O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.[41]

In 1969, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos. Santos ended up playing to a 2–2 draw with Lagos side Stationary Stores FC and Pelé scored his team's goals. The civil war went on for one more year after this game.[42] During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito, Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks, and goals.[43] After Pelé’s 19th season with Santos, he left Brazilian football.[44] Pelé's 643 goals for Santos were the most goals scored for a single club until it was surpassed by Lionel Messi of Barcelona in December 2020.[45][46]

New York Cosmos

 
Pelé signing a football for U.S. President Richard Nixon at the White House in 1973, two years before joining the New York Cosmos

After the 1974 season (his 19th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally play for Santos in official competitive matches. A year later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season.[47] At a chaotic press conference at New York's 21 Club, the Cosmos unveiled Pelé. John O'Reilly, the club's media spokesman, stated, "We had superstars in the United States but nothing at the level of Pelé. Everyone wanted to touch him, shake his hand, get a photo with him."[48] Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé was credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest of the sport in the US.[49] During his first public appearance in Boston, he was injured by a crowd of fans who had surrounded him and was evacuated on a stretcher.[50]

 
Pelé entering the field to play his first game with the Cosmos, 15 June 1975

Pelé made his debut for the Cosmos on 15 June 1975 against the Dallas Tornado at Downing Stadium, scoring one goal in a 2–2 draw.[51] Pelé opened the door for many other stars to play in North America. Giorgio Chinaglia followed him to the Cosmos, then Franz Beckenbauer and his former Santos teammate Carlos Alberto. Over the next few years other players came to the league, including Johan Cruyff, Eusébio, Bobby Moore, George Best and Gordon Banks.[49]

In 1975, one week before the Lebanese Civil War, Pelé played a friendly game for the Lebanese club Nejmeh against a team of Lebanese Premier League stars,[52] scoring two goals which were not included in his official tally.[53] On the day of the game, 40,000 spectators were at the stadium from early morning to watch the match.[52]

Pelé led the Cosmos to the 1977 Soccer Bowl, in his third and final season with the club.[54] In June 1977, the Cosmos attracted an NASL record 62,394 fans to Giants Stadium for a 3–0 victory past the Tampa Bay Rowdies with a 37-year-old Pelé scoring a hat-trick. In the first leg of the quarter-finals, they attracted a US record crowd of 77,891 for what turned into an 8–3 rout of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Giants Stadium. In the second leg of the semi-finals against the Rochester Lancers, the Cosmos won 4–1.[49] Pelé finished his official playing career on 28 August 1977, by leading the New York Cosmos to their second Soccer Bowl title with a 2–1 win over the Seattle Sounders at the Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon.[55]

On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed out his career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. The match was played in front of a sold-out crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the US on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match, as well as Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore.[56] Delivering a message to the audience before the start of the game—"Love is more important than what we can take in life"—Pelé played the first half with the Cosmos, the second with Santos. The game ended with the Cosmos winning 2–1, with Pelé scoring with a 30-yard free-kick for the Cosmos in what was the final goal of his career. During the second half, it started to rain, prompting a Brazilian newspaper to come out with the headline the following day: "Even The Sky Was Crying."[57]

International career

Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957 at the Maracanã.[58][59] In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and nine months, and he remains the youngest goalscorer for his country.[60][61]

1958 World Cup

 
Pelé (number 10) dribbles past three Swedish players at the 1958 World Cup

Pelé arrived in Sweden sidelined by a knee injury but on his return from the treatment room, his colleagues stood together and insisted upon his selection.[62] His first match was against the USSR in the third match of the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where he gave the assist to Vavá's second goal.[63] He was at the time the youngest player ever to participate in the World Cup.[note 2][59] Against France in the semi-final, Brazil was leading 2–1 at halftime, and then Pelé scored a hat-trick, becoming the youngest player in World Cup history to do so.[65]

 
17-year-old Pelé cries on the shoulder of goalkeeper Gilmar after Brazil won the 1958 World Cup final

On 29 June 1958, Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years and 249 days. He scored two goals in that final as Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in Stockholm, the capital. Pelé hit the post and then Vavá scored two goals to give Brazil the lead. Pelé's first goal, where he flicked the ball over a defender before volleying into the corner of the net, was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup.[66] Following Pelé's second goal, Swedish player Sigvard Parling would later comment, "When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that Final, I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding".[67] When the match ended, Pelé passed out on the field, and was revived by Garrincha.[68] He then recovered, and was compelled by the victory to weep as he was being congratulated by his teammates. He finished the tournament with six goals in four matches played, tied for second place, behind record-breaker Just Fontaine, and was named best young player of the tournament.[69] His impact was arguably greater off the field, with Barney Ronay writing, "With nothing but talent to guide him, the boy from Minas Gerais became the first black global sporting superstar, and a source of genuine uplift and inspiration."[5]

It was in the 1958 World Cup that Pelé began wearing a jersey with the number 10. The event was the result of disorganization: the leaders of the Brazilian Federation did not allocate the shirt numbers of players and it was up to FIFA to choose the number 10 shirt for Pelé, who was a substitute on the occasion.[70] The press proclaimed Pelé the greatest revelation of the 1958 World Cup, and he was also retroactively given the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, behind Didi.[67]

1959 South American Championship

Pelé also played in the South American Championship. In the 1959 competition he was named best player of the tournament and was the top scorer with eight goals, as Brazil came second despite being unbeaten in the tournament.[67][71] He scored in five of Brazil's six games, including two goals against Chile and a hat-trick against Paraguay.[72]

1962 World Cup

 
Pelé with Brazil taking on Italy's Giovanni Trapattoni at the San Siro, Milan, in 1963

When the 1962 World Cup started, Pelé was the best-rated player in the world.[73] In the first match of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, against Mexico, Pelé assisted the first goal and then scored the second one, after a run past four defenders, to go up 2–0.[74] He got injured in the next game while attempting a long-range shot against Czechoslovakia.[75] This would keep him out of the rest of the tournament, and forced coach Aymoré Moreira to make his only lineup change of the tournament. The substitute was Amarildo, who performed well for the rest of the tournament. However, it was Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title, after beating Czechoslovakia at the final in Santiago.[76] At the time, only players who appeared in the final were eligible for a medal before FIFA regulations were changed in 1978 to include the entire squad, with Pelé receiving his winner's medal retroactively in 2007.[77]

1966 World Cup

Pelé was the most famous footballer in the world during the 1966 World Cup in England, and Brazil fielded some world champions like Garrincha, Gilmar and Djalma Santos with the addition of other stars like Jairzinho, Tostão and Gérson, leading to high expectations for them.[78] Brazil was eliminated in the first round, playing only three matches.[78] The World Cup was marked, among other things, for brutal fouls on Pelé that left him injured by the Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders.[79]

Pelé scored the first goal from a free kick against Bulgaria, becoming the first player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups, but due to his injury, a result of persistent fouling by the Bulgarians, he missed the second game against Hungary.[78] His coach stated that after the first game he felt "every team will take care of him in the same manner".[79] Brazil lost that game and Pelé, although still recovering, was brought back for the last crucial match against Portugal at Goodison Park in Liverpool by the Brazilian coach Vicente Feola. Feola changed the entire defense, including the goalkeeper, while in midfield he returned to the formation of the first match. During the game, Portugal defender João Morais fouled Pelé, but was not sent off by referee George McCabe; a decision retrospectively viewed as being among the worst refereeing errors in World Cup history.[80] Pelé had to stay on the field limping for the rest of the game since substitutes were not allowed at that time.[80] Brazil lost the match against the Portuguese led by Eusébio and were eliminated from the tournament as a result.[81] After this game he vowed he would never again play in the World Cup, a decision he would later change.[73]

1970 World Cup

 
Pelé trading card from the Mexico 70 series issued by Panini

Pelé was called to the national team in early 1969, he refused at first, but then accepted and played in six World Cup qualifying matches, scoring six goals.[82] The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was expected to be Pelé's last. Brazil's squad for the tournament featured major changes to the 1966 squad. Players like Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Valdir Pereira, Djalma Santos, and Gilmar had already retired. However, Brazil's 1970 World Cup squad, which included players like Pelé, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Gérson, Carlos Alberto Torres, Tostão and Clodoaldo, is often considered to be the greatest football team in history.[83][84]

The front five of Jairzinho, Pelé, Gerson, Tostão, and Rivelino together created an attacking momentum, with Pelé having a central role in Brazil's way to the final.[85] All of Brazil's matches in the tournament (except the final) were played in Guadalajara, and in the first match against Czechoslovakia, Pelé gave Brazil a 2–1 lead, by controlling Gerson's long pass with his chest and then scoring. In this match Pelé attempted to lob goalkeeper Ivo Viktor from the halfway line, only narrowly missing the Czechoslovak goal.[86] Brazil went on to win the match, 4–1. In the first half of the match against England, Pelé nearly scored with a header that was saved by the England goalkeeper Gordon Banks. Pelé recalled he was already shouting "Goal" when he headed the ball. It was often referred to as the "save of the century."[87] In the second half, he controlled a cross from Tostão before flicking the ball to Jairzinho who scored the only goal.[88]

 
Mário Zagallo, Brazil's 1970 coach, with Pelé in 2008

Against Romania, Pelé scored two goals, which included a 20-yard bending free-kick, with Brazil winning 3–2. In the quarter-final against Peru, Brazil won 4–2, with Pelé assisting Tostão for Brazil's third goal. In the semi-final, Brazil faced Uruguay for the first time since the 1950 World Cup final round match. Jairzinho put Brazil ahead 2–1, and Pelé assisted Rivelino for the 3–1. During that match, Pelé made one of his most famous plays. Tostão passed the ball for Pelé to collect which Uruguay's goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice of and ran off his line to get the ball before Pelé. However, Pelé got there first and fooled Mazurkiewicz with a feint by not touching the ball, causing it to roll to the goalkeeper's left, while Pelé went to the goalkeeper's right. Pelé ran around the goalkeeper to retrieve the ball and took a shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post.[86][89]

“I have scored more than a thousand goals in my life and the thing people always talk to me about is the one I didn't score.” — Pele on the extraordinary save by England goalkeeper Gordon Banks in their 1970 World Cup match.[90]

Brazil played Italy in the final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.[91] Pelé scored the opening goal with a header after out jumping Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich. Brazil's 100th World Cup goal, Pelé's leap of joy into the arms of teammate Jairzinho in celebrating the goal is regarded as one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history.[92] He then made assists for Brazil's third goal, scored by Jairzinho, and the fourth finished by Carlos Alberto. The last goal of the game is often considered the greatest team goal of all time because it involved all but two of the team's outfield players. The play culminated after Pelé made a blind pass that went into Carlos Alberto's running trajectory. He came running from behind and struck the ball to score.[93] Brazil won the match 4–1, keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely, and Pelé received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament.[67][94] Burgnich, who marked Pelé during the final, was quoted saying, "I told myself before the game, he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else – but I was wrong".[95] In terms of his goals and assists throughout the 1970 World Cup, Pelé was directly responsible for 53% of Brazil's goals throughout the tournament.[96]

Pelé's last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio de Janeiro. With Pelé on the field, the Brazilian team's record was 67 wins, 14 draws, and 11 losses.[82] Brazil never lost a match while fielding both Pelé and Garrincha.[97]

Style of play

 
Pelé dribbling past a defender while playing for Brazil, May 1960

Pelé has also been known for connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football.[98] A prolific goalscorer, he was known for his ability to anticipate opponents in the area and finish off chances with an accurate and powerful shot with either foot.[4][99][100] Pelé was also a hard-working team player, and a complete forward, with exceptional vision and intelligence, who was recognised for his precise passing and ability to link up with teammates and provide them with assists.[101][102][103]

In his early career, he played in a variety of attacking positions. Although he usually operated inside the penalty area as a main striker or centre forward, his wide range of skills also allowed him to play in a more withdrawn role, as an inside forward or second striker, or out wide.[86][101][104] In his later career, he took on more of a deeper playmaking role behind the strikers, often functioning as an attacking midfielder.[105][106] Pelé's unique playing style combined speed, creativity, and technical skill with physical power, stamina, and athleticism. His excellent technique, balance, flair, agility, and dribbling skills enabled him to beat opponents with the ball, and frequently saw him use sudden changes of direction and elaborate feints in order to get past players, such as his trademark move, the drible da vaca.[86][104][107] Another one of his signature moves was the paradinha, or little stop.[note 3][108]

Despite his relatively small stature, 1.73 metres (5 feet 8 inches),[109] he excelled in the air, due to his heading accuracy, timing, and elevation.[99][102][107][110] Renowned for his bending shots, he was also an accurate free-kick taker, and penalty taker, although he often refrained from taking penalties, stating that he believed it to be a cowardly way to score.[111][112]

Pelé was also known to be a fair and highly influential player, who stood out for his charismatic leadership and sportsmanship on the pitch. His warm embrace of Bobby Moore following the Brazil vs England game at the 1970 World Cup is viewed as the embodiment of sportsmanship, with The New York Times stating the image "captured the respect that two great players had for each other. As they exchanged jerseys, touches, and looks, the sportsmanship between them is all in the image. No gloating, no fist-pumping from Pelé. No despair, no defeatism from Bobby Moore."[113] Pelé also earned a reputation for often being a decisive player for his teams, due to his tendency to score crucial goals in important matches.[114][115][116]

Legacy

 
Pelé being held aloft after winning the 1970 World Cup final in Mexico City. He is the only player to win three World Cups.

Among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century,[117] Pelé is one of the most lauded players in the history of football and has been frequently ranked the best player ever.[1][118][119][120] Following his emergence at the 1958 World Cup he was nicknamed O Rei ("The King").[121] Among his contemporaries, Dutch star Johan Cruyff stated, "Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic."[29] Brazil's 1970 World Cup-winning captain Carlos Alberto Torres opined: "His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game."[29] According to Tostão, his strike partner at the 1970 World Cup: "Pelé was the greatest – he was simply flawless. And off the pitch he is always smiling and upbeat. You never see him bad-tempered. He loves being Pelé."[29] His Brazilian teammate Clodoaldo commented on the adulation he witnessed: "In some countries they wanted to touch him, in some they wanted to kiss him. In others they even kissed the ground he walked on. I thought it was beautiful, just beautiful."[29] According to Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany's 1974 World Cup-winning captain: "Pelé is the greatest player of all time. He reigned supreme for 20 years. There's no one to compare with him."[67]

“I used to go out and people said Pelé! Pelé! Pelé! Pelé! all over the world, but no one remembers Edson. Edson is the person who has the feelings, who has the family, who works hard, and Pelé is the idol. Pelé doesn't die. Pelé will never die. Pelé is going to go on for ever. But Edson is a normal person who is going to die one day, and the people forget that.” — Pelé on his lasting legacy.[122]

Former Real Madrid and Hungary star Ferenc Puskás stated: "The greatest player in history was Di Stéfano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that."[29] Just Fontaine, French striker and the leading scorer at the 1958 World Cup said "When I saw Pelé play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots."[29] England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore commented: "Pelé was the most complete player I've ever seen, he had everything. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only five feet and eight inches tall, yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision. He was the greatest because he could do anything and everything on a football pitch. I remember João Saldanha the coach being asked by a Brazilian journalist who was the best goalkeeper in his squad. He said Pelé. The man could play in any position".[99] Former Manchester United striker and member of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning team Sir Bobby Charlton stated, "I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player."[29] During the 1970 World Cup, when Manchester United defender Paddy Crerand (who was part of the ITV panel) was asked, "How do you spell Pelé?", he replied, "Easy: G-O-D."[29] Following Pelé’s death, former Brazilian international and World Cup Winner Ronaldo stated that his “legacy transcends generations”.[123] Ronaldo’s teammate for club and country, Roberto Carlos, also expressed gratitude towards Pele, saying that the “football world thanks you for everything you did for us”.[123] Many of such tributes were issued after Pelé’s death at the age of 82.[124][125][126][127]

Accolades

 
1969 Brazil postage stamp commemorating Pelé's landmark 1,000th goal

After retiring, Pelé continued to be lauded by players, coaches, journalists and others. Brazilian attacking midfielder Zico, who represented Brazil at the 1978, 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup, stated: "This debate about the player of the century is absurd. There's only one possible answer: Pelé. He's the greatest player of all time, and by some distance I might add".[67] French three-time Ballon d'Or winner Michel Platini said: "There's Pelé the man, and then Pelé the player. And to play like Pelé is to play like God."[128] Diego Maradona, joint FIFA Player of the Century, and the player Pelé is historically compared with, stated, "It's too bad we never got along, but he was an awesome player".[67] Prolific Brazilian striker Romário, winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and player of the tournament, remarked: "It's only inevitable I look up to Pelé. He's like a God to us".[67] Five-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo said, "Pelé is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pelé", while José Mourinho, two-time UEFA Champions League winning manager, commented: "I think he is football. You have the real special one – Mr. Pelé."[129] Real Madrid honorary president and former player, Alfredo Di Stéfano, opined: "The best player ever? Pelé. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better".[130]

 
Pelé wearing the Cosmos' No. 10. The number was retired in his honor.

Presenting Pelé with the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, former South African president Nelson Mandela said, "To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full."[131] US politician and political scientist Henry Kissinger stated: "Performance at a high level in any sport is to exceed the ordinary human scale. But Pelé's performance transcended that of the ordinary star by as much as the star exceeds ordinary performance."[132] After a reporter asked if his fame compared to that of Jesus, Pelé joked, "There are parts of the world where Jesus Christ is not so well known."[95] The artist Andy Warhol (who painted a portrait of Pelé) also quipped, "Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries."[29] Barney Ronay, writing for The Guardian, stated, "What is certain is that Pelé invented this game, the idea of individual global sporting superstardom, and in a way that is unrepeatable now."[5]

In 2000, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) voted Pelé the World Player of the Century. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee elected him the Athlete of the Century and Time magazine named Pelé one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century. During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the highest-paid athlete in the world.[133] Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world. To take full advantage of his popularity, his teams toured internationally.[4] During his career, he became known as "The Black Pearl" (A Pérola Negra), "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei).[11] In 2014, the city of Santos inaugurated the Pelé museum – Museu Pelé – which displays a 2,400 piece collection of Pelé memorabilia.[134] Approximately $22 million was invested in the construction of the museum, housed in a 19th-century mansion.[135]

 
Young visitors to the Pelé Museum, opened in 2014, in Santos, Brazil

In January 2014, Pelé was awarded the first ever FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur as an acknowledgment from the world governing body of the sport for his contribution to world football.[136] After changing the rules in 1995, France Football did an extensive analysis in 2015 of the players who would have won the award if it was open for them since 1956—the year the Ballon d'Or award started. Their study revealed that Pelé would have received the award a record seven times (Ballon d'or: Le nouveau palmarès). The original recipients, however, remain unchanged.[137] In 2020, Pelé was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI.[138]

According to the RSSSF, Pelé was one of the most successful goal-scorers in the world, scoring 538 league goals,[139] a total of 775 in 840 official games and a tally of 1,301 goals in 1,390 appearances during his professional senior career, which included friendlies and tour games. He is ranked among the leading scorers in football history in both official and total matches. After his retirement in 1977 he played eight exhibition games and scored three goals.[140]

Personal life

Relationships and children

Children
  • By Anizia Machado
    • Sandra (1964–2006)
  • By Lenita Kurtz
    • Flávia (born 1968)
  • By Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi
    • Kely Cristina (born 1967)
    • Edson (born 1970)
    • Jennifer (born 1978)
  • By Assíria Lemos Seixas
    • Joshua (born 1996)
    • Celeste (born 1996)
 
A signed jersey donated by Pelé to Pope Francis

Pelé married three times, and had several affairs, fathering seven children in all.[141]

In 1966, Pelé married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi.[142] They had two daughters: Kely Cristina (born 13 January 1967), who married Arthur DeLuca, Jennifer (b. 1978), and one son Edson ("Edinho", b. 27 August 1970).[143] The couple divorced in 1982.[144] In May 2014, Edinho was sentenced to 33 years in jail for laundering money from drug trafficking.[145] On appeal, the sentence was reduced to 12 years and 10 months.[146]

From 1981 to 1986, Pelé was romantically linked with TV presenter Xuxa, which was influential in launching her career. She was 17 when they started dating.[147] In April 1994, Pelé married psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas, who gave birth on 28 September 1996 to twins Joshua and Celeste through fertility treatments.[143][148] The couple divorced in 2008.[149]

Pelé had at least two more children from affairs. Sandra Machado, who was born from an affair Pelé had in 1964 with a housemaid, Anizia Machado, fought for years to be acknowledged by Pelé, who refused to submit to DNA tests.[150][151][152] Pelé finally relented after a court-ordered DNA test proved she was his daughter. Sandra Machado died of cancer in 2006.[151][152][153]

At the age of 73, Pelé announced his intention to marry 41-year-old Marcia Aoki, a Japanese-Brazilian importer of medical equipment from Penápolis, São Paulo, whom he had been dating since 2010. They first met in the mid-1980s in New York, before meeting again in 2008.[154] They married in July 2016.[155]

Politics

 
Brazil President Lula and Pelé in commemoration of 50 years since the first World Cup title won by Brazil in 1958, at the Palácio do Planalto in Brasília, 2008

In 1970, Pelé was investigated by the Brazilian military dictatorship for suspected leftist views after being handed a manifesto calling for the release of political prisoners.

In 1976, Pelé was on a Pepsi-sponsored trip in Lagos, Nigeria, when the military attempted a coup. Pelé was trapped in a hotel together with Arthur Ashe and other tennis pros, who were participating in the interrupted 1976 Lagos WCT tournament. Pelé and his crew eventually left the hotel to stay at the residence of Brazil's ambassador as they could not leave the country for a couple of days. Later the airport was opened and Pelé left the country disguised as a pilot.[156][157]

In January 1995, he was appointed by Fernando Cardoso as minister of sports. During his tenure, multiple reforms against corruption in state football associations were presented. He resigned from the post on 30 April 1998.[158]

During the 2013 protests in Brazil, Pelé asked for people to "forget the demonstrations" and support the Brazil national team.[159]

On 1 June 2022, Pelé published an open letter to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin on his Instagram account, in which he made a public plea to stop the "evil" and "unjustified" 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[160][161][162]

Religion

A Catholic, Pelé donated a signed jersey to Pope Francis. Accompanied by a signed football from Ronaldo Nazario, it is located in one of the Vatican Museums.[163]

Health

 
Pelé in a wheelchair in 2018 at the unveiling of his statue in Rio de Janeiro

In 1977, Brazilian media reported that Pelé had his right kidney removed.[164] In November 2012, Pelé underwent a successful hip operation.[165] In December 2017, Pelé appeared in a wheelchair at the 2018 World Cup draw in Moscow where he was pictured with President Vladimir Putin and Argentine footballer Diego Maradona.[166] A month later, he collapsed from exhaustion and was taken to hospital.[166] In 2019, after a hospitalisation because of a urinary tract infection, Pelé underwent surgery to remove kidney stones.[167] In February 2020, his son Edinho reported that Pelé was unable to walk independently and reluctant to leave home, ascribing his condition to a lack of rehabilitation following his hip operation.[168]

In September 2021, Pelé had surgery to remove a tumour on the right side of his colon.[169] Although his eldest daughter Kely stated he was "doing well", he was reportedly readmitted to intensive care a few days later,[170] before finally being released on 30 September 2021 to begin chemotherapy.[171] In November 2022, ESPN Brasil reported that Pelé had been taken to hospital with "general swelling", along with cardiac issues and concerns that his chemotherapy treatment was not having the expected effect; his daughter Kely stated there was "no emergency".[172][173]

Death

Main article: Death and funeral of Pelé
 
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  • "National treasure": Former Brazilian footballer Pelé dies at age 82

On 21 December 2022, the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, where Pelé was being treated, stated that his tumour had advanced and he required "greater care related to renal and cardiac dysfunctions".[174] Pelé died on 29 December 2022, at the age of 82, due to multiple organ failure, a complication of colon cancer.[175][176] He was survived by his 100-year-old mother, Celeste, who, given her advanced age, was not conscious of her son's death.[177]

"He had a magnetic presence and, when you were with him, the rest of the world stopped. Today, the whole world mourns the loss of Pelé; the greatest footballer of all time."

—FIFA President, Gianni Infantino[178]

Tributes were paid by current players, including Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, other major sporting figures, celebrities, and world leaders.[179][180][181][182] Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, declared a three-day period of national mourning.[183] The national flags of the 211 member associations of FIFA were flown at half-mast at FIFA headquarters in Zürich.[184] Landmarks and stadiums lit up in honour of Pelé included the Christ the Redeemer statue and Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro,[185] the headquarters of CONMEBOL in Paraguay[183] and Wembley Stadium in London.[186] There was applause and a minute's silence at matches in honour of Pelé.[187][188]

Pelé's funeral, which involved his body being publicly displayed in an open coffin which was draped with the flags of Brazil and Santos FC, began at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos on 2 January 2023.[189][190][191] Thousands of fans flooded the streets to attend the first day of the funeral service,[192] with some in attendance claiming that they had to wait three hours in line.[189] The public wake would continue to 3 January,[193][194] and saw more than 230,000 people in attendance.[195][196] After the funeral procession, Pelé was buried at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica.[197][198]

After football

 
Pelé at the White House on 10 September 1986, with U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Brazil President José Sarney

In 1994, Pelé was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.[199] In 1995, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed Pelé to the position of extraordinary minister for sport. During this time he proposed legislation to reduce corruption in Brazilian football, which became known as the "Pelé law."[200] Cardoso eliminated the post of sports minister in 1998.[201] In 2001, Pelé was accused of involvement in a corruption scandal that stole $700,000 from UNICEF. It was claimed that money given to Pelé's company for a benefit match was not returned after it was cancelled, although nothing was proven, and it was denied by UNICEF.[202][203] In 1997, he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace.[204] Pelé also helped inaugurate the 2006 FIFA World Cup, alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer.[84]

 
Pelé, Brazil's Extraordinary Minister for Sport, with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Rio de Janeiro, 15 October 1997

In 1993, Pelé publicly accused the Brazilian football administrator Ricardo Teixeira of corruption after Pelé's television company was rejected in a contest for the Brazilian domestic rights to the 1994 World Cup.[205] Pelé's accusations led to an eight-year feud between the pair.[206] As a consequence of the affair, the President of FIFA, João Havelange, Teixeira's father-in-law, banned Pelé from the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Las Vegas. Criticisms over the ban were perceived to have damaged Havelange's chances of re-election as FIFA's president in 1994.[205]

Pelé has published several autobiographies, starred in documentary films, and composed musical pieces, including Sérgio Mendes' soundtrack for the film Pelé directed by François Reichenbach in 1977.[207][208] He appeared in the 1981 film Escape to Victory, about a World War II-era football match between Allied prisoners of war and a German team. Pelé starred alongside other footballers of the 1960s and 1970s, with actors Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone.[209] In 1969, Pelé starred in a telenovela called Os Estranhos, about first contact with aliens. It was created to drum up interest in the Apollo missions.[210] In 2001, he had a cameo role in the football satire film Mike Bassett: England Manager.[211] Pelé was asked to participate in the 2006 ESPN documentary film Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos, but declined when the producers refused to pay his requested $100,000 fee.[212]

 
Pelé at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, 2006

In November 2007, Pelé was in Sheffield, England, to mark the 150th anniversary of the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C.[213] Pelé was the guest of honour at Sheffield's anniversary match against Inter Milan at Bramall Lane.[213] As part of his visit, Pelé opened an exhibition which included the first public showing in 40 years of the original hand-written rules of football.[213] Pelé scouted for Premier League club Fulham in 2002.[214] He made the draw for the qualification groups for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.[215] On 1 August 2010, Pelé was introduced as the honorary president of a revived New York Cosmos, aiming to field a team in Major League Soccer.[216] In August 2011, ESPN reported that Santos was considering bringing him out of retirement for a cameo role in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, although this turned out to be false.[217]

 
Pelé (second left) outside 10 Downing Street in London at a hunger summit hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron (waving to camera)

The most notable area of Pelé's life since football was his ambassadorial work. In 1992, he was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment.[218] He was also awarded Brazil's gold medal for outstanding services to the sport in 1995. In 2012, Pelé was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for "significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements".[219]

In 2009, Pelé assisted the Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In July 2009, he spearheaded the Rio 2016 presentation to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria.[220]

On 12 August 2012, Pelé was an attendee at the 2012 Olympic hunger summit hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street, London, part of a series of international efforts which have sought to respond to the return of hunger as a high-profile global issue.[221][222] Later on the same day, Pelé appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, following the handover section to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.[223]

 
Pelé with Vladimir Putin at the opening of the Confederations Cup 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia

In March 2016, Pelé filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking US$30 million in damages claiming violations under the Lanham Act for false endorsement and a state law claim for violation of his right of publicity.[224] The suit alleged that at one point, Samsung and Pelé came close to entering into a licensing agreement for Pelé to appear in a Samsung advertising campaign, but Samsung abruptly pulled out of the negotiations. The October 2015 Samsung ad in question included a partial face shot of a man who allegedly "very closely resembles" Pelé and also a superimposed high-definition television screen next to the image of the man featuring a "modified bicycle or scissors-kick", often used by Pelé.[224] The case was settled out-of-court several years later.[225]

In addition to his ambassadorial work, Pelé supported various charitable causes, such as Action for Brazil's Children, Gols Pela Vida, SOS Children's Villages, The Littlest Lamb, Prince's Rainforests Project and many more.[226][227][228][229][230] In 2016, Pelé auctioned more than 1600 items from a collection he accumulated over decades and raised £3.6 million for charity.[231][232] In 2018, Pelé founded his charitable organisation, the Pelé Foundation, which endeavours to empower impoverished and disenfranchised children from around the globe.[233][234]

Career statistics

Club

Pelé's goalscoring record is often reported by FIFA as being 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.[67] This figure includes goals scored by Pelé in friendly club matches, including international tours Pelé completed with Santos and the New York Cosmos, and a few games Pelé played in for the Brazilian armed forces teams during his national service in Brazil and the Selection Team of São Paulo State for the Brazilian Championship of States (Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais).[235][236] He was listed in the Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in football.[3] In 2000, IFFHS declared Pelé as the "World's Best and successful Top Division Goal Scorer of all time" with 541 goals in 560 games and honoured him with a trophy.[237][238]

The tables below record every goal Pelé scored in official club competitions for Santos FC and all matches and goals for the New York Cosmos.

Santos FC records
Club Season Campeonato Paulista Rio-São Paulo[note 4] Campeonato Brasileiro Série A[note 5] Domestic competitions
Sub-total 		International competitions Total
Copa Libertadores Intercontinental Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Santos 1956 0* 0* 1 1 1 1
1957 14+15* 19+17*[note 6][note 7] 9 5 38* 41* 38* 41*
1958 38 58 8 8 46 66 46* 66*
1959[242] 32 45 7 6 4* 2* 39 51 43* 53*
1960[243] 30 33 3 0 0 0 33 33 0 0 0 0 33* 33*
1961 26 47 7 8 5* 7 33 55 0 0 0 0 38* 62*
1962 26 37 0 0 5* 2* 26 37 4* 4* 2 5 37* 48*
1963[244] 19 22 8 14 4* 8 27 36 4* 5* 1 2 36 51*
1964 21 34 4 3 6* 7 25 37 0* 0* 0 0 31* 44*
1965 28 49 7 5 4* 2* 39 54 7* 8 0 0 46* 64*
1966 14 13 0* 0* 5* 2* 14* 13* 0 0 0 0 19* 15*
1967 18 17 14* 9* 32* 26* 0 0 0 0 32* 26*
1968 21 17 17* 12* 38* 28* 0 0 5 1[note 8] 43* 30*
1969 25 26 12* 12* 37* 38* 0 0 0 0 37* 38*
1970 15 7 13* 4* 28* 11* 0 0 0 0 28* 11*
1971 19 6 21 1 40 7 0 0 0 0 40 7
1972 20 9 16 5 36 14 0 0 0 0 36 14
1973 19 11 30 19 49 30 0 0 0 0 49 30
1974 10 1 17 9 27 10 0 0 0 0 27 10
Total 410 468 53 49 173* 101* 636* 618* 15 17[note 9] 8 8 659 643
  • * Indicates that the number was deduced from the list of rsssf.com and this list of Pelé games.
New York Cosmos records
Club Season League[note 10] Post season Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
New York Cosmos 1975 9 5 – 14 12 23 17
1976 22 13 2 2 18 11 42 26
1977 25 13 6 4 11 6 42 23
Total 56 31 8 6 43 27 107 66

International

Main article: List of international goals scored by Pelé

With 77 goals in 92 official appearances, Pelé is the joint-top scorer of the Brazil national football team (tied with Neymar).[67] He scored twelve goals and is credited with ten assists in fourteen World Cup appearances, including four goals and seven assists in 1970.[18] Pelé shares with Uwe Seeler, Miroslav Klose, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the achievement of being the only players to have scored in four separate World Cup tournaments.[245]

Source:[82]

International records
Team Year Apps Goals Goal average
Brazil 1957 2 2 1.00
1958 7 9 1.28
1959 9 11 1.22
1960 6 4 0.67
1961 0 0 —
1962 8 8 1.00
1963 7 7 1.00
1964 3 2 0.67
1965 8 9 1.12
1966 9 5 0.55
1967 0 0 —
1968 7 4 0.57
1969 9 7 0.77
1970 15 8 0.53
1971 2 1 0.50
Total 92 77 0.84

Honours

Santos

New York Cosmos

Brazil

Individual

In December 2000, Pelé and Maradona shared the prize of FIFA Player of the Century by FIFA.[259] The award was originally intended to be based upon votes in a web poll, but after it became apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona after a reported cyber-blitz by Maradona fans, FIFA then appointed a "Family of Football" committee of FIFA members to decide the winner of the award together with the votes of the readers of the FIFA magazine.[260] The committee chose Pelé. Since Maradona was winning the Internet poll, however, it was decided he and Pelé should share the award.[261]

Orders

Records

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Ref
1969 Os Estranhos Plínio Pompeu TV series [339]
1971 O Barão Otelo no Barato dos Bilhões Dr. Arantes/Himself [340]
1972 A Marcha Chico Bondade [341]
1981 Escape to Victory Corporal Luis Fernandez [342]
1983 A Minor Miracle Himself Also known as Young Giants [342]
1985 Pedro Mico [341]
1986 Hotshot Santos [342]
1986 Os Trapalhões e o Rei do Futebol Nascimento [341][343]
1989 Solidão, Uma Linda História de Amor [341]
2001 Mike Bassett: England Manager Himself [342][341]
2016 Pelé: Birth of a Legend Man sitting in hotel lobby Cameo appearance [344]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Pelé presumed that it was an insult since the word had no meaning in Portuguese. He discovered in the 2000s that the word meant "miracle" in Hebrew.[10]
  2. ^ The mark was surpassed by Northern Ireland's Norman Whiteside in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He scored his first World Cup goal against Wales in the quarter-finals, the only goal of the match, to help Brazil advance to the semi-finals while becoming the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer at 17 years and 239 days.[64]
  3. ^ Pelé would stop in the middle of a run-up to a penalty kick before shooting the ball; goalkeepers complained that this gave strikers an unfair advantage, however, and in the 1970s, FIFA banned this move from competitions.[108]
  4. ^ Soccer Europe compiled this list from RSSSF.[239]
  5. ^ Statistics from 1957 to 1974 for the Taça de Prata, Taça Brasil and Copa Libertadores were taken from Soccer Europe website. Soccer Europe lists RSSSF, but do not give a season-by-season breakdown.[240]
  6. ^ In 1957, the Paulista Championship was divided in two phases: Blue Series and White Series. In the first, Pelé scored 19 goals in 14 games, and in the Blue Series, scored 17 goals in 15 games.[241]
  7. ^ This number was inferred from a Santos fixture list from and this list of games Pelé played.
  8. ^ Intercontinental Super Cup
  9. ^ Statistics from 1957 to 1974 for the Taça de Prata, Taça Brasil and Copa Libertadores were taken from Soccer Europe website. Soccer Europe lists RSSSF, but do not give a season-by-season breakdown.[240]
  10. ^ RSSSF recognize as league goals those scored in NASL, the post season play-offs, Campeonato Paulista goals and the original Campeonato Brazileiro goals (1971–1974). IFFHS has made the same validation in the past.
  11. ^ The 1973 Paulista was held jointly with Portuguesa.[249][215]
  12. ^ The 1964 Torneio Rio-São Paulo was held jointly with Botafogo.[251]

References

  1. ^ a b . FIFA. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. ^ "FIFA: Football and the world mourns Pelé". FIFA. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Most career goals (football)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Pelé (Brazilian Athlete)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Ronay, Barney (1 January 2021). "Pelé's revolutionary status must survive numbers game against Lionel Messi". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Pelé & Fish 1977, p. 18–19.
  7. ^ a b Pelé 2008, p. 14.
  8. ^ Narcía, Eva. "Un siglo, diez historias" (in Spanish). BBC World Service. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  9. ^ "From Edson to Pelé: my changing identity". The Guardian. London. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
  10. ^ Winterman, Denise (4 January 2006). . BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  11. ^ a b c "Pelé". Biography.com, via A&E Television Networks. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  12. ^ Heizer 1997, p. 173.
  13. ^ Magill 1999, p. 2950.
  14. ^ a b . International Confederation of Futebol de Salão. 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016.
  15. ^ Freedman 2014, p. 47.
  16. ^ Massarela, Louis (7 September 2016). "Exclusive interview: Pele on his Santos years". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  17. ^ Marcus 1976, p. 20.
  18. ^ a b "Pele helps Brazil to World Cup title". History. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  19. ^ Da Mata, Alessandro (26 October 2007). (in Portuguese). Sâo Paulo: LANCE!. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008.
  20. ^ "Pelé, auguri a Ronaldo. E rivela: "Sono stato vicino alla Juve"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 18 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  21. ^ Cecere, Nicola (26 May 2016). "Moratti: "Pelé era dell'Inter, ma il presidente del Santos cambiò idea..."" [Moratti: "Pelé was Inter's, but the president of Santos changed his mind ..."]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  22. ^ Chilet, Vicent (23 December 2019). "Cuando el Valencia pudo haber fichado a Pelé". elperiodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  23. ^ "El Valencia llegó a tener un acuerdo para fichar a Pelé". El Español (in Spanish). 18 March 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  24. ^ Chelala, Cesar (2014). "Pele, Maradona and Messi: soccer's holy trinity". Japan Times.
  25. ^ "Campeonato Paulista: Artilheiros da história – 2". Brasil em Folhas (in Portuguese). 17 January 2008.
  26. ^ Unzelte, Celso; Varanda, Pedro; Cammarota, Giuseppe; Barreto Berwanger, Alexandre Magno (2011). "Fichas Técnicas De Jogos Que Decidiram O Torneio Rio-Sâo Paulo" (in Portuguese). RSSSF.
  27. ^ Matta, Fernando; Varanda, Pedro; Barreto Berwanger, Alexandre Magno; Unzelte, Celso; Leme de Arruda, Marcelo (2009). (in Portuguese). RSSSF. Archived from the original on 16 December 2009.
  28. ^ "Santos revive spirit of Pele". BBC Sport. 16 February 2003. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
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January 08, 2023
pelé, pele, redirects, here, hawaiian, goddess, pele, deity, other, uses, pele, disambiguation, redirects, here, portuguese, footballer, with, same, nickname, eusébio, this, portuguese, name, first, maternal, family, name, arantes, second, paternal, family, na. Pele redirects here For the Hawaiian goddess see Pele deity For other uses see Pele disambiguation O Rei redirects here For the Portuguese footballer with the same nickname see Eusebio In this Portuguese name the first or maternal family name is Arantes and the second or paternal family name is Nascimento Edson Arantes do Nascimento Brazilian Portuguese ˈɛdso w aˈɾɐ tʃiz du nasiˈmẽtu 23 October 1940 29 December 2022 known mononymously by his nickname Pele Portuguese pronunciation peˈlɛ was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled the greatest by FIFA 1 2 he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century In 1999 he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century In 2000 Pele was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History amp Statistics IFFHS and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century His 1 279 goals in 1 363 games which includes friendlies is recognised as a Guinness World Record 3 PelePele with Brazil in 1970BornEdson Arantes do Nascimento 1940 10 23 23 October 1940Tres Coracoes Minas Gerais BrazilDied29 December 2022 2022 12 29 aged 82 Sao Paulo BrazilResting placeMemorial Necropole Ecumenica Santos Sao PauloOccupationsFootballerhumanitarianHeight1 73 m 5 ft 8 in SpousesRosemeri dos Reis Cholbi m 1966 div 1982 wbr Assiria Lemos Seixas m 1994 div 2008 wbr Marcia Aoki m 2016 wbr Children7 including EdinhoParentDondinho father Association football careerPosition s Forward attacking midfielderYouth career1953 1956BauruSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1956 1974Santos636 618 1975 1977New York Cosmos64 37 Total700 655 International career1957 1971Brazil92 77 Honours Men s footballRepresenting BrazilFIFA World CupWinner 1958 SwedenWinner 1962 ChileWinner 1970 MexicoSouth American ChampionshipRunner up 1959 Argentina Club domestic league appearances and goals1st Minister of SportsIn office 1 January 1995 30 April 1998PresidentFernando Henrique CardosoPreceded byOffice establishedSucceeded byRafael Greca as Minister of Sports and Tourism SignaturePele began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16 During his international career he won three FIFA World Cups 1958 1962 and 1970 the only player to do so He was nicknamed O Rei The King following the 1958 tournament Pele is the joint top goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games At the club level he was Santos s all time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games In a golden era for Santos he led the club to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores and to the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup Credited with connecting the phrase The Beautiful Game with football Pele s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world and his teams toured internationally to take full advantage of his popularity 4 During his playing days Pele was for a period the best paid athlete in the world After retiring in 1977 Pele was a worldwide ambassador for football and made many acting and commercial ventures In 2010 he was named the honorary president of the New York Cosmos Averaging almost a goal per game throughout his career Pele was adept at striking the ball with either foot in addition to anticipating his opponents movements on the field While predominantly a striker he could also drop deep and take on a playmaking role providing assists with his vision and passing ability and he would also use his dribbling skills to go past opponents In Brazil he was hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in football and for his outspoken support of policies that improve the social conditions of the poor His emergence at the 1958 World Cup where he became a black global sporting star was a source of inspiration 5 Throughout his career and in his retirement Pele received numerous individual and team awards for his performance on the field his record breaking achievements and his legacy in the sport Contents 1 Early years 2 Club career 2 1 Santos 2 1 1 1956 1962 Early years with Santos and declared a national treasure 2 1 2 1962 1965 Copa Libertadores success 2 1 3 1966 1974 O Milesimo and final years with Santos 2 2 New York Cosmos 3 International career 3 1 1958 World Cup 3 2 1959 South American Championship 3 3 1962 World Cup 3 4 1966 World Cup 3 5 1970 World Cup 4 Style of play 5 Legacy 5 1 Accolades 6 Personal life 6 1 Relationships and children 6 2 Politics 6 3 Religion 6 4 Health 6 5 Death 7 After football 8 Career statistics 8 1 Club 8 2 International 9 Honours 10 Filmography 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 Bibliography 15 External linksEarly years Born in Tres Coracoes in Minas Gerais state in Brazil in 1940 Pele has a street named after him in the city Rua Edson Arantes do Nascimento A statue of Pele is also prominently placed in a plaza near the city s downtown Pele was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on 23 October 1940 in Tres Coracoes Minas Gerais the son of Fluminense footballer Dondinho born Joao Ramos do Nascimento and Celeste Arantes He was the elder of two siblings 6 and was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison 7 His parents decided to remove the i and call him Edson but there was a typo on his birth certificate leading many documents to show his name as Edison not Edson as he was called 7 8 He was originally nicknamed Dico by his family 6 9 He received the nickname Pele during his school days when it is claimed he was given it because of his pronunciation of the name of his favourite player local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bile which he misspoke but the more he complained the more it stuck In his autobiography Pele stated he had no idea what the name means nor did his old friends 6 Apart from the assertion that the name is derived from that of Bile and that it is Hebrew for miracle פ ל א the word has no meaning in Portuguese note 1 Pele grew up in poverty in Bauru in the state of Sao Paulo He earned extra money by working in tea shops as a servant Taught to play by his father he could not afford a proper football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with string or a grapefruit 11 6 He played for several amateur teams in his youth including Sete de Setembro Canto do Rio Sao Paulinho and Ameriquinha 12 Pele led Bauru Atletico Clube juniors coached by Waldemar de Brito to two Sao Paulo state youth championships 13 In his mid teens he played for an indoor football team called Radium Indoor football had just become popular in Bauru when Pele began playing it He was part of the first futsal indoor football competition in the region Pele and his team won the first championship and several others 14 According to Pele futsal indoor football presented difficult challenges he said it was a lot quicker than football on the grass and that players were required to think faster because everyone is close to each other in the pitch Pele credits futsal for helping him think better on the spot In addition futsal allowed him to play with adults when he was about 14 years old In one of the tournaments he participated in he was initially considered too young to play but eventually went on to end up top scorer with 14 or 15 goals That gave me a lot of confidence Pele said I knew then not to be afraid of whatever might come 14 Club careerSantos Main article Os Santasticos 1956 1962 Early years with Santos and declared a national treasure Pele in 1962 by then rated the best player in the world 15 In 1956 de Brito took Pele to Santos an industrial and port city located near Sao Paulo to try out for professional club Santos FC telling the club s directors that the 15 year old would be the greatest football player in the world 16 Pele impressed Santos coach Lula during his trial at the Estadio Vila Belmiro and he signed a professional contract with the club in June 1956 17 Pele was highly promoted in the local media as a future superstar He made his senior team debut on 7 September 1956 at the age of 15 against Corinthians de Santo Andre and had an impressive performance in a 7 1 victory scoring the first goal in his prolific career during the match 18 19 When the 1957 season started Pele was given a starting place in the first team and at the age of 16 became the top scorer in the league Ten months after signing professionally the teenager was called up to the Brazil national team After the 1958 and the 1962 World Cup wealthy European clubs such as Real Madrid Juventus and Manchester United tried to sign him in vain 20 In 1958 Inter Milan even managed to get him a regular contract but Angelo Moratti was forced to tear the contract up at the request of Santos s chairman following a revolt by Santos s Brazilian fans 21 Valencia CF also arranged an agreement that would have brought Pele to the club after the 1958 World Cup however after his performances at the tournament Santos declined to let the player leave 22 23 In 1961 the government of Brazil under President Janio Quadros declared Pele an official national treasure to prevent him from being transferred out of the country 11 24 Pele won his first major title with Santos in 1958 as the team won the Campeonato Paulista he would finish the tournament as the top scorer with 58 goals 25 a record that still stands today A year later he would help the team earn their first victory in the Torneio Rio Sao Paulo with a 3 0 over Vasco da Gama 26 However Santos was unable to retain the Paulista title In 1960 Pele scored 33 goals to help his team regain the Campeonato Paulista trophy but lost out on the Rio Sao Paulo tournament after finishing in 8th place 27 In the 1960 season Pele scored 47 goals and helped Santos regain the Campeonato Paulista The club went on to win the Taca Brasil that same year beating Bahia in the finals Pele finished as the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals The victory allowed Santos to participate in the Copa Libertadores the most prestigious club tournament in the Western hemisphere 28 1962 1965 Copa Libertadores success I arrived hoping to stop a great man but I went away convinced I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira following the loss to Santos in 1962 29 Santos s most successful Copa Libertadores season started in 1962 30 the team was seeded in Group One alongside Cerro Porteno and Deportivo Municipal Bolivia winning every match of their group but one a 1 1 away tie versus Cerro Santos defeated Universidad Catolica in the semi finals and met defending champions Penarol in the finals Pele scored twice in the playoff match to secure the first title for a Brazilian club 31 Pele finished as the second top scorer of the competition with four goals That same year Santos would successfully defend the Campeonato Paulista with 37 goals from Pele and the Taca Brasil Pele scoring four goals in the final series against Botafogo Santos would also win the 1962 Intercontinental Cup against Benfica 32 Wearing his number 10 shirt Pele produced one of the best performances of his career scoring a hat trick in Lisbon as Santos won 5 2 33 34 Pele with Santos in the Netherlands October 1962 Pele states that his most memorable goal was scored at the Estadio Rua Javari on a Campeonato Paulista match against Sao Paulo rival Clube Atletico Juventus on 2 August 1959 As there is no video footage of this match Pele asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal 35 In March 1961 Pele scored the gol de placa goal worthy of a plaque against Fluminense at the Maracana 36 Pele received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area and ran the length of the field eluding opposition players with feints before striking the ball beyond the goalkeeper 36 A plaque was commissioned with a dedication to the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracana 37 Pele before facing Boca Juniors in the 1963 Copa Libertadores Finals at La Bombonera As the defending champions Santos qualified automatically to the semi final stage of the 1963 Copa Libertadores The bale branco white ballet the nickname given to Santos at the time managed to retain the title after victories over Botafogo and Boca Juniors Pele helped Santos overcome a Botafogo team that featured Brazilian greats such as Garrincha and Jairzinho with a last minute goal in the first leg of the semi finals which made it 1 1 In the second leg Pele scored a hat trick in the Estadio do Maracana as Santos won 0 4 in the second leg Santos started the final series by winning 3 2 in the first leg and defeating Boca Juniors 1 2 in La Bombonera It was a rare feat in official competitions with another goal from Pele 38 Santos became the first Brazilian team to lift the Copa Libertadores in Argentine soil Pele finished the tournament with five goals Santos lost the Campeonato Paulista after finishing in third place but went on to win the Rio Sao Paulo tournament after a 0 3 win over Flamengo in the final with Pele scoring one goal Pele would also help Santos retain the Intercontinental Cup and the Taca Brasil against AC Milan and Bahia respectively 32 In the 1964 Copa Libertadores Santos was beaten in both legs of the semi finals by Independiente The club won the Campeonato Paulista with Pele netting 34 goals Santos also shared the Rio Sao Paulo title with Botafogo and won the Taca Brasil for the fourth consecutive year In the 1965 Copa Libertadores Santos reached the semi finals and met Penarol in a rematch of the 1962 final After two matches a playoff was needed to break the tie 39 Unlike 1962 Penarol came out on top and eliminated Santos 2 1 39 Pele would however finish as the top scorer of the tournament with eight goals 40 This proved to be the start of a decline as Santos failed to retain the Torneio Rio Sao Paulo 1966 1974 O Milesimo and final years with Santos In 1966 Pele and Santos also failed to retain the Taca Brasil as Pele s goals were not enough to prevent a 9 4 defeat by Cruzeiro led by Tostao in the final series The club did however win the Campeonato Paulista in 1967 1968 and 1969 On 19 November 1969 Pele scored his 1 000th goal in all competitions in what was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil The goal dubbed O Milesimo The Thousandth occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama when Pele scored from a penalty kick at the Maracana Stadium 41 In 1969 the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48 hour ceasefire so they could watch Pele play an exhibition game in Lagos Santos ended up playing to a 2 2 draw with Lagos side Stationary Stores FC and Pele scored his team s goals The civil war went on for one more year after this game 42 During his time at Santos Pele played alongside many gifted players including Zito Pepe and Coutinho the latter partnered him in numerous one two plays attacks and goals 43 After Pele s 19th season with Santos he left Brazilian football 44 Pele s 643 goals for Santos were the most goals scored for a single club until it was surpassed by Lionel Messi of Barcelona in December 2020 45 46 New York Cosmos Pele signing a football for U S President Richard Nixon at the White House in 1973 two years before joining the New York Cosmos After the 1974 season his 19th with Santos Pele retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally play for Santos in official competitive matches A year later he came out of semi retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League NASL for the 1975 season 47 At a chaotic press conference at New York s 21 Club the Cosmos unveiled Pele John O Reilly the club s media spokesman stated We had superstars in the United States but nothing at the level of Pele Everyone wanted to touch him shake his hand get a photo with him 48 Though well past his prime at this point Pele was credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest of the sport in the US 49 During his first public appearance in Boston he was injured by a crowd of fans who had surrounded him and was evacuated on a stretcher 50 Pele entering the field to play his first game with the Cosmos 15 June 1975 Pele made his debut for the Cosmos on 15 June 1975 against the Dallas Tornado at Downing Stadium scoring one goal in a 2 2 draw 51 Pele opened the door for many other stars to play in North America Giorgio Chinaglia followed him to the Cosmos then Franz Beckenbauer and his former Santos teammate Carlos Alberto Over the next few years other players came to the league including Johan Cruyff Eusebio Bobby Moore George Best and Gordon Banks 49 In 1975 one week before the Lebanese Civil War Pele played a friendly game for the Lebanese club Nejmeh against a team of Lebanese Premier League stars 52 scoring two goals which were not included in his official tally 53 On the day of the game 40 000 spectators were at the stadium from early morning to watch the match 52 Pele led the Cosmos to the 1977 Soccer Bowl in his third and final season with the club 54 In June 1977 the Cosmos attracted an NASL record 62 394 fans to Giants Stadium for a 3 0 victory past the Tampa Bay Rowdies with a 37 year old Pele scoring a hat trick In the first leg of the quarter finals they attracted a US record crowd of 77 891 for what turned into an 8 3 rout of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Giants Stadium In the second leg of the semi finals against the Rochester Lancers the Cosmos won 4 1 49 Pele finished his official playing career on 28 August 1977 by leading the New York Cosmos to their second Soccer Bowl title with a 2 1 win over the Seattle Sounders at the Civic Stadium in Portland Oregon 55 On 1 October 1977 Pele closed out his career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos The match was played in front of a sold out crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the US on ABC s Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world Pele s father and wife both attended the match as well as Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore 56 Delivering a message to the audience before the start of the game Love is more important than what we can take in life Pele played the first half with the Cosmos the second with Santos The game ended with the Cosmos winning 2 1 with Pele scoring with a 30 yard free kick for the Cosmos in what was the final goal of his career During the second half it started to rain prompting a Brazilian newspaper to come out with the headline the following day Even The Sky Was Crying 57 International careerPele s first international match was a 2 1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957 at the Maracana 58 59 In that match he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and nine months and he remains the youngest goalscorer for his country 60 61 1958 World Cup Pele number 10 dribbles past three Swedish players at the 1958 World Cup Pele arrived in Sweden sidelined by a knee injury but on his return from the treatment room his colleagues stood together and insisted upon his selection 62 His first match was against the USSR in the third match of the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup where he gave the assist to Vava s second goal 63 He was at the time the youngest player ever to participate in the World Cup note 2 59 Against France in the semi final Brazil was leading 2 1 at halftime and then Pele scored a hat trick becoming the youngest player in World Cup history to do so 65 17 year old Pele cries on the shoulder of goalkeeper Gilmar after Brazil won the 1958 World Cup final On 29 June 1958 Pele became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years and 249 days He scored two goals in that final as Brazil beat Sweden 5 2 in Stockholm the capital Pele hit the post and then Vava scored two goals to give Brazil the lead Pele s first goal where he flicked the ball over a defender before volleying into the corner of the net was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup 66 Following Pele s second goal Swedish player Sigvard Parling would later comment When Pele scored the fifth goal in that Final I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding 67 When the match ended Pele passed out on the field and was revived by Garrincha 68 He then recovered and was compelled by the victory to weep as he was being congratulated by his teammates He finished the tournament with six goals in four matches played tied for second place behind record breaker Just Fontaine and was named best young player of the tournament 69 His impact was arguably greater off the field with Barney Ronay writing With nothing but talent to guide him the boy from Minas Gerais became the first black global sporting superstar and a source of genuine uplift and inspiration 5 It was in the 1958 World Cup that Pele began wearing a jersey with the number 10 The event was the result of disorganization the leaders of the Brazilian Federation did not allocate the shirt numbers of players and it was up to FIFA to choose the number 10 shirt for Pele who was a substitute on the occasion 70 The press proclaimed Pele the greatest revelation of the 1958 World Cup and he was also retroactively given the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament behind Didi 67 1959 South American Championship Pele also played in the South American Championship In the 1959 competition he was named best player of the tournament and was the top scorer with eight goals as Brazil came second despite being unbeaten in the tournament 67 71 He scored in five of Brazil s six games including two goals against Chile and a hat trick against Paraguay 72 1962 World Cup Pele with Brazil taking on Italy s Giovanni Trapattoni at the San Siro Milan in 1963 When the 1962 World Cup started Pele was the best rated player in the world 73 In the first match of the 1962 World Cup in Chile against Mexico Pele assisted the first goal and then scored the second one after a run past four defenders to go up 2 0 74 He got injured in the next game while attempting a long range shot against Czechoslovakia 75 This would keep him out of the rest of the tournament and forced coach Aymore Moreira to make his only lineup change of the tournament The substitute was Amarildo who performed well for the rest of the tournament However it was Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title after beating Czechoslovakia at the final in Santiago 76 At the time only players who appeared in the final were eligible for a medal before FIFA regulations were changed in 1978 to include the entire squad with Pele receiving his winner s medal retroactively in 2007 77 1966 World Cup Pele was the most famous footballer in the world during the 1966 World Cup in England and Brazil fielded some world champions like Garrincha Gilmar and Djalma Santos with the addition of other stars like Jairzinho Tostao and Gerson leading to high expectations for them 78 Brazil was eliminated in the first round playing only three matches 78 The World Cup was marked among other things for brutal fouls on Pele that left him injured by the Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders 79 Pele scored the first goal from a free kick against Bulgaria becoming the first player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups but due to his injury a result of persistent fouling by the Bulgarians he missed the second game against Hungary 78 His coach stated that after the first game he felt every team will take care of him in the same manner 79 Brazil lost that game and Pele although still recovering was brought back for the last crucial match against Portugal at Goodison Park in Liverpool by the Brazilian coach Vicente Feola Feola changed the entire defense including the goalkeeper while in midfield he returned to the formation of the first match During the game Portugal defender Joao Morais fouled Pele but was not sent off by referee George McCabe a decision retrospectively viewed as being among the worst refereeing errors in World Cup history 80 Pele had to stay on the field limping for the rest of the game since substitutes were not allowed at that time 80 Brazil lost the match against the Portuguese led by Eusebio and were eliminated from the tournament as a result 81 After this game he vowed he would never again play in the World Cup a decision he would later change 73 1970 World Cup Pele trading card from the Mexico 70 series issued by Panini Pele was called to the national team in early 1969 he refused at first but then accepted and played in six World Cup qualifying matches scoring six goals 82 The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was expected to be Pele s last Brazil s squad for the tournament featured major changes to the 1966 squad Players like Garrincha Nilton Santos Valdir Pereira Djalma Santos and Gilmar had already retired However Brazil s 1970 World Cup squad which included players like Pele Rivelino Jairzinho Gerson Carlos Alberto Torres Tostao and Clodoaldo is often considered to be the greatest football team in history 83 84 The front five of Jairzinho Pele Gerson Tostao and Rivelino together created an attacking momentum with Pele having a central role in Brazil s way to the final 85 All of Brazil s matches in the tournament except the final were played in Guadalajara and in the first match against Czechoslovakia Pele gave Brazil a 2 1 lead by controlling Gerson s long pass with his chest and then scoring In this match Pele attempted to lob goalkeeper Ivo Viktor from the halfway line only narrowly missing the Czechoslovak goal 86 Brazil went on to win the match 4 1 In the first half of the match against England Pele nearly scored with a header that was saved by the England goalkeeper Gordon Banks Pele recalled he was already shouting Goal when he headed the ball It was often referred to as the save of the century 87 In the second half he controlled a cross from Tostao before flicking the ball to Jairzinho who scored the only goal 88 Mario Zagallo Brazil s 1970 coach with Pele in 2008 Against Romania Pele scored two goals which included a 20 yard bending free kick with Brazil winning 3 2 In the quarter final against Peru Brazil won 4 2 with Pele assisting Tostao for Brazil s third goal In the semi final Brazil faced Uruguay for the first time since the 1950 World Cup final round match Jairzinho put Brazil ahead 2 1 and Pele assisted Rivelino for the 3 1 During that match Pele made one of his most famous plays Tostao passed the ball for Pele to collect which Uruguay s goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice of and ran off his line to get the ball before Pele However Pele got there first and fooled Mazurkiewicz with a feint by not touching the ball causing it to roll to the goalkeeper s left while Pele went to the goalkeeper s right Pele ran around the goalkeeper to retrieve the ball and took a shot while turning towards the goal but he turned in excess as he shot and the ball drifted just wide of the far post 86 89 I have scored more than a thousand goals in my life and the thing people always talk to me about is the one I didn t score Pele on the extraordinary save by England goalkeeper Gordon Banks in their 1970 World Cup match 90 Brazil played Italy in the final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City 91 Pele scored the opening goal with a header after out jumping Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich Brazil s 100th World Cup goal Pele s leap of joy into the arms of teammate Jairzinho in celebrating the goal is regarded as one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history 92 He then made assists for Brazil s third goal scored by Jairzinho and the fourth finished by Carlos Alberto The last goal of the game is often considered the greatest team goal of all time because it involved all but two of the team s outfield players The play culminated after Pele made a blind pass that went into Carlos Alberto s running trajectory He came running from behind and struck the ball to score 93 Brazil won the match 4 1 keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely and Pele received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament 67 94 Burgnich who marked Pele during the final was quoted saying I told myself before the game he s made of skin and bones just like everyone else but I was wrong 95 In terms of his goals and assists throughout the 1970 World Cup Pele was directly responsible for 53 of Brazil s goals throughout the tournament 96 Pele s last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio de Janeiro With Pele on the field the Brazilian team s record was 67 wins 14 draws and 11 losses 82 Brazil never lost a match while fielding both Pele and Garrincha 97 Style of play Pele dribbling past a defender while playing for Brazil May 1960 Pele has also been known for connecting the phrase The Beautiful Game with football 98 A prolific goalscorer he was known for his ability to anticipate opponents in the area and finish off chances with an accurate and powerful shot with either foot 4 99 100 Pele was also a hard working team player and a complete forward with exceptional vision and intelligence who was recognised for his precise passing and ability to link up with teammates and provide them with assists 101 102 103 In his early career he played in a variety of attacking positions Although he usually operated inside the penalty area as a main striker or centre forward his wide range of skills also allowed him to play in a more withdrawn role as an inside forward or second striker or out wide 86 101 104 In his later career he took on more of a deeper playmaking role behind the strikers often functioning as an attacking midfielder 105 106 Pele s unique playing style combined speed creativity and technical skill with physical power stamina and athleticism His excellent technique balance flair agility and dribbling skills enabled him to beat opponents with the ball and frequently saw him use sudden changes of direction and elaborate feints in order to get past players such as his trademark move the drible da vaca 86 104 107 Another one of his signature moves was the paradinha or little stop note 3 108 Despite his relatively small stature 1 73 metres 5 feet 8 inches 109 he excelled in the air due to his heading accuracy timing and elevation 99 102 107 110 Renowned for his bending shots he was also an accurate free kick taker and penalty taker although he often refrained from taking penalties stating that he believed it to be a cowardly way to score 111 112 Pele was also known to be a fair and highly influential player who stood out for his charismatic leadership and sportsmanship on the pitch His warm embrace of Bobby Moore following the Brazil vs England game at the 1970 World Cup is viewed as the embodiment of sportsmanship with The New York Times stating the image captured the respect that two great players had for each other As they exchanged jerseys touches and looks the sportsmanship between them is all in the image No gloating no fist pumping from Pele No despair no defeatism from Bobby Moore 113 Pele also earned a reputation for often being a decisive player for his teams due to his tendency to score crucial goals in important matches 114 115 116 Legacy Pele being held aloft after winning the 1970 World Cup final in Mexico City He is the only player to win three World Cups Among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century 117 Pele is one of the most lauded players in the history of football and has been frequently ranked the best player ever 1 118 119 120 Following his emergence at the 1958 World Cup he was nicknamed O Rei The King 121 Among his contemporaries Dutch star Johan Cruyff stated Pele was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic 29 Brazil s 1970 World Cup winning captain Carlos Alberto Torres opined His great secret was improvisation Those things he did were in one moment He had an extraordinary perception of the game 29 According to Tostao his strike partner at the 1970 World Cup Pele was the greatest he was simply flawless And off the pitch he is always smiling and upbeat You never see him bad tempered He loves being Pele 29 His Brazilian teammate Clodoaldo commented on the adulation he witnessed In some countries they wanted to touch him in some they wanted to kiss him In others they even kissed the ground he walked on I thought it was beautiful just beautiful 29 According to Franz Beckenbauer West Germany s 1974 World Cup winning captain Pele is the greatest player of all time He reigned supreme for 20 years There s no one to compare with him 67 I used to go out and people said Pele Pele Pele Pele all over the world but no one remembers Edson Edson is the person who has the feelings who has the family who works hard and Pele is the idol Pele doesn t die Pele will never die Pele is going to go on for ever But Edson is a normal person who is going to die one day and the people forget that Pele on his lasting legacy 122 Former Real Madrid and Hungary star Ferenc Puskas stated The greatest player in history was Di Stefano I refuse to classify Pele as a player He was above that 29 Just Fontaine French striker and the leading scorer at the 1958 World Cup said When I saw Pele play it made me feel I should hang up my boots 29 England s 1966 FIFA World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore commented Pele was the most complete player I ve ever seen he had everything Two good feet Magic in the air Quick Powerful Could beat people with skill Could outrun people Only five feet and eight inches tall yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch Perfect balance and impossible vision He was the greatest because he could do anything and everything on a football pitch I remember Joao Saldanha the coach being asked by a Brazilian journalist who was the best goalkeeper in his squad He said Pele The man could play in any position 99 Former Manchester United striker and member of England s 1966 FIFA World Cup winning team Sir Bobby Charlton stated I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player 29 During the 1970 World Cup when Manchester United defender Paddy Crerand who was part of the ITV panel was asked How do you spell Pele he replied Easy G O D 29 Following Pele s death former Brazilian international and World Cup Winner Ronaldo stated that his legacy transcends generations 123 Ronaldo s teammate for club and country Roberto Carlos also expressed gratitude towards Pele saying that the football world thanks you for everything you did for us 123 Many of such tributes were issued after Pele s death at the age of 82 124 125 126 127 Accolades 1969 Brazil postage stamp commemorating Pele s landmark 1 000th goal After retiring Pele continued to be lauded by players coaches journalists and others Brazilian attacking midfielder Zico who represented Brazil at the 1978 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup stated This debate about the player of the century is absurd There s only one possible answer Pele He s the greatest player of all time and by some distance I might add 67 French three time Ballon d Or winner Michel Platini said There s Pele the man and then Pele the player And to play like Pele is to play like God 128 Diego Maradona joint FIFA Player of the Century and the player Pele is historically compared with stated It s too bad we never got along but he was an awesome player 67 Prolific Brazilian striker Romario winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and player of the tournament remarked It s only inevitable I look up to Pele He s like a God to us 67 Five time FIFA Ballon d Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo said Pele is the greatest player in football history and there will only be one Pele while Jose Mourinho two time UEFA Champions League winning manager commented I think he is football You have the real special one Mr Pele 129 Real Madrid honorary president and former player Alfredo Di Stefano opined The best player ever Pele Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities but Pele was better 130 Pele wearing the Cosmos No 10 The number was retired in his honor Presenting Pele with the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award former South African president Nelson Mandela said To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full 131 US politician and political scientist Henry Kissinger stated Performance at a high level in any sport is to exceed the ordinary human scale But Pele s performance transcended that of the ordinary star by as much as the star exceeds ordinary performance 132 After a reporter asked if his fame compared to that of Jesus Pele joked There are parts of the world where Jesus Christ is not so well known 95 The artist Andy Warhol who painted a portrait of Pele also quipped Pele was one of the few who contradicted my theory instead of 15 minutes of fame he will have 15 centuries 29 Barney Ronay writing for The Guardian stated What is certain is that Pele invented this game the idea of individual global sporting superstardom and in a way that is unrepeatable now 5 In 2000 the International Federation of Football History amp Statistics IFFHS voted Pele the World Player of the Century In 1999 the International Olympic Committee elected him the Athlete of the Century and Time magazine named Pele one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century During his playing days Pele was for a period the highest paid athlete in the world 133 Pele s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world To take full advantage of his popularity his teams toured internationally 4 During his career he became known as The Black Pearl A Perola Negra The King of Football O Rei do Futebol The King Pele O Rei Pele or simply The King O Rei 11 In 2014 the city of Santos inaugurated the Pele museum Museu Pele which displays a 2 400 piece collection of Pele memorabilia 134 Approximately 22 million was invested in the construction of the museum housed in a 19th century mansion 135 Young visitors to the Pele Museum opened in 2014 in Santos Brazil In January 2014 Pele was awarded the first ever FIFA Ballon d Or Prix d Honneur as an acknowledgment from the world governing body of the sport for his contribution to world football 136 After changing the rules in 1995 France Football did an extensive analysis in 2015 of the players who would have won the award if it was open for them since 1956 the year the Ballon d Or award started Their study revealed that Pele would have received the award a record seven times Ballon d or Le nouveau palmares The original recipients however remain unchanged 137 In 2020 Pele was named in the Ballon d Or Dream Team a greatest all time XI 138 According to the RSSSF Pele was one of the most successful goal scorers in the world scoring 538 league goals 139 a total of 775 in 840 official games and a tally of 1 301 goals in 1 390 appearances during his professional senior career which included friendlies and tour games He is ranked among the leading scorers in football history in both official and total matches After his retirement in 1977 he played eight exhibition games and scored three goals 140 Personal lifeRelationships and children ChildrenBy Anizia Machado Sandra 1964 2006 By Lenita Kurtz Flavia born 1968 By Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi Kely Cristina born 1967 Edson born 1970 Jennifer born 1978 By Assiria Lemos Seixas Joshua born 1996 Celeste born 1996 A signed jersey donated by Pele to Pope Francis Pele married three times and had several affairs fathering seven children in all 141 In 1966 Pele married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi 142 They had two daughters Kely Cristina born 13 January 1967 who married Arthur DeLuca Jennifer b 1978 and one son Edson Edinho b 27 August 1970 143 The couple divorced in 1982 144 In May 2014 Edinho was sentenced to 33 years in jail for laundering money from drug trafficking 145 On appeal the sentence was reduced to 12 years and 10 months 146 From 1981 to 1986 Pele was romantically linked with TV presenter Xuxa which was influential in launching her career She was 17 when they started dating 147 In April 1994 Pele married psychologist and gospel singer Assiria Lemos Seixas who gave birth on 28 September 1996 to twins Joshua and Celeste through fertility treatments 143 148 The couple divorced in 2008 149 Pele had at least two more children from affairs Sandra Machado who was born from an affair Pele had in 1964 with a housemaid Anizia Machado fought for years to be acknowledged by Pele who refused to submit to DNA tests 150 151 152 Pele finally relented after a court ordered DNA test proved she was his daughter Sandra Machado died of cancer in 2006 151 152 153 At the age of 73 Pele announced his intention to marry 41 year old Marcia Aoki a Japanese Brazilian importer of medical equipment from Penapolis Sao Paulo whom he had been dating since 2010 They first met in the mid 1980s in New York before meeting again in 2008 154 They married in July 2016 155 Politics Brazil President Lula and Pele in commemoration of 50 years since the first World Cup title won by Brazil in 1958 at the Palacio do Planalto in Brasilia 2008 In 1970 Pele was investigated by the Brazilian military dictatorship for suspected leftist views after being handed a manifesto calling for the release of political prisoners In 1976 Pele was on a Pepsi sponsored trip in Lagos Nigeria when the military attempted a coup Pele was trapped in a hotel together with Arthur Ashe and other tennis pros who were participating in the interrupted 1976 Lagos WCT tournament Pele and his crew eventually left the hotel to stay at the residence of Brazil s ambassador as they could not leave the country for a couple of days Later the airport was opened and Pele left the country disguised as a pilot 156 157 In January 1995 he was appointed by Fernando Cardoso as minister of sports During his tenure multiple reforms against corruption in state football associations were presented He resigned from the post on 30 April 1998 158 During the 2013 protests in Brazil Pele asked for people to forget the demonstrations and support the Brazil national team 159 On 1 June 2022 Pele published an open letter to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin on his Instagram account in which he made a public plea to stop the evil and unjustified 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine 160 161 162 Religion A Catholic Pele donated a signed jersey to Pope Francis Accompanied by a signed football from Ronaldo Nazario it is located in one of the Vatican Museums 163 Health Pele in a wheelchair in 2018 at the unveiling of his statue in Rio de Janeiro In 1977 Brazilian media reported that Pele had his right kidney removed 164 In November 2012 Pele underwent a successful hip operation 165 In December 2017 Pele appeared in a wheelchair at the 2018 World Cup draw in Moscow where he was pictured with President Vladimir Putin and Argentine footballer Diego Maradona 166 A month later he collapsed from exhaustion and was taken to hospital 166 In 2019 after a hospitalisation because of a urinary tract infection Pele underwent surgery to remove kidney stones 167 In February 2020 his son Edinho reported that Pele was unable to walk independently and reluctant to leave home ascribing his condition to a lack of rehabilitation following his hip operation 168 In September 2021 Pele had surgery to remove a tumour on the right side of his colon 169 Although his eldest daughter Kely stated he was doing well he was reportedly readmitted to intensive care a few days later 170 before finally being released on 30 September 2021 to begin chemotherapy 171 In November 2022 ESPN Brasil reported that Pele had been taken to hospital with general swelling along with cardiac issues and concerns that his chemotherapy treatment was not having the expected effect his daughter Kely stated there was no emergency 172 173 Death Main article Death and funeral of Pele Wikinews has related news National treasure Former Brazilian footballer Pele dies at age 82 On 21 December 2022 the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital where Pele was being treated stated that his tumour had advanced and he required greater care related to renal and cardiac dysfunctions 174 Pele died on 29 December 2022 at the age of 82 due to multiple organ failure a complication of colon cancer 175 176 He was survived by his 100 year old mother Celeste who given her advanced age was not conscious of her son s death 177 He had a magnetic presence and when you were with him the rest of the world stopped Today the whole world mourns the loss of Pele the greatest footballer of all time FIFA President Gianni Infantino 178 Tributes were paid by current players including Neymar Cristiano Ronaldo Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi other major sporting figures celebrities and world leaders 179 180 181 182 Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro declared a three day period of national mourning 183 The national flags of the 211 member associations of FIFA were flown at half mast at FIFA headquarters in Zurich 184 Landmarks and stadiums lit up in honour of Pele included the Christ the Redeemer statue and Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro 185 the headquarters of CONMEBOL in Paraguay 183 and Wembley Stadium in London 186 There was applause and a minute s silence at matches in honour of Pele 187 188 Pele s funeral which involved his body being publicly displayed in an open coffin which was draped with the flags of Brazil and Santos FC began at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos on 2 January 2023 189 190 191 Thousands of fans flooded the streets to attend the first day of the funeral service 192 with some in attendance claiming that they had to wait three hours in line 189 The public wake would continue to 3 January 193 194 and saw more than 230 000 people in attendance 195 196 After the funeral procession Pele was buried at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica 197 198 After football Pele at the White House on 10 September 1986 with U S President Ronald Reagan and Brazil President Jose Sarney In 1994 Pele was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador 199 In 1995 Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed Pele to the position of extraordinary minister for sport During this time he proposed legislation to reduce corruption in Brazilian football which became known as the Pele law 200 Cardoso eliminated the post of sports minister in 1998 201 In 2001 Pele was accused of involvement in a corruption scandal that stole 700 000 from UNICEF It was claimed that money given to Pele s company for a benefit match was not returned after it was cancelled although nothing was proven and it was denied by UNICEF 202 203 In 1997 he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace 204 Pele also helped inaugurate the 2006 FIFA World Cup alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer 84 Pele Brazil s Extraordinary Minister for Sport with U S President Bill Clinton in Rio de Janeiro 15 October 1997 In 1993 Pele publicly accused the Brazilian football administrator Ricardo Teixeira of corruption after Pele s television company was rejected in a contest for the Brazilian domestic rights to the 1994 World Cup 205 Pele s accusations led to an eight year feud between the pair 206 As a consequence of the affair the President of FIFA Joao Havelange Teixeira s father in law banned Pele from the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Las Vegas Criticisms over the ban were perceived to have damaged Havelange s chances of re election as FIFA s president in 1994 205 Pele has published several autobiographies starred in documentary films and composed musical pieces including Sergio Mendes soundtrack for the film Pele directed by Francois Reichenbach in 1977 207 208 He appeared in the 1981 film Escape to Victory about a World War II era football match between Allied prisoners of war and a German team Pele starred alongside other footballers of the 1960s and 1970s with actors Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone 209 In 1969 Pele starred in a telenovela called Os Estranhos about first contact with aliens It was created to drum up interest in the Apollo missions 210 In 2001 he had a cameo role in the football satire film Mike Bassett England Manager 211 Pele was asked to participate in the 2006 ESPN documentary film Once in a Lifetime The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos but declined when the producers refused to pay his requested 100 000 fee 212 Pele at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland 2006 In November 2007 Pele was in Sheffield England to mark the 150th anniversary of the world s oldest football club Sheffield F C 213 Pele was the guest of honour at Sheffield s anniversary match against Inter Milan at Bramall Lane 213 As part of his visit Pele opened an exhibition which included the first public showing in 40 years of the original hand written rules of football 213 Pele scouted for Premier League club Fulham in 2002 214 He made the draw for the qualification groups for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals 215 On 1 August 2010 Pele was introduced as the honorary president of a revived New York Cosmos aiming to field a team in Major League Soccer 216 In August 2011 ESPN reported that Santos was considering bringing him out of retirement for a cameo role in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup although this turned out to be false 217 Pele second left outside 10 Downing Street in London at a hunger summit hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron waving to camera The most notable area of Pele s life since football was his ambassadorial work In 1992 he was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment 218 He was also awarded Brazil s gold medal for outstanding services to the sport in 1995 In 2012 Pele was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes as well as his sporting achievements 219 In 2009 Pele assisted the Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics In July 2009 he spearheaded the Rio 2016 presentation to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa General Assembly in Abuja Nigeria 220 On 12 August 2012 Pele was an attendee at the 2012 Olympic hunger summit hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street London part of a series of international efforts which have sought to respond to the return of hunger as a high profile global issue 221 222 Later on the same day Pele appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London following the handover section to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro 223 Pele with Vladimir Putin at the opening of the Confederations Cup 2017 in Saint Petersburg Russia In March 2016 Pele filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking US 30 million in damages claiming violations under the Lanham Act for false endorsement and a state law claim for violation of his right of publicity 224 The suit alleged that at one point Samsung and Pele came close to entering into a licensing agreement for Pele to appear in a Samsung advertising campaign but Samsung abruptly pulled out of the negotiations The October 2015 Samsung ad in question included a partial face shot of a man who allegedly very closely resembles Pele and also a superimposed high definition television screen next to the image of the man featuring a modified bicycle or scissors kick often used by Pele 224 The case was settled out of court several years later 225 In addition to his ambassadorial work Pele supported various charitable causes such as Action for Brazil s Children Gols Pela Vida SOS Children s Villages The Littlest Lamb Prince s Rainforests Project and many more 226 227 228 229 230 In 2016 Pele auctioned more than 1600 items from a collection he accumulated over decades and raised 3 6 million for charity 231 232 In 2018 Pele founded his charitable organisation the Pele Foundation which endeavours to empower impoverished and disenfranchised children from around the globe 233 234 Career statisticsClub Pele s goalscoring record is often reported by FIFA as being 1 281 goals in 1 363 games 67 This figure includes goals scored by Pele in friendly club matches including international tours Pele completed with Santos and the New York Cosmos and a few games Pele played in for the Brazilian armed forces teams during his national service in Brazil and the Selection Team of Sao Paulo State for the Brazilian Championship of States Campeonato Brasileiro de Selecoes Estaduais 235 236 He was listed in the Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in football 3 In 2000 IFFHS declared Pele as the World s Best and successful Top Division Goal Scorer of all time with 541 goals in 560 games and honoured him with a trophy 237 238 The tables below record every goal Pele scored in official club competitions for Santos FC and all matches and goals for the New York Cosmos Santos FC records Club Season Campeonato Paulista Rio Sao Paulo note 4 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A note 5 Domestic competitionsSub total International competitions TotalCopa Libertadores Intercontinental CupApps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsSantos 1956 0 0 1 1 1 11957 14 15 19 17 note 6 note 7 9 5 38 41 38 41 1958 38 58 8 8 46 66 46 66 1959 242 32 45 7 6 4 2 39 51 43 53 1960 243 30 33 3 0 0 0 33 33 0 0 0 0 33 33 1961 26 47 7 8 5 7 33 55 0 0 0 0 38 62 1962 26 37 0 0 5 2 26 37 4 4 2 5 37 48 1963 244 19 22 8 14 4 8 27 36 4 5 1 2 36 51 1964 21 34 4 3 6 7 25 37 0 0 0 0 31 44 1965 28 49 7 5 4 2 39 54 7 8 0 0 46 64 1966 14 13 0 0 5 2 14 13 0 0 0 0 19 15 1967 18 17 14 9 32 26 0 0 0 0 32 26 1968 21 17 17 12 38 28 0 0 5 1 note 8 43 30 1969 25 26 12 12 37 38 0 0 0 0 37 38 1970 15 7 13 4 28 11 0 0 0 0 28 11 1971 19 6 21 1 40 7 0 0 0 0 40 71972 20 9 16 5 36 14 0 0 0 0 36 141973 19 11 30 19 49 30 0 0 0 0 49 301974 10 1 17 9 27 10 0 0 0 0 27 10Total 410 468 53 49 173 101 636 618 15 17 note 9 8 8 659 643 Indicates that the number was deduced from the list of rsssf com and this list of Pele games New York Cosmos records Club Season League note 10 Post season Other TotalApps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsNew York Cosmos 1975 9 5 14 12 23 171976 22 13 2 2 18 11 42 261977 25 13 6 4 11 6 42 23Total 56 31 8 6 43 27 107 66International Main article List of international goals scored by Pele With 77 goals in 92 official appearances Pele is the joint top scorer of the Brazil national football team tied with Neymar 67 He scored twelve goals and is credited with ten assists in fourteen World Cup appearances including four goals and seven assists in 1970 18 Pele shares with Uwe Seeler Miroslav Klose Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo the achievement of being the only players to have scored in four separate World Cup tournaments 245 Source 82 International records Team Year Apps Goals Goal averageBrazil 1957 2 2 1 001958 7 9 1 281959 9 11 1 221960 6 4 0 671961 0 0 1962 8 8 1 001963 7 7 1 001964 3 2 0 671965 8 9 1 121966 9 5 0 551967 0 0 1968 7 4 0 571969 9 7 0 771970 15 8 0 531971 2 1 0 50Total 92 77 0 84HonoursSantos Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1968 246 Copa Libertadores 1962 1963 31 247 Intercontinental Cup 1962 1963 248 Intercontinental Supercup 1968 248 Campeonato Paulista 1958 1960 1961 1962 1964 1965 1967 1968 1969 1973 note 11 250 Torneio Rio Sao Paulo 1959 1963 1964 1966 note 12 215 New York Cosmos North American Soccer League Soccer Bowl 1977 252 North American Soccer League Atlantic Conference Championship 1977 252 Brazil FIFA World Cup 1958 1962 1970 253 Taca do Atlantico 1960 254 Roca Cup 1957 1963 255 256 Taca Oswaldo Cruz 1958 1962 1968 82 257 Copa Bernardo O Higgins 1959 258 IndividualIn December 2000 Pele and Maradona shared the prize of FIFA Player of the Century by FIFA 259 The award was originally intended to be based upon votes in a web poll but after it became apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona after a reported cyber blitz by Maradona fans FIFA then appointed a Family of Football committee of FIFA members to decide the winner of the award together with the votes of the readers of the FIFA magazine 260 The committee chose Pele Since Maradona was winning the Internet poll however it was decided he and Pele should share the award 261 Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1969 1973 215 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player 1958 69 FIFA World Cup Silver Ball 1958 France Football s Ballon d Or 1958 1959 1960 1961 1963 1964 1970 Le nouveau palmares the new winners 137 262 South American Championship Best Player 1959 71 South American Championship Top Scorer 1959 72 Gol de Placa 1961 263 264 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A Top Scorer 1961 1963 1964 265 Intercontinental Cup Top Scorer 1962 1963 266 267 268 Torneio Rio Sao Paulo Top Scorer 1963 269 Copa Libertadores Top Scorer 1965 270 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year 1970 271 Bola de Prata 1970 272 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Best Player 1970 67 South American Footballer of the Year 1973 273 Included in the North American Soccer League NASL All Star team 1975 1976 1977 274 NASL Top Assist Provider 1976 275 NASL Most Valuable Player 1976 275 Number 10 retired by the New York Cosmos as a recognition to his contribution to the club 1977 276 277 Elected Citizen of the World by the United Nations 1977 278 International Peace Award 1978 279 FIFA Order of Merit 1984 280 Inducted into the American National Soccer Hall of Fame 1992 281 Elected Goodwill Ambassador by UNESCO 1993 278 Winner of France Football s World Cup Top 100 1930 1990 1994 282 Marca Leyenda 1997 283 World Team of the 20th Century 1998 284 Football Player of the Century elected by France Football s Ballon d Or Winners 1999 285 TIME One of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century 1999 286 Greatest Player of the 20th Century by World Soccer 1999 287 Athlete of the Century by Reuters News Agency 1999 288 Athlete of the Century elected by International Olympic Committee 1999 289 World Player of the Century by the IFFHS 2000 290 291 South American player of the century by the IFFHS 2000 290 291 FIFA Player of the Century 2000 67 Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award 2000 292 FIFA Centennial Award 2004 281 FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers 2004 293 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award 2005 294 Elected best Brazilian player of the century by the IFFHS 2006 295 FIFA Presidential Award 2007 Greatest football player to have ever played the game by Golden Foot 2012 296 FIFA Ballon d Or Prix d Honneur 2013 297 World Soccer Greatest XI of All Time 2013 298 Legends of Football Award 2013 299 300 South America s Best Player in History by L Equipe 2015 301 Inspiration Award by GQ 2017 302 Global Citizen Award by the World Economic Forum 2018 303 FWA Tribute Award 2018 304 Ballon d Or Dream Team 2020 138 Orders Knight of the Order of Rio Branco 1967 305 Elected Commander of the Order of Rio Branco after scoring the thousandth goal 1969 278 Awarded with the Order of Champions by the Organization of Catholic Youth in the USA 1978 278 Awarded the FIFA Order as a tribute to his 80 years as a sports institution 1984 278 Awarded with the Order of Merit of South America by CONMEBOL 1984 278 He was awarded the National Order of Merit by the government of Brazil 1991 278 Awarded with the Cross of the Order of the Republic of Hungary 1994 278 Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire honorary knighthood 1997 306 Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee 2016 307 Records Joint most goals for Brazil national football team 77 95 including unofficial friendlies tied with Neymar 308 Highest goals per game ratio 0 84 for Brazil national football team 309 Highest goals per game ratio 0 84 of any South American top international scorer 310 Highest goals per game ratio 2 33 of any leading scorer in the Intercontinental Cup Most goals in the Intercontinental Cup 7 311 Most goals for Santos 643 in 659 competitive games 312 Most goals scored in a single Campeonato Paulista season 58 in 38 competitive games 1958 313 Most goals scored in Campeonato Paulista history 466 314 Most seasons as Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer 11 315 Most goals in a calendar year including friendlies recognised by FIFA 127 1959 310 Most hat tricks in world football 92 316 Most hat tricks for Brazil 7 317 Most career goals in world football including friendlies 1 283 in 1 363 games 318 Most FIFA World Cup winners medals 3 1958 1962 1970 318 319 Youngest winner of a FIFA World Cup aged 17 years and 249 days 1958 320 Youngest goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup aged 17 years and 239 days for Brazil vs Wales 1958 67 321 Youngest player to score twice in a FIFA World Cup semi final aged 17 years and 244 days for Brazil vs France 1958 322 Youngest player to score a hat trick in a FIFA World Cup aged 17 years and 244 days for Brazil vs France 1958 321 Youngest player to play in a FIFA World Cup Final aged 17 years and 249 days 1958 323 Youngest goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup Final aged 17 years and 249 days for Brazil vs Sweden 1958 323 Youngest player to score twice in a FIFA World Cup Final aged 17 years and 249 days for Brazil vs Sweden 1958 322 Youngest player to start a knockout match at a FIFA World Cup 324 Youngest player to reach five FIFA World Cup knockout stage goals 325 326 Youngest player to debut for Brazil national football team aged 16 years and 259 days Brazil vs Argentina 1957 327 Youngest goalscorer for Brazil national football team aged 16 years and 259 days Brazil vs Argentina 1957 328 First player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups 329 One of only five players to have scored in four different FIFA World Cup tournaments 330 331 One of only five players to have scored in two different FIFA World Cup Finals 332 Scored in two FIFA World Cup Finals for winning teams shared with Vava Most assists provided in FIFA World Cup history 10 1958 1970 333 Most assists provided in a single FIFA World Cup tournament 6 1970 310 Most assists provided in FIFA World Cup Final matches 3 1 in 1958 and 2 in 1970 310 Most assists provided in FIFA World Cup knockout phase 6 shared with Messi 334 Most goals from open play in FIFA World Cup Final matches 3 2 in 1958 and 1 in 1970 shared with Vava Geoff Hurst and Zinedine Zidane 335 Only player to reach 25 international goals as a teenager 336 Only player to score in a FIFA World Cup before turning 18 336 Only player to score a hat trick in a FIFA World cup before turning 18 337 Only player to have scored a hat trick in the Intercontinental Cup 338 FilmographyYear Title Role Notes Ref1969 Os Estranhos Plinio Pompeu TV series 339 1971 O Barao Otelo no Barato dos Bilhoes Dr Arantes Himself 340 1972 A Marcha Chico Bondade 341 1981 Escape to Victory Corporal Luis Fernandez 342 1983 A Minor Miracle Himself Also known as Young Giants 342 1985 Pedro Mico 341 1986 Hotshot Santos 342 1986 Os Trapalhoes e o Rei do Futebol Nascimento 341 343 1989 Solidao Uma Linda Historia de Amor 341 2001 Mike Bassett England Manager Himself 342 341 2016 Pele Birth of a Legend Man sitting in hotel lobby Cameo appearance 344 See also Association football portal Brazil portal Biography portalList of Brazil national football team hat tricks List of international goals scored by Pele List of international hat tricks scored by Pele List of men s footballers with 500 or more goals List of men s footballers with 50 or more international goals Pele runaround move Torcida Jovem of Santos FC School of SambaNotes Pele presumed that it was an insult since the word had no meaning in Portuguese He discovered in the 2000s that the word meant miracle in Hebrew 10 The mark was surpassed by Northern Ireland s Norman Whiteside in the 1982 FIFA World Cup He scored his first World Cup goal against Wales in the quarter finals the only goal of the match to help Brazil advance to the semi finals while becoming the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer at 17 years and 239 days 64 Pele would stop in the middle of a run up to a penalty kick before shooting the ball goalkeepers complained that this gave strikers an unfair advantage however and in the 1970s FIFA banned this move from competitions 108 Soccer Europe compiled this list from RSSSF 239 Statistics from 1957 to 1974 for the Taca de Prata Taca Brasil and Copa Libertadores were taken from Soccer Europe website Soccer Europe lists RSSSF but do not give a season by season breakdown 240 In 1957 the Paulista Championship was divided in two phases Blue Series and White Series In the first Pele scored 19 goals in 14 games and in the Blue Series scored 17 goals in 15 games 241 This number was inferred from a Santos fixture list from rsssf com and this list of games Pele played Intercontinental Super Cup Statistics from 1957 to 1974 for the Taca de Prata Taca Brasil and Copa Libertadores were taken from Soccer Europe website Soccer Europe lists RSSSF but do not give a season by season breakdown 240 RSSSF recognize as league goals those scored in NASL the post season play offs Campeonato Paulista goals and the original Campeonato Brazileiro goals 1971 1974 IFFHS has made the same validation in the past The 1973 Paulista was held jointly with Portuguesa 249 215 The 1964 Torneio Rio Sao Paulo was held jointly with Botafogo 251 References a b FIFA Pele the greatest of them all FIFA 28 June 2012 Archived from the original on 9 January 2021 Retrieved 11 January 2021 FIFA Football and the world mourns Pele FIFA 29 December 2022 Retrieved 30 December 2022 a b Most career goals football Guinness World Records Retrieved 21 July 2017 a b c Pele Brazilian Athlete Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved 18 July 2017 a b c Ronay Barney 1 January 2021 Pele s revolutionary status 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Retrieved 28 June 2018 Fiori Stefano 27 June 2018 Mondiali la maledizione dei campioni in carica continua in Italian foxsports it Retrieved 28 June 2018 Motisi Domenico 5 October 2017 Da Pele a Grosso i 20 calciatori piu determinanti e decisivi ai Mondiali in Italian Sky Italia Archived from the original on 2 April 2019 Retrieved 28 June 2018 ESPN com ENDOFCENTURY Wide World of Sports athlete of the century www espn com Retrieved 4 June 2020 Pele tops World Cup legends poll BBC News 12 June 2006 Retrieved 21 January 2016 The Best of the Best RSSSF Archived from the original on 26 January 2010 Various sources Le Miere Jason 7 October 2014 Top 50 Greatest Footballers Of All Time Pele Maradona Messi And Ronaldo Included In The Best Soccer Players Ever List International Business Times Retrieved 9 December 2022 Knight Rob 27 May 2018 Pele has been voted the greatest footballer of all time Independent co uk Retrieved 9 December 2022 Mahmood Zahid 12 June 2018 Vincent Kompany Pele is the greatest player of all time CNN Retrieved 9 December 2022 Rostance Tom 24 October 2020 Pele at 80 Where does he rank among the GOATs BBC Sport Retrieved 9 December 2022 Wenger s idol and the best ever for Klinsmann 4 December 2022 Retrieved 9 December 2022 Benedict Oreva 19 December 2022 Pele is still the GOAT ahead of Messi Ronaldo Oliseh Retrieved 22 December 2022 Ex England ace Reid believes Pele is the greatest of all time 21 December 2022 Retrieved 22 December 2022 Leboeuf Messi Can Never Overhaul GOAT Pele Martinez Should Grow Up Zidane To Succeed Deschamps 21 December 2022 Retrieved 22 December 2022 Chakraborty Sushan 19 December 2022 10 greatest football players of all time Retrieved 22 December 2022 O Rei arrives in style 100 great World Cup moments FIFA Retrieved 4 December 2022 And God created Pele The Guardian 30 June 2003 Retrieved 30 June 2003 a b Jame Walker Roberts 29 December 2022 Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos pay tribute to Pele after his death aged 82 his legacy 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Marriage Hat Trick VIDEO Latin Times 9 March 2018 Pele s daughter dies of cancer at 42 ESPN 17 October 2006 Retrieved 3 February 2014 a b Pele misses funeral of daughter he never wanted Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine People 18 October 2006 Retrieved 3 February 2014 a b Daughter who sued Pele dies of cancer at 42 Archived 22 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine ESPN 17 October 2006 Retrieved 3 February 2014 The Daughter Pele Didn t Want Dies of Breast Cancer in Brazil Brazzil 17 October 2006 My first love was a Japanese and will also be the last says Pele Fabwags com FabWags 11 December 2012 Retrieved 3 November 2022 Football legend Pele marries definitive love The Belfast Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 31 May 2018 How football legend Arthur Ashe were trapped in Lagos during 1976 coup Archived 26 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine Pulse Retrieved 26 July 2018 The story of Lagos ill fated 1976 Professional Tennis Tournament Archived 14 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine Africa s Country Retrieved 26 July 2018 BRAZIL PELE STEPS DOWN AS MINISTER OF SPORT AP Archive Archived from the original on 29 December 2022 Retrieved 29 December 2022 Estatua de Pele e amordacada na cidade natal do jogador in Portuguese Terra Networks 21 June 2013 Retrieved 16 June 2014 O Boyle Brendan 1 June 2022 Brazilian soccer icon Pele calls on Putin to stop wicked Ukraine invasion Reuters Retrieved 9 August 2022 From King to President Pele asks Putin to please end the invasion in Ukraine MARCA 3 June 2022 Retrieved 9 August 2022 Football legend Pele tells Putin stop the invasion France 24 1 June 2022 Retrieved 9 August 2022 Morrissey Paul 27 April 2013 Romario trolls Pele on Twitter says he s a phony Catholic and talks nothing but shit 101greatgoals com Retrieved 30 August 2014 Guilherme Seto Rafael Reis 28 November 2014 Pele tem apenas um rim desde que era jogador de futebol Folha de S Paulo in Portuguese Retrieved 28 November 2014 Pele in hospital hip operation a 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receive honorary degree University of Edinburgh 9 August 2012 Retrieved 9 August 2012 World Cup king Pele scores for Rio 2016 at ANOCA assembly Sports Features com Archived from the original on 27 July 2018 Retrieved 26 July 2018 Forsyth Justin 12 August 2012 The 2012 hunger summit could be the real legacy of the Games The Guardian Retrieved 27 November 2014 Sport stars get behind Olympic hunger summit 10 Downing Street 12 August 2012 Retrieved 27 November 2014 Coughlan Maggie Perry Simon 12 August 2012 Spice Girls One Direction Bring Olympics to a Dazzling End People Retrieved 16 July 2017 a b Batterman L Robert 23 June 2016 Soccer Legend Pele Calls for a Yellow Card against Samsung The National Law Review Proskauer Rose LLP ISSN 2161 3362 Retrieved 23 June 2016 Sperling Frederick Famous Athlete Cases Offer Right Of Publicity Lessons ArentFox Smith ArentFox Schiff LLP Retrieved 30 December 2022 Pele Charity Work amp Causes Look to the Stars 2006 Retrieved 6 December 2022 Medal collection to remember Pele s golden goals Times of Malta 21 December 2007 Retrieved 6 December 2022 Pele for Ballymun independent 28 September 2009 Retrieved 7 December 2022 Pele and Beckenbauer unite for SOS Children s Villages 15 November 004 Retrieved 6 December 2022 Kinver Mark 5 May 2009 Rainforest film brings out stars Retrieved 7 December 2022 Pele to donate auction money to Santos charity Reuters 2 June 2016 Retrieved 6 December 2022 Downie Andrew 23 August 2021 Pele brings sporting stars together for charity auction Reuters Retrieved 6 December 2022 Pele Foundation Home www pele10 org 2020 Retrieved 6 December 2022 Mitchell Stuart 13 October 2018 International Icon and Humanitarian Pele Announces the Launch of His New Global Charitable Foundation Ethical Marketing News Retrieved 7 December 2022 Pele statistics m qp m us Jogos e goals de Pele pelo Santos PDF in Portuguese Santos FC 2012 pp 1 11 Archived from the original PDF on 29 December 2012 IFFHS NEWS AND STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 51 iffhs com 19 December 2020 Retrieved 12 June 2021 IFFHS Top Division Scorers Archived from the original on 18 August 2011 Retrieved 4 August 2020 Castano Graff Emilio Orlando Duarte Gregoriak Pele History Soccer Europe Archived from the original on 8 February 2007 a b Biographies Pele Statistics Soccer Europe 2012 Brito Ricardo Campeonato Paulista 1957 RSSSF Archived from the original on 11 December 2006 Retrieved 15 July 2017 Pontes Ricardo Bovi Diogo Julio 9 February 2009 Brazil Cup 1959 RSSSF Brazil Retrieved 16 June 2014 Pontes Ricardo Bovi Diogo Julio 18 June 2009 Brazil Cup 1960 RSSSF Brazil Retrieved 16 June 2014 Pontes Ricardo Bovi Diogo Julio 18 June 2009 Brazil Cup 1963 RSSSF Brazil Retrieved 16 June 2014 Lionel Messi Equals World Cup Record Set By Cristiano Ronaldo And Pele Sports Illustrated Retrieved 20 December 2022 Pele o atleta do seculo globo com 3 January 2016 Archived from the original on 29 January 2010 Retrieved 3 January 2016 Pierrend Jose Luis Beuker John Ciullini Pablo Gorgazzi Osvaldo Copa Libertadores de America 1963 RSSSF Retrieved 9 July 2017 a b Recopa Intercontinental 1968 69 Archived 30 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine RSSSF Retrieved 1 June 2018 Marcos Antonio 26 August 2013 Um campeonato dois campeoes Conheca a historia do Paulista de 73 globo com FIFA 18 World Cup Icons player ratings revealed Pele Gary Lineker and the 17 classic players Bristol Post 27 June 2018 Pontes Ricardo 18 January 2002 Torneio Rio Sao Paulo List of Champions RSSSF Retrieved 24 July 2017 a b Litterer David A 14 May 2010 North American Soccer League Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation Retrieved 24 July 2017 Pele Most wins of the FIFA World Cup by a player Guinness World Records 14 December 2017 Pierrend Jose Luis Copa del Atlantico RSSSF Retrieved 16 June 2014 Bishara Motez Ridell Don 2 June 2016 Pele My four greatest moments CNN Retrieved 24 July 2017 Pele Edson Arantes do Nascimento Samba Foot Retrieved 24 July 2017 Pierrend Jose Luis 21 September 2007 Copa Oswaldo Cruz RSSSF Retrieved 16 June 2014 Pierrend Jose Luis 30 September 1998 Copa Bernardo O Higgins RSSSF Retrieved 16 June 2014 The 20th Century Boys BBC Sport 10 December 2000 Retrieved 6 May 2011 FIFA tangled in a web after big Maradona poll Belfast Telegraph Retrieved 7 January 2022 Split decision Pele Maradona each win FIFA century awards after feud Sports Illustrated 11 December 2000 Archived from the original on 18 October 2011 Retrieved 6 May 2011 Janeiro Por SporTV comRio de Revista faz revisao na Bola de Ouro e Pele desbanca Messi nas regras atuais sportv com sfcadmin 5 March 2020 Em 5 de marco de 1961 Pele inventou o Gol de Placa Santos FC in Brazilian Portuguese Retrieved 14 December 2022 Voce sabia Expressao gol de placa nasceu de um golaco de Pele Gazeta Esportiva www gazetaesportiva com 2 May 2020 Retrieved 14 December 2022 Carlos Antonio Said On 6 June 2011 at 18 50 19 March 2010 Taca Brasil Intercontinental Club Cup 1963 RSSSF Intercontinental Cup 1962 Top Scorer worldfootball net Intercontinental Cup 1963 Top Scorer worldfootball net Todos os Artilheiros do Torneio Rio Sao Paulo in Portuguese Archived from the original on 12 January 2016 Retrieved 26 June 2016 Andres Juan Pablo Ballesteros Frank Di Maggio Roberto Copa Libertadores Topscorers RSSSF Retrieved 9 July 2017 Overseas Personality of the Year previous winners BBC 11 November 2003 Retrieved 25 July 2017 Casari Yuri 27 July 2015 Bola de Prata Placar 1970 in Portuguese Escrevendo Futebol Archived from the original on 12 August 2017 Retrieved 2 November 2015 Pierrend Jose Luis 22 December 2000 South American Player of the Year 1973 RSSSF NASL All Star Teams all time homepages sover net Archived from the original on 13 April 2018 Retrieved 16 December 2018 a b Pele Voted Most Valuable Player The New York Times 23 August 1976 Retrieved 13 December 2022 Heritage nycosmos com New York City New York New York Cosmos Retrieved 30 September 2011 Cosmos honor Pele by retiring number almost 37 years after they already did Archived 22 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine by Chris Wright on ESPN 15 June 2013 a b c d e f g h O triunfo do Rei Pele sambafoot com Futebol Brasil 19 April 2009 Archived from the original on 19 April 2009 Alex The timeline of Pele The Great Brazilian Timetoast timelines Retrieved 10 December 2022 FIFA Order of Merit PDF FIFA p 2 Archived from the original PDF on 24 March 2019 Retrieved 17 July 2019 a b Player Bios U S Soccer Archived from the original on 29 June 2017 Retrieved 9 July 2017 France Football s World Cup Top 100 1930 1990 RSSSF MARCA Leyenda Marca com in Spanish 2018 Retrieved 5 December 2022 World All Time Teams Archived 22 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine RSSSF Retrieved 26 November 2014 Stokkermans Karel 23 December 2015 France Football s Football Player of the Century RSSSF Retrieved 16 July 2017 Kissinger Henry 14 June 1999 Time 100 PELE The Phenomenon Time Retrieved 22 May 2010 England Player Honours World Soccer Players of the Century www englandfootballonline com 1999 Retrieved 5 December 2022 Bar On 2014 p 192 Pele Fast Facts Archived 22 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine CNN 1 June 2015 Retrieved 20 October 2015 a b IFFHS Century Elections RSSSF a b IFFHS International Federation of Football History amp Statistics IFFHS Lovina Chidi Sylvia 13 June 2014 The Greatest Black Achievers in History Lulu p 680 ISBN 978 1 291 90933 3 Pele s list of the greatest BBC 4 March 2004 Retrieved 30 January 2018 Sports Personality of the Year celebrates 60th show BBC 10 May 2013 Retrieved 30 January 2018 IFFHS Players and Keepers of the Century for many countries RSSSF Golden Foot Awards 2012 Ibrahimovic Pele And Cantona Archived 28 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine Amfm magazine Retrieved 8 January 2013 Pele receives FIFA Ballon d Or Prix d Honneur FIFA 13 January 2014 Retrieved 14 January 2014 How the panel voted World Soccer 2 July 2013 Retrieved 3 February 2018 Legends of Football Nordoff Robbins 2022 Retrieved 5 December 2022 Lynch kevin 30 October 2022 Video Pele honoured with two Guinness World Records achievements in London Guinness World Records Retrieved 5 December 2022 Buron Sebastien Sionis Hugues Kohler Stephane Terzian Jean 2 July 2015 Top 50 des joueurs sud americains de l histoire www lequipe fr Retrieved 5 December 2022 Why Pele is the greatest player the game will ever know British GQ 23 October 2017 Retrieved 10 December 2022 Pele quips he s not ready for comeback www chinadaily com cn 16 March 2018 Retrieved 10 December 2022 BREAKING NEWS PELE IS COMING Football Writers Association Retrieved 8 May 2018 Meade Teresa A 2010 A Brief History of Brazil Infobase Publishing p 207 Prudames David 13 February 2002 Those honorary knighthoods in full The Guardian Retrieved 2 January 2023 Brazil legend Pele receives Olympic Order ESPN 17 June 2016 Mamrud Roberto 2 March 2015 Brazil Record International Players Goalscoring for Brazil National Team RSSSF Retrieved 20 October 2015 Arora Mudeet 9 December 2022 Who is Brazil s leading all time top goal scorer Pele Neymar Ronaldo and The Selecao s most lethal strikers Goal Retrieved 11 December 2022 a b c d Happy 80th birthday to The King FIFA com 21 June 2020 Archived from the original on 23 October 2020 Retrieved 24 October 2020 Kolos Vladimir 2 February 2021 Prolific Scorers Data RSSSF Retrieved 13 February 2021 FIFA Records being hunted in 2020 FIFA Archived from the original on 14 January 2021 Retrieved 12 January 2021 Pele Santos FC Retrieved 17 December 2022 IFFHS www iffhs com 30 December 2022 Retrieved 7 January 2023 Acervo Historico do Santos FC Temporada 1957 web archive org 18 June 2015 Archived from the original on 29 August 2016 Retrieved 7 January 2023 Archive Brazil legend Pele retires from professional football Archived 11 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport 1 October 2015 Retrieved 22 October 2015 Brazil national football team statistics and records hat tricks www 11v11 com 2023 Retrieved 1 January 2023 a b Lynch Kevin 30 October 2013 Pele honoured with two Guinness World Records achievements in London Guinness World Records Retrieved 16 July 2017 Pele at the FIFA World Cup FIFA Archived from the original on 16 December 2018 Youngest winner of the football soccer FIFA World Cup Guinness World Records Retrieved 2 April 2018 a b Planet World Cup Statistics Players Archived 7 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Planet World Cup Retrieved 19 October 2015 a b Ridley Nathan 14 December 2022 Julian Alvarez behind only Pele in World Cup history after double vs Croatia mirror Retrieved 14 December 2022 a b Dhar Pulasta 9 June 2014 World Cup 1958 and 1962 The story of Brazil and Pele begins First Post Retrieved 29 July 2017 Barca Blaugranes Staff World Cup Gavi youngest knockout starter since Pele MSN Retrieved 12 December 2022 Cunningham Sam 13 December 2022 Kylian Mbappe is nowhere near Pele s GOAT status even if he wins another World Cup inews co uk Retrieved 13 December 2022 Which player has scored the most goals in World Cup knockout games The Knowledge the Guardian 7 December 2022 Retrieved 13 December 2022 Spencer Jamie 4 September 2015 The Youngest Ever Internationals From 11 of the World s Biggest Football Nations 90min com Retrieved 7 January 2023 Wright Chris 7 September 2020 Ansu joins Rooney Mbappe Pulisic and Pele among youngest scorers ESPN com Retrieved 13 December 2022 Fernando Shemal 25 September 2022 The King of Football and Player of the Century Sunday Observer Retrieved 16 December 2022 Diamond Harry 25 November 2022 Appreciating the five players to score in four different World Cups Retrieved 16 December 2022 Messi becomes fifth player to score in four World Cups Jamaica Observer 22 November 2022 Retrieved 16 December 2022 World Cup records Most trophies top goalscorers penalty shootout form amp amazing statistics Goal 25 May 2018 Retrieved 16 December 2022 Rohan Sen 23 October 2017 On this day The greatest footballer on the planet Pele turns 77 India Today The World Cup records Messi owns and is chasing 2022 Retrieved 14 December 2022 Zidane off as Italy win World Cup BBC Retrieved 23 March 2019 a b Pele A look at his records and greatest achievements Lifestyle Asia India 7 December 2022 Retrieved 11 December 2022 Furniss Matt 17 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Hat Tricks The Facts The Analyst Retrieved 20 December 2022 span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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