pele biography family

Pele Biography

Birthday: October 23 , 1940 ( Libra )

Born In: Tres Coracoes, Brazil

Pele was a legendary sporting figure and an iconic soccer player who during his active years ruled the game to the point of being called the ‘King of Football’. He is widely regarded by football fans, critics, experts, and players (current and retired) as the best player of all time. With his impeccable style, electrifying play, and impressive performance, he scored a total of 1279 goals in 1363 games. It was his deep-embedded penchant for the game and knack for scoring spectacular goals that made him a star around the world. He was praised for his exceptional heading ability, powerful shot, and unbowed goal-scoring. A Brazilian national team footballer and key player for the Santos club, he played a major role in every game he played. While on the field, he gave his hundred percent to every match and played like an unbeaten pro since his very first professional game. Over his career that spanned a little over two decades, he showcased some incredible performances and catapulted the popularity of the game astronomically. Other than his spectacular showmanship on the field, Pele was regarded as the ultimate humanitarian as well, for he raised his voice to enhance the living standard and social conditions of the poor, a number of times.

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Nick Name: The King

Also Known As: Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele

Age: 83 Years , 83 Year Old Males

Spouse/Ex-: Assíria Lemos Seixas (m. 1994–2008), Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi (m. 1966–1982)

father: Dondinho

mother: Dona Celeste Arantes

children: Celeste Nascimento, Edson Cholbi Nascimento, Flávia Christina Kurtz Nascimento, Jennifer Nascimento, Joshua Nascimento, Kelly Cristina Nascimento, Sandra Regina Arantes do Nascimento

Born Country: Brazil

Football Players Brazilian Men

awards: 1995 - Brazil's Gold Medal for outstanding services to the sport

You wanted to know

What position did pele play in football, how many world cup titles did pele win, which club did pele spend the majority of his career playing for, what was a notable achievement of pele's career besides winning the world cup.

One of Pele's notable achievements was scoring over 1000 career goals during his playing career.

What impact did Pele have on promoting football globally?

Pele is credited with popularizing the sport of football globally and inspiring generations of players around the world.

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Pele was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento to Dondinho and Dona Celeste Arantes. He was the first child of the couple. He grew up with a younger brother named Zoca. His father was also a soccer player.

Originally nicknamed Dico, his friends started calling him Pele after his favorite football player Vasco da Gama ‘Bile’, whom he mispronounced as ‘Pele.’

Struck by poverty, he took up various odd jobs as a child to earn extra money. He received his early lessons in soccer from his father and played for various amateur teams in his youth.

Blessed with a talent for the game and a style of his own, he found himself a place at the Bauru Athletic Club juniors, which was coached by Waldemar de Brito. He led the team to three consecutive victories from 1954 to 1956. Additionally, he won several local indoor football competitions and championships.

Convinced of the phenomenal talent that he possessed, football star de Brito took Pele to Santos where he was inducted into the professional club, Santos FC. Pele signed a contract in June 1956 and played his first professional game in September. In the game, he scored his first professional goal against Corinthians Santo Andre.

By early 1957, he became a regular in the team and no sooner, the top scorer of the league. It was his remarkable performance that earned him a place in the national team of Brazil.

He played his first international game in July 1957 against Argentina. Though Brazil lost the match by 2-1, he scored his first international goal, thus becoming the youngest player ever to score in international football.

The year 1958 was a year of accomplishments. Not only did he help Santos register a win at the Campeonato Paulista—a top-flight professional football league in Brazil—with 58 goals, a feat unmatched to date, but he was also part of the Brazilian team which won the World Cup.

Pele made significant contributions in the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals of the 1958 World Cup and scored a total of six goals in four matches. He broke a number of records in the 1958 World Cup.

His dream run of success was shortly halted as Santos lost their Paulista title in 1959, but continued with full force in 1960 as he displayed extraordinary performance on the field thereby helping Santos regain the title. The club won the Taça Brasil with him as the top scorer. It was these wins that helped Santos play Copa Libertadores, South America's premier club football tournament.

The year 1962 was the best club year of his career as he not only guided Santos in the Copa Libertadores competition to record a thrilling victory but helped the club register wins at the Campeonato Brasileiro, Taça Brasil, and 1962 Intercontinental Cup.

As for the 1962 World Cup, despite much hype and hoopla, injury took the better of him as he remained out for most of the tournament.

The year 1963 replicated the success of the previous year as Santos became the successful defending champion of the Copa Libertadores. Though the club was unable to regain the Paulista trophy, it recorded a victory at the Rio-São Paulo tournament, Intercontinental Cup, and the Taça Brasil.

Post the wins recorded in 1964 and 1965, the club’s steep climb upward rebounded and so did his contribution to the club. Though the club won the Paulista trophy for three consecutive years, Pele was not a major contributor to the fare.

The 1966 World Cup brought much pain for Pele as he was injured due to the persistent fouling by the Bulgarians. The result was Brazil’s exit from the World Cup after the first round.

He scored his 1000th goal against Vasco da Gama from a penalty kick at the Maracana Stadium in 1969. He dedicated his goal to Brazil’s poor children.

The 1970 World Cup was the last World Cup in which Pele participated. He played in all the qualifying matches and contributed 14 of the 19 goals that Brazil struck in the tournament. Brazil won the World Cup and Pele was named ‘Player of the Tournament’ for his impressive performance and extensive contribution.

Pele’s last international match was against Yugoslavia on July 18, 1971, in Rio de Janeiro. As for his club years, the 1974 season was the 19th and last season that he played for Santos before retiring.

In 1976, he emerged from semi-retirement by signing a contract with New York Cosmos. He led the club to the 1977 NASL championship in his final season with the club.

Officially his last game was on October 1, 1977, an exhibition match between Cosmos and Santos. He played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos. His last official goal was a direct free kick against Santos in the first half-time. Cosmos won the match, 2-1.

Post his hugely successful soccer career, he was appointed as a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment in 1992.

In 1995, he was appointed as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

For his impressive line-up of victories and his extraordinary role in catapulting the status of the sport to newer heights, he received numerous prestigious honors and decorations including Brazil's Gold Medal, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and Lifetime Achievement Award from BBC.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) voted him as the Football Player of the Century in 1999. Additionally, he was elected as the ‘Athlete of the Century’ by the International Olympic Committee and Reuters News Agency.

In 2010, he was appointed as the Honorary President of New York Cosmos. In 2012, he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for ‘significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements’.

Pele's first marriage was with Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi in 1966. The couple was blessed with two daughters. They divorced in 1982.

From 1981 to 1986, he was romantically involved with Xuxa, whom he aided to become a model. Xuxa was only 17 years old when they started to date.

In 1994, he married psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas. She gave birth to twins, Joshua and Celeste. The couple later separated.

Pele died of Colon Cancer on 29 December 2022, at the age of 82, in São Paulo, Brazil. A grand funeral was organized to lay the legend to rest.

Pele's real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but he was widely known by his nickname, Pele, which he got in school and means nothing in particular.

Pele was a talented musician and had released several albums showcasing his singing and guitar-playing skills.

Pele was a global ambassador for the sport of football and had worked tirelessly to promote the game and its positive impact on society.

See the events in life of Pele in Chronological Order

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Interesting Biography Facts

Edson Arantes do Nascimento

ex-football central forward

October 23, 1940

December 29, 2022 (82 years)

Zodiac Sign

Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Metropolitan University of Santos, the University of Edinburgh

Nationality

Pele family members

Father's Name

Dondinho (João Ramos do Nascimento)

Mother's Name

Celeste Arantes

Siblings names

Zoca Nascimento (late younger brother), Mária Lúcia Arantes do Nascimento Magalhães (younger sister)

Is Pele a gay/bisexual?

What is Pele marital status?

Who is Pele wife?

Marcia Aoki (wife since 2016), Assíria Lemos Seixas (ex-wife; were married in 1994-2008), Rosi Cholbi (ex-wife; were married in 1966-1982)

When did get married?

How many children does he have?

7 (daughters: Kelly Nascimento, Jennifer Nascimento, Flávia Kurtz, Celeste S. A. Nascimento, late Sandra Machado Nascimento; sons: Edinho and Joshua)

Rosi Cholbi (ex-wife; were married in 1966-1982)

Rosi Cholbi es wife Pele

Date of birth: January, 20

Pele had countless love affairs, and in one of his interviews, he even told, that the exact number of his kids was not known.

But his first official wife was Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi.

Rosi is the daughter of Idalinda Cholbi. It’s not known, how she got acquainted with Pele, but they tied the knot on February 1, 1966. At first, the couple resided in Brazil. Later they moved to New York, USA.

The couple had 3 kids. They separated in the middle 1970s and then re-united for a while. They parted their ways completely after the birth of the youngest daughter Jennifer in 1978.

Rosi Cholbi is still alive. She maintains a private way of life in the USA. Her kids keep a strong connection with their father, while she seems to be independent of her famous ex-husband now.

Assíria Lemos Seixas (ex-wife; were married in 1994-2008)

Date of birth: February 1, 1960

Assíria is Pele’s second wife. They got married on May 30, 1994. Two years later they gave birth to twins Joshua and Celeste. Besides, Assíria has a daughter from her first marriage, named Gemima McMahon, a psychologist. Although Pele didn’t cheat on his second wife, their marriage gradually came to an end in 2008.

Pele’s second wife worked as Christian Recording Artist. She is a Florida Bible College graduate. The woman was born in Recife, Brazil. Currently, she lives in Orlando, Florida. As of 2022, Assíria is single.

Marcia Aoki (wife since 2016)

Marcia Aoki wife Pele

Marcia is Pele’s third wife. They got acquainted in the 1980s but started dating in 2010 when occasionally met in Sao Paulo. They made their relationships official in July 2016.

Marcia is a medical equipment supplier. She is of Japanese-Brazilian ethnicity. Marcia maintains warm relationships with Pele’s kids from previous relationships. She cared a lot about her husband when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer and taken to a hospital.

Kelly Nascimento (daughter with Rosi Cholbi)

daughter with Rosi Cholbi

Date of birth: January 13, 1967

Kelly is Pele’s oldest child. She was born the year after he got married to Rosi Cholbi. Her parents separated when she was just 8 years old. Since that time she mostly lived with his mom and siblings in New York and just came to visit her father in Brazil during vacations.

Kelly Cristina Nascimento is an active woman. Her career is still in an active phase. She is a public speaker, storyteller, and sports diplomat.

The woman was married to a pulmonologist Arthur John DeLuca. They are separated as of now. She is the mother of 4 kids: Malcolm, Ruby, Enzo, and Ella.

Edinho (son with Rosi Cholbi)

Edunho son Pele

Date of birth: August 27, 1970

Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, widely known as Edinho, is Pele’s son of his first wife Rosi.

One day his dad introduced him to football, and Edinho understood that it was his cup of tea. The teenager Edinho decided to become a goalkeeper, as he worked with his hands better than with his legs”.

His father Pele was the King of Football. As his son, Edinho was nicknamed “Prince”, and that moniker annoyed him a lot.

During his career as a football player, he performed for such clubs as “Portuguesa Santista”, “São Caetano”, and “Ponte Preta”. He became runner-up with Santos. Probably, that was the peak of his football career. In 1999 he retired and started working as a coach.

In 2005 the police arrested him for drug trafficking and money laundering in Baixada Santista. Policemen taped his phone conversation with Ronaldo Duarte, the son of a former Santos member, who was suspected of drug dealing. Edinho was on friendly terms with Ronaldo. He was accused of drug trafficking, too, and sentenced to 33 years of prison. Later that term was shortened, and in 2019 Edinho got an open regime.

He still insists that he didn’t commit the crimes he was accused of. Edinho lives a simple lifestyle. He even doesn’t own a car. He lives with his fiancée and raises 2 daughters with her. The ex-football player is making a career as a coach now. He trains boys from Londrina FC.

Jennifer Nascimento (daughter with Rosi Cholbi)

Date of birth: 1978

Jen is Pele’s third child with Rosi. She maintains warm relationships with all her paternal siblings. Jen shares her time between USA and Brazil.

She earns her living as a musician. The woman performs under the name DJ Tia Jenny.

She is also an interpreter and writer. She studied English at Wesleyan University.

Flávia Kurtz Nascimento (daughter with Lenita Kurtz)

Date of birth: 1968

During his marriage to Rosi Cholbi, he had an affair with a woman, named Lenita Kurtz. She got pregnant from Pele and in 1968 gave birth to their daughter, named Flavia.

Currently, Flávia Christina Kurtz Nascimento works as a physiotherapist. She reached huge success in her profession and even participated in a morning television show, where she shared secrets about mental health.

Fla is closely knitted with her paternal half-sister Kelly and other half-siblings. She maintains warm relationships with her dad, too.

Sandra Regina Arantes do Nascimento (late daughter with Anizia Machado)

Date of birth: August 24, 1964

Date of death: October 17, 2006

The story of Sandra Regina Arantes do Nascimento is quite sad. Her mother, Anizia Machado, the housemaid, had an affair with Pele in the 1960s. She gave birth to a daughter Sandra. Pele refused to recognize her as his child even after a DNA test, which proved his paternity.

Sandra was a well-known politician in Santos, São Paulo. She was married to Reverend Felinto and welcomed 2 kids with him. In 2006 she died from cancer.

Joshua Nascimento (one of the twins; son with Assíria Lemos Seixas)

Date of birth: September 28, 1996

Joshua is Pele’s son from his second marriage to Assíria Lemos Seixas. Like his other siblings, Josh shared his time between USA and Brazil. He is a University of Tampa graduate. The young man also studied at Foundation Academy. Like his father and older brother Edinho, he played for Santos. The young man was in the position of forward. Currently, he is retired from professional football.

Celeste S. A. Nascimento (one of the twins; daughter with Assíria Lemos Seixas)

Celeste S. A. Nascimento is Joshua’s twin. She is another daughter from her father’s marriage to Assíria Lemos Seixas. Like her twin brother, she studied at the University of Tampa. The girl maintains warm relationships with her father and all paternal siblings.

Who are Pele parents?

Dondinho (joão ramos do nascimento) – father.

Date of birth: October 2, 1917

Date of death: November 16, 1996

Many people know Dondinho as Pele’s father. That achievement is the most important in his life, but not the only one. He was a well-known Brazilian soccer player who played as a center-forward.

Despite the fact, that João Ramos do Nascimento was a talented soccer player, his income was extremely low. He worked hard from morning till night to provide his wife Celeste and three kids, Pele himself, Zeca, and Maria Lúcia, with everything necessary.

Dondinho moved his family from one place to another till they finally settled in Bauru, the big southeastern Brazilian city. There little Edson Arantes do Nascimento started playing football. Dondinho was his first coach. Despite their incredible poverty, Edson and his father always found the necessary equipment to play their favorite soccer. Thus, they made Edson’s first ball from socks, tied between one another.

Little Edson played with his father and younger brother Zeca so skillfully, that he was nicknamed Pele. This word comes from “Bilé”, the nickname of the talented goalkeeper from his father’s team.

Dondinho was 32 when he took part Soccer World Cup in Brazil. His team lost the game to Uruguay in the World Cup final, and that was the first time when he cried. After that Pele promised his father to win the Soccer World Cup for him. As we know, he kept his word. In 1958 he won the World Cup in a match against Sweden.

João Ramos do Nascimento entered this world in Campos Gerais, Brazil. During the years of his football career, he played for several small clubs. The most renowned football club he played for was Clube Atlético Mineiro. But he had a severe injury during the first match, that’s why he was fired. In 1946 Dondinho performed for Bauru Atlético Clube and won the Indoor Championship. After retirement, he earned his living as a hospital cleaner.

During the years of his career, he crossed his ways with many famous soccer players of that time. He was also very proud of his older brother, the football star, who scored 5 goals in one match. But his talented sibling died at the young age of 25.

Dondinho was Pele’s mentor and career manager for years. He was featured in the film “King Pele”, devoted to his son in 1965.

The man passed away in 1996 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Celeste Arantes (mother)

Date of birth: November 1922

Pele was close with his mom, but she preferred to stay out of the limelight. It’s known, that she named her son “Edson” after the scientist and inventor Thomas Edison, who had created the electrical bulb just before Pele’s birth.

She raised 3 kids with her husband Dondinho. She earned her living as a maid and then became a full-time housewife. Pele told in one of his interviews, that his mother was “overprotective”, but due to her care, he managed to become a celebrated soccer player.

According to Pele’s words, his mother encouraged her kids to do the right things, and till now she is like an angel on his shoulder for him.

Pele’s mom is still alive. In 2022 she celebrated her 100th birthday.

Like her husband, she appeared in Pele’s documentary “King Pele” in 1965.

Pele siblings

Zoca nascimento (younger brother).

Date of birth: 1942

Date of death: March 26, 2020

Pele had 2 younger siblings, a brother, and a sister. His brother’s birth name is Jair Arantes do Nascimento, but he was called Zoca by his family members and friends.

In their childhood years, Zoca and Pele played football together. They both were members of Santos FC. Being a strong player, Zoca remained in the shadow of his super-talented brother. That’s why he left his football career and for many years he worked by his brother’s side.

Zoca ran the Pelé business group for years. He was responsible for his brother’s business in São Vicente and New York.  In São Vicente Zoca owned an apartment. He was unmarried. But he had a son, who resided in Rio de Janeiro.

He lost the battle with prostate cancer on March 26, 2020. Pele’s brother passed away in Casa de Saúde hospital in Santos. Unfortunately, the King of Football wasn’t present at his funeral as he was isolated after contact with a COVID patient.

Zoca and Pele had warm close relationships. There was no envy or rivalry between them, as their sister told in her interview in 2017.

Mária Lúcia Arantes do Nascimento Magalhães (younger sister)

Date of birth: September 1941

In addition to his brother Zoca, Pele also has a younger sister Mária Lúcia. She got married to her brother’s colleague, the former player of Santos FC Davi Magalhães. She is a business lady and helps her brother Pele with his companies. She runs Pele Comercio LTD, founded in 1978.

Her husband, Davi Magalhães, was born in Sao Paulo in 1944. He played as a forward for various clubs, including “Corinthians”. He also played for “Santos”, the same team as his brother-in-law, Pele. He ended his career as a professional soccer player at the age of 38. Then he worked as a coach. Now Davi works for his brother-in-law’s company in Santos.

Maria and Davi have 3 kids. They have a daughter Daniele Zilli, a lawyer, a daughter Débora Flor, who currently lives in Germany, and son João Paulo Magalhães. João works with his cousin Edinho.

Interesting and fun facts

Pele died at the age of 82 in a hospital surrounded by his family members. His death was announced through his Instagram account. Besides, his daughter Kely Nascimento devoted a sweet post to her late father and added a photo of her family members holding their hands over the footballer’s body.

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Brazilian football (soccer) player Pelé is regarded as perhaps the greatest player in the history the game. During his career he was probably the most famous and possibly the best-paid athlete in the world. He was part of the Brazilian national teams that won three World Cup championships (1958, 1962, and 1970).

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, debuted for the Brazilian national football (soccer) team in 1957 at age 16. He scored a hat trick in the 1958 World Cup semifinal against France and two goals in the victory over Sweden in the championship game. Afterward the Brazilian government declared him a national treasure.

Pelé’s electrifying play and penchant for scoring spectacular goals made him a star around the world. He led Brazil to three World Cup football (soccer) championships (1958, 1962, and 1970). He scored 12 goals in World Cup play and tallied more than 1,000 goals in first-class matches. In 1999 he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee.

In addition to having been named a national treasure by the Brazilian government in 1958, Pelé was such a huge international star that when his club team, Santos FC, traveled to Nigeria in 1967, a 48-hour cease-fire in that country’s civil war was called to allow all to watch him play.

Pelé (born October 23, 1940, Três Corações, Brazil—died December 29, 2022, São Paulo, Brazil) was a Brazilian football (soccer) player, in his time probably the most famous and possibly the best-paid athlete in the world. He was part of the Brazilian national teams that won three World Cup championships (1958, 1962, and 1970).

After playing for a minor league club at Bauru , São Paulo state, Pelé (whose nickname apparently is without significance) was rejected by major club teams in the city of São Paulo . In 1956, however, he joined the Santos Football Club, which, with Pelé at inside left forward, won nine São Paulo league championships and, in 1962 and 1963, both the Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Club Cup. Sometimes called “Pérola Negra” (“Black Pearl”), he became a Brazilian national hero. He combined kicking power and accuracy with a remarkable ability to anticipate other players’ moves. After the 1958 World Cup , Pelé was declared a national treasure by the Brazilian government in order to ward off large offers from European clubs and ensure that he would remain in Brazil . On November 19, 1969, in his 909th first-class match, he scored his 1,000th goal.

Pelé made his international debut in 1957 at age 16 and the following year played his first game in the World Cup finals in Sweden . The Brazilian manager was initially hesitant to play his young star. When Pelé finally reached the field, he had an immediate impact, rattling the post with one shot and collecting an assist. He had a hat trick in the semifinal against France and two goals in the championship game, where Brazil defeated Sweden 5–2. At the 1962 World Cup finals, Pelé tore a thigh muscle in the second match and had to sit out the remainder of the tournament. Nonetheless, Brazil went on to claim its second World Cup title. Rough play and injuries turned the 1966 World Cup into a disaster for both Brazil and Pelé, as the team went out in the first round, and he contemplated retiring from World Cup play. Returning in 1970 for one more World Cup tournament, he teamed with young stars Jairzinho and Rivelino to claim Brazil’s third title and permanent ownership of the Jules Rimet Trophy. Pelé finished his World Cup career having scored 12 goals in 14 games.

Pelé’s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world. His team Santos toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity. In 1967 he and his team traveled to Nigeria, where a 48-hour cease-fire in that nation’s civil war was called to allow all to watch the great player.

Pelé announced his retirement in 1974 but in 1975 agreed to a three-year $7 million contract with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League and to promote the game in the United States . He retired after leading the Cosmos to the league championship in 1977.

Pelé was the recipient of the International Peace Award in 1978. In 1980 he was named Athlete of the Century by the French sports publication L’Equipe , and he received the same honor in 1999 from the International Olympic Committee . In 2014 the Pelé Museum opened in Santos, Brazil. In addition to his accomplishments in sports, he published several best-selling autobiographies and starred in several successful documentary and semi-documentary films. He also composed numerous musical pieces, including the soundtrack for the film Pelé (1977).

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B orn on October, 23, 1940 in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Edson Arantes do Nascimento would become more commonly known around the world as Pelé. His father, João Ramos do Nascimento, played professional soccer himself, but his career never brought him much in the way of money. As the legend goes, Pelé’s family could not even afford to buy a ball for him, so he stuffed socks and molded them into the shape of a ball to kick around.

Basic facts

Birth: 1940 Death: 2022 Country: Brazil Position: Forward

Santos FC (1956-1974) New York Cosmos (1975-1977)

Club football: 694 matches, 650 goals National team: 92 matches, 77 goals

Early career

Although he continued to struggle financially in São Paulo, working a variety of jobs to help his family, the young Pelé found his true talent on the field. Under the tutelage of his father and a former national team player named Waldemar de Brito, Pelé began to mature as a player on the Bauru Athletic Club juniors. Coach de Brito recognized his ability and recommended him for a tryout with Santos FC. The team’s management agreed with de Brito’s assessment and signed Pelé in June 1956. A mere three months later, Pelé scored a goal in his debut match. Although few people knew it at the time, this foreshadowed the success to come in the rest of Pelé’s professional career.

Stardom of a youngster

Only a short year later, Pelé topped the list of scorers in the league. His performance, at the tender age of 17, caught the attention of the national team. He would not disappoint. In his first appearance on the world stage, he scored key goals in both the semifinal and the final match of the 1958 World Cup to win it for Brazil . At this point, he had achieved superhero status in Brazil and became a household name around the world. The Brazilian government honored him as a “national treasure,” which elevated his status at home, but also prevented him from taking advantage of offers a broad.

Struggle with injuries

On an individual level, the next two World Cups turned out disappointing due to injuries. The Brazilian side still won the tournament in 1962, but they fell way short in 1966 without their star player—they were eliminated in the group stage. During this era, though, Pelé continued to excel on his club team, Santos. Consistently a top scorer, he often faced teams who had altered their play specifically to deal with the threat he posed. Despite this, he still managed to score 60 goals in the 1964 season and 101 goals the year after that.

Retirement and comeback

By the time 1970 rolled around, Pelé had reportedly decided to hang up his hat and leave while he was on top. However, he was eventually coaxed into playing one last World Cup for Brazil in Mexico on what many consider as the best team in history. Pelé contributed to Brazil’s tournament win with goals and several important assists, earning himself the Golden Ball award for his play. Pelé continued with the Brazilian team for about another year, finally calling it quits in 1971. A few years after that, he said goodbye to his fans at Santos, too. His days as a player were still not over, though.

Late career

Although he had long said that he would only ever play for Santos, he could not resist answering the call from the New York Cosmos in 1975. The North American Soccer League (NASL) represented a significant step down in terms of the level of play that Pelé was accustomed to. The burgeoning league benefitted greatly from this ambassador of the game, though, and ticket sales rose. The American public, largely unfamiliar with the game, took notice. Pelé led the Cosmos to a championship before retiring for good, an event marked by an exhibition match between his adoptive New York team and Santos.

Legacy and life after the football career

At the time of his retirement in 1977, Pelé had amassed a series of seemingly unbreakable records. He had racked up a total of 1,283 goals in 1,363 matches, making him the top scorer in Brazilian national team history and FIFA history. Just as impressively, he managed to pull off 92 hat-tricks. He also set a record for the most FIFA World Cup wins for an individual, with three medals to his name. His early years should not be overlooked, though. The young Pelé burned bright, becoming the youngest player to score a hat-trick and the youngest player to score in a World Cup final match. Retirement saw “O Rei” go on to campaign for a variety of causes, including poverty reduction, anti-corruption movements, and environmental protection. He also received an honorary knighthood, served as the Minister of Sport in Brazil, and assumed the role of a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador. Of course, he never stopped promoting the game throughout the world, including FIFA events and Olympic ceremonies. Perhaps most memorable of all, he popularized the phrase “the beautiful game” as shorthand for the game he loved so much. Generations of enthusiasts have imagined themselves playing with the grace and beauty of “The Black Pearl.” He could strike the ball with astonishing accuracy or flick it off to a teammate through a thick web of defenders’ legs. His iconic goal-scoring bicycle kick in Belgium in 1968 sent young players from all over rushing outside for hours of painful practice. What dazzled many of his fellow players was his uncanny ability to work his way out of almost any situation with sheer skill. For those who have wondered about the origin of the name “Pelé,” the answer proves elusive. Some have claimed that it came from Pelé’s poor pronunciation of the name of a goalie he admired named “Bilé.” According to this version of events, his teammates half-mockingly gave him the name “Pelé” and he could not shake it. Pelé himself has never given a definitive account of how he got the name. In fact, he claimed he never cared for it much. Like so much else in this superstar’s life, though, the magic lies not in minute biographical details or trivia, but in the legacy that Pelé left on the field. Pelé passed away in december 2022, at the age of 82.

By Rosa Nelson

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References: http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221#more-world-cup-titles http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/10874465/How-and-why-Peles-mystique-and-reputation-as-the-worlds-greatest-ever-footballer-has-been-overhyped.html http://www.goal.com/en/news/60/south-america/2010/10/21/2176031/70-facts-about-brazil-legend-pele Image source: Image sources: 1, 3 FIFA – World Cup Official Film 1970 2 Scanpix

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Biography Online

Pele Biography

“I was born for soccer, just as Beethoven was born for music.” – Pele

Pele was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on 23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison (his parents removed the i). In his childhood, he gained a nickname ‘Pele’ – after he mispronounced the name of a goalkeeper ‘Bile’ – Initially Pele disliked it and complained, but the more he complained, the more it stuck. Pele has no meaning and was intended as an insult, though later it was found that the word Bilé is Hebrew for “miracle.”

Pele grew up in poverty in São Paulo. He was taught to play football by his father (who used to play football), but often he had to practise with a sock stuffed with newspapers because he could not afford to buy a football. As well as playing football, he worked as a waiter in local tea shops.

In his youth, Pele played in indoor leagues, and this helped increase his speed of reactions. He rose through the youth leagues and at the age of 15 was signed by Santos FC. He was soon marked out as a future star. By the age of 16, he was the top scorer in the Brazilian league and received a call up for the Brazilian national side. Interest was such that the Brazilian President declared Pele a national treasure to prevent him being bought by foreign clubs such as Manchester United.

Pele’s World Cups

1970 World Cup

Style of play

Pele was relatively short at  5″ 8′, but he more than compensated in terms of speed, power, agility and strength. He was superb with both feet, powerful in the air, great timing and accuracy and an extraordinary perception of the game. He could mesmerise defenders with his eyes and send them the wrong way. He had a scoring ratio of 0.94 goals per game and often rose to the big occasion, scoring at crucial moments in big games. Whilst very competitive, he was also considered to be a fair player with good sense of sportsmanship. A good example was his warm embrace of Bobby Moore, the England caption after England’s defeat in the 1970 World Cup. It is sometimes held up as an embodiment of sportsmanship. Without any doubt, he is universally regarded as the greatest player of the twentieth century – if not all time. He is one of the few sportsman like Muhammad Ali and Usain Bolt, who transcend their sport to become a global icon. French footballer Michel Platini said of Pele.

“There’s Pelé the man, and then Pelé the player. And to play like Pelé is to play like God.

In the domestic league, Pele made his debut for Santos aged just 16. He played for Santos in the Brazilian league from until the 1972-73 season.

Pele finished his career in the lucrative US league. In 1975, he signed for New York Cosmos and played three seasons. He led the New York Cosmos to the US title in 1977 – the year of his retirement.

Personal life

Pele was married three times and had several children, some out of wedlock. In 1970, he was investigated by the authoritarian Brazilian government for suspected sympathy to left-wing political prisoners. Pele was investigated for handing out leaflets calling for the release of political prisoners. After the investigation, he did not get involved in politics again.

After retiring has gone on to be a great ambassador for football and sport in general. In 1992, Pelé was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment. He was also appointed a UNESCO goodwill ambassador. He is not only one of the most gifted footballers of his generation, but, also a mild-mannered man who used his fame and prestige for a positive effect.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “Biography of Pele”, Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net. Last updated 8 March 2020. Originally published 18 April 2010.

Some Highlights of Pele’s Career

• Athlete of the Century , by Reuters News Agency: 1999
• Athlete of the Century , elected by International Olympic Committee: 1999
• UNICEF Football Player of the Century : 1999
• TIME One of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century : 1999
• FIFA Player of the Century : 2000

Pele – autobiography at Amazon

Related pages

10 Things You May Not Know About Pelé

From the origins of his name to how he played his final pro game for both teams, here are some facts about the Brazilian soccer star.

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Thus began Pelé's storied career, and by the time he played his final professional game in 1977, he’d netted over 1,280 career goals as part of Brazil’s Santos Football Club and the New York Cosmos. Although he was widely considered to be the greatest soccer player of all time, here are 10 things you might not know about Pelé:

He was named after Thomas Edison

As Pelé explained in a September 2014 tweet , his father João Ramos, a soccer player also known as Dondinho, and mother Dona Celeste named him Edson, after Thomas Edison . ”Electricity had just been introduced to my hometown in Brazil when I was born,” wrote the Três Corações native. First nicknamed “Dico” by his family, Pelé later explained that the moniker by which he’s currently known worldwide “really bugged” him at first.

“I was really proud that I was named after Thomas Edison and wanted to be called Edson,” he wrote in a 2006 Guardian piece . “I thought Pelé sounded horrible. It was a rubbish name. Edson sounded so much more serious and important.” Although the sports star added he “can never be 100 percent certain about the origin,” the most probable explanation is that the nickname was given to him by classmates because he mispronounced the name of one of his dad’s soccer teammates: Vasco de Sao Lourenco, a goalkeeper affectionately known as "Bilé."

“So when someone said, "Hey, Pelé," I would shout back and get angry. On one occasion I punched a classmate because of it and earned a two-day suspension,” he wrote. “Now I love the name — but back then it wound me up no end.”

He got creative when he couldn’t afford a soccer ball or shoes

Growing up in poverty, Pelé practiced his dribbling skills with a sock stuffed with rags when his family couldn’t afford to buy him an actual soccer ball. When he was 6, the family moved to a larger town in southern Brazil, where he shined shoes and sold roasted peanuts outside movie theaters to earn money for a soccer ball. Unable to afford shoes himself, he also frequently played barefoot, and his friends eventually formed a team called the Shoeless Ones. Later, barefooted games played in vacant lots became known as “ pelada ,” believed to be named after Pelé.

His first contract was far from lucrative

At 15 years old, Pelé signed his first contract with Santos in 1956, earning just $10 a month. According to ESPN, he used his pay to buy his mother a gas stove, though their town didn’t haven’t the capability to pipe gas into homes. Years later, he signed a three-year $7 million contract with the New York Cosmos in 1975, making him the highest‐paid team athlete in the world at the time. The New York Times estimated that $2 million of the deal went to taxes for the native Brazilian, however. “He will pay his own taxes, just like every American,” Cosmos vice president and general manager Clive Toye explained in 1975, per the newspaper.

He’s a Brazilian national treasure — literally

After Pelé led Brazil’s national team to their first World Cup win in 1958, European clubs such as Real Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan and Manchester United began courting the rising star. In order to prevent him from being traded to foreign teams, Brazilian President Jânio Quadros eventually had Pelé declared a national treasure in 1961.

“Well, first of all it was an honor for me. But I pay income tax like anybody else,” he joked to Esquire in 2016. “I was invited — I had several proposals to play in Europe. For Real Madrid, for AC Milan, for Bayern Munich. But at that time, we didn't have too many Brazilian players outside the country. I was very happy at my team, Santos. I didn't have the desire to play outside the country.”

He held two Guinness World Records

By the end of his career, Pelé had won three FIFA World Cups with Brazil (in 1958, 1962 and 1970), earning him the most wins by any player. Of course, that’s but one of the many records he broke on the soccer field. The four goals Pelé scored in his 1956 professional debut only set the stage for the 1,283 total goals he’d go on to rack up over the years. There is some debate over Guinness’ total number, however, since multiple outlets reported that he scored more than 500 of those goals in “unofficial friendlies and tour games,” rather than in professional competition.

Henry Kissinger convinced him to play in the U.S.

After Pelé retired from the Brazilian national team and Santos in 1974, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger traveled to Sao Paulo to convince him to return to gameplay for the New York Cosmos. "He invited me to go to the cafe with him, and there he said, 'Listen. You know I'm from the United States, and I'm in politics there. Soccer is coming along there-they're playing it in the schools. Would you like to help us promote soccer in the United States?'” Pelé, who didn’t speak English at the time, recalled to Esquire in 2016. “And I said, 'My God.'"

Prior to him signing a reported $7 million, three-year contract with the New York Cosmos, Kissinger reportedly sent him a telegram that read: “Should you decide to sign a contract, I am sure your stay in the United States will substantially contribute to closer ties between Brazil and the United States in the field of sports.”

He once (temporarily) stopped a war

Kissinger noted in a 1999 Time article that both sides in Nigeria’s civil war called a 48-hour cease-fire in 1967 so Pelé could play an exhibition match in the capital of Lagos. Santos' website elaborates that the region's military governor Samuel Ogbemudia declared a holiday and opened up a bridge so that both sides could watch Pelé’s 2-1 victory over Nigeria.

“We were asked to play a friendly match on Benin City, in the middle of a Civil War, but Santos was so beloved that they agreed on a ceasefire on the matchday. It became known as the day that 'Santos stopped the war,'” Pelé tweeted in 2020. (In recent years, however, some have debated the extent of the reported ceasefire.)

He was friends with Nelson Mandela

Pelé left a family holiday to play in 2007’s “ 90 Minutes for Mandela ” charity match in honor of the South African president ’s 89th birthday. During a joint press conference, Pelé awarded Mandela an autographed jersey, which the latter called a “priceless gift” he’d treasure for the rest of his life.

“He was my hero, my friend, and also a companion to me in our fight for the people and for world peace,” Pelé tweeted following Mandela’s 2013 death, also calling the leader “one of the most influential people” in his life.

He played for both teams in his final pro game

In October 1977, Pelé competed in his final professional game in an exhibition match between the New York Cosmos and Santos F.C. in front of 77,000 spectators — including Muhammad Ali — at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium. He played the first half of the game for Santos, scoring one goal, and then switched jerseys and played for the Cosmos in the second half. The Cosmos eventually won the match with a final score of 2-1.

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

Despite not being of British descent, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed upon Pelé the honorary title of Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE) in 1997 for his humanitarian work and activism. Beginning in 1994, Pelé served as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Champion for Sport and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, creating such campaigns as Children in Need fundraising in 1996, and the Match of the Hearth, in 2000. “It will always stay in my memory,” he tweeted in 2020 of his honorary knighthood. “I thank all the British people for their affection.”

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Skills, charisma, mysticism: The life of football legend Pele

The world bids farewell to one of the greatest footballers ever seen.

Santos, Brazil – A famous sports writer once said that “if Pelé had not been born a man, he would have been born a football”.

Pelé – real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento – one of the greatest footballers the world had ever seen, died on Thursday at the age of 82.

Keep reading

Brazilian football legend pele dies at age 82, pele, brazilian football ‘phenomenon’, leaves unparalleled legacy, photos: ‘the king’ pele, a lifetime of football memories.

Born in the state of Minas Gerais in 1940, Pelé’s family moved to a nearby city called Bauru looking for a better life. He grew up in poverty and his parents could not even afford a football. An old sock filled with newspapers was the first “ball” his magical feet kicked but it was enough for him to fall in love with the game and for people to start noticing he was different.

When Pelé was 15, a local coach, Waldemar de Brito, took him to play for the football club Santos. Upon arriving in the city that shares the name with the club, Brito told the coach, “This kid will be the best in the world.”

Within minutes, the coach was impressed with Pelé and signed him on the spot. This was 1956. Two years later, Pelé would be in Sweden, spearheading Brazil to a World Cup title, the first of six for the team. He scored two goals in the final against Sweden. He was still 17.

At the final whistle, the wonder kid fainted on the field while being carried by the celebrating crowd.

Pelé was famously easy-going, kind, joyful, and a reliable friend.

“Pelé was always a very nice guy. We would spend so much time talking. He didn’t have any star attitude,” Didi, 84, one of Pelé’s oldest friends and his barber of 55 years, told Al Jazeera.

“I tell my grandchildren that I had one client more famous than anyone else. This is a man who is known more all over the world than Coca Cola. So I feel proud of it and it’s very rare for someone to have a client like this.”

Pelé had a certain way of speaking Portuguese, something he would turn into a trademark. He would constantly finish his sentences with “entende?” which means “understand?”.

It seems he always wanted to make sure to facilitate conversations, just like he would smooth out his teammates’ game.

In addition to skills and charisma, a certain mysticism always surrounded the character of the King of Football. Pelé was from a city called Três Corações, which translates to Three Hearts.

One of his many famous quotes, made at his last match ever played in 1977 in New York, was honouring children and with his limited English, he just said “love, love, love.”

On the pitch, Pelé became an instant celebrity following the 1958 World Cup triumph. Upon returning to Brazil, he helped Santos build a dynasty, winning 25 titles in the 1960s. Despite being world-famous, Pelé kept living a down-to-earth life in Santos. He would share a guest house with other players and cycle around the city.

“The pay was pretty bad but he did it for love of the game and we had so much fun,” Carlos “Lala”, 86, a goalkeeper and Pelé’s former Santos teammate, told Al Jazeera.

Despite being a widely diverse country ethnically, Brazil is not often represented by people of colour. So having someone Black as its biggest celebrity and star had a cultural impact on the country.

Aside from being the world’s best footballer, Pelé also ventured into showbusiness. A lover of music, he recorded an album with Brazilian legendary singer Elis Regina and acted in a handful of movies, making him a pop star as well.

In 1962, Brazil won a second successive World Cup with an injured Pelé supporting the team.

It was in 1970, at the first World Cup broadcasted in colour, that Pelé put the cherry on top of his football legacy. The team that had Clodoaldo, Rivelino and Tostão, put in one of the most celebrated World Cup performances in history.

In the final, a 4-1 win over Italy, Pelé scored a header – the team’s opening goal – that some people said he managed by freezing midair. He celebrated the goal in his typical manner: Jumping and punching the air.

“I told myself before the game that Pelé is made of skin and bones just like everyone else. But I was wrong,” said Tarciso Burnigch, the Italian defender appointed to mark Pelé in the final.

That was Pelé’s 12th and final World Cup goal.

In 1969, he had become the first player to score 1,000 goals. The 1,000th goal was at the Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro, known as the Mecca of Football.

In 1974, he left Santos and played his final years in New York, at a club called Cosmos.

It was the only team he played for other than Santos and Brazil’s national side.

“As we [the security team] were always with the team, traveling, at the games, we had a lot of contact with them, so we developed a friendship,” Pedro de Liberato, Pele’s security guard, and then his neighbour, told Al Jazeera.

“Pelé was always very joyful, always joking with people,” the 90-year-old added.

Pelé wore the number 10 jersey but he did not know which number he would have and was assigned 10 randomly.

The number 10 jersey has since then become associated with the world’s best – Maradona, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi are just some of them who have worn it.

Pelé retired after playing 1,363 games, winning 37 titles, scoring 1,281 goals, including 92 career hat-tricks.

He spent his post-football life involved in social activism, including being a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.

In 1995, he took public office as minister of sports, introducing the legislation that grants players their own rights after a certain age. Pelé also commented on games for television.

In recent years, Pelé struggled with his health. Aside from battling cancer, he also suffered from severe hip pain and spent most of his last years in a wheelchair.

• World Biography
• Pelé Biography

PelÉ Biography

Born: October 23, 1940 Tres Coracoes, Brazil Brazilian soccer star

Pelé, called "the Black Pearl," was one of the greatest soccer players in the history of the game. With a career total of 1,280 games, he may have been the world's most popular athlete in his prime.

A young talent

Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, who took the name Pelé, was born on October 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, Brazil, the son of a minor league soccer player. Pelé grew up in an extremely poor neighborhood, where one of the only sources of entertainment for a poor boy was to play soccer, barefoot and with a makeshift ball. Many players on the Brazilian soccer fields gained nicknames that had no apparent meaning. His father was dubbed "Dondinho" and young Edson took the name "Pelé," though he does not recall how or why he picked up the name.

Pelé was coached by his father and the hard work soon paid off, for when he was eleven Pelé played for his first soccer team, that of the town of Bauru, Brazil. He moved up in competition with outstanding play and soon was one of the best players on the team. At the age of fifteen his mentor (an advisor), former soccer star Waldemar de Brito, brought him to Sao Paulo to try out for the major league teams. Pelé was quickly rejected. De Brito then took Pelé to Santos where he earned a spot on the soccer team. There, Pelé earned nearly five thousand cruzeiros (about sixty dollars) per month to play soccer. He soon received broader exposure when he was loaned to the Vasco da Gama team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

International play

In 1958 Pelé went to Stockholm, Sweden, to compete in the World Cup championship, the soccer championship that brings together all of the soccer-playing nations for one tournament. His play there helped his country win its first title as Pelé scored two goals in a dramatic 4-2 win over Sweden. He returned to Santos, and his team went on to win six Brazilian titles. In 1962 he again played on the Brazilian team that won the World Cup, but an injury forced him to sit out the contest.

Soccer is a low scoring game, but on November 19, 1969, before a crowd of one hundred thousand in Rio de Janeiro, Pelé scored his one thousandth goal. He lead the Sao Paolo League in scoring for ten straight seasons. He was not only a high scorer, but a master of ball handling as well. It seemed the ball was somehow attached to his feet as he moved down the field.

In 1970 Pelé again played for Brazil's World Cup team, and in Mexico City, Mexico, they beat Italy for the championship. It was Pelé's play, both in scoring and in setting up other goals, that won them the title. When he announced that he would retire from international competition after a game to be played July 18, 1971, plans were made to televise the event throughout the world. By the time he left the game he had scored a total of 1,086 goals.

After Pelé retired, he continued to play until he was signed to play for the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League for a reported three-year, $7 million contract. A year later New York was at the top of their division, and in 1977 the Cosmos won the league championship. Pelé retired for good after that victory, but continued to be active in sports circles, becoming a commentator and promoter of soccer in the United States. When the World Cup was played in Detroit, Michigan, in 1994, Pelé was there, capturing the hearts of millions of fans around the world. Later that spring, he married his second wife, Assiria Seixas Lemos. In May of 1997, he was elected Minister of Sports in his home country of Brazil.

On December 11, 2001, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) named Pelé, along with Argentina's Diego Maradona, as the men's players of the century.

For More Information

Bodo, Peter, and David Hirshey. Pelé's New World. New York: Norton, 1977.

Canazares, Susan, and Samantha Berger. Pelé, the King of Soccer. New York: Scholastic, 1999.

Harris, Harry. Pelé: His Life and Times. New York: Parkwest, 2002.

Marcus, Joe. The World of Pelé. New York: Mason/Charter, 1976.

Pelé. My Life and the Beautiful Game. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977.

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Pelé, the Global Face of Soccer, Dies at 82

Pelé, who was declared a national treasure in his native Brazil, achieved worldwide celebrity and helped popularize the sport in the United States.

By Lawrie Mifflin

Pelé, one of soccer’s greatest players and a transformative figure in 20th-century sports who achieved a level of global celebrity few athletes have known, died on Thursday in São Paulo. He was 82.

His death was confirmed by his manager, Joe Fraga. The Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in São Paulo said the cause was multiple organ failure, the result of the progression of colon cancer.

Pelé had been receiving treatment for cancer in recent years, and he entered the hospital several weeks ago for treatment of a variety of health issues, including a respiratory infection.

A national hero in his native Brazil, Pelé was beloved around the world — by the very poor, among whom he was raised; the very rich, in whose circles he traveled; and just about everyone who ever saw him play.

“Pelé is one of the few who contradicted my theory,” Andy Warhol once said. “Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.”

Celebrated for his peerless talent and originality on the field, Pelé (pronounced peh-LAY) also endeared himself to fans with his sunny personality and his belief in the power of soccer — football to most of the world — to connect people across dividing lines of race, class and nationality.

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Pele Biography: Early life, Age, Career, Family, Death and other details

Pele, one of the greatest of all time, passes away at the age of 82 on 30th december 2022. his agent confirms his death..

Popularly known as Pele or Edson, Arantes do Nascimento was in the hospital and had been battling cancer since November. 

His family spent Christmas with him while he was still admitted as his health condition worsened. 

          View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Pelé (@pele)

Due to Pele's health condition, his family decided to spend this Christmas in the hospital with him when the daughter of Brazilian soccer legend Pele, Kely Cristina do Nascimento, hospital posted on Instagram late Friday an emotional tribute and a photo of her father at the Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital in São Paulo.

"Time flies... (but) happy moments are eternal," 

Source: Instagram

 The image showed Pele next to his daughters Kely Cristina , Jennifer, and Flavia.

"Our Christmas at home has been suspended," Nascimento wrote in a post on Wednesday. "We decided with the doctors that, for several reasons, it would be better for us to stay (in the hospital), with all the care that this new family ... Einstein gives us!".

The 82-year-old was admitted on November 29 for a respiratory infection and "re-evaluation of chemotherapy treatment on colon cancer identified in September 2021," according to a hospital statement. The hospital earlier this week  reported that Pele's health had worsened and that he would now require further care due to the progression of cancer. 

The 82-year-old icon Pele was going through treatment for a colon tumor, and the legendary footballer has been undergoing regular chemotherapy since the time he was diagnosed with colon cancer last year.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento or popularly known as Pele and was born on October 23, 1940, in Três Corações, Brazil.  Titled 'the greatest' by FIFA.

The Brazilian football player is a national treasure and one of the best-paid athletes in the world since the start of his era.    The football player was part of many Brazilian national teams that won three World Cup championships in 1958, 1962, and 1970.

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Pele: Biography

• Pele was named after the inventor and world-famous scientist Thomas Edison, though his parents removed the i. 
• The name which is chanted by many was acquired by him when he was. a child was teased by this nickname because he mispronounced the name of a goalkeeper ‘Bile’ once. He used to dislike this name very much.
• Pele saw days of poverty while growing up in São Paulo. 
• His father who used to play football taught Pele everything he knows now. They couldn't afford a football so they used to play with a paper-stuffed sock.  
•  Pele also worked as a waiter in local tea shops.
• Pele played in indoor leagues in his youth, and eventually at the age of 15 was signed by Santos FC.
•  By the age of 16, the legendary footballer was the top scorer in the Brazilian league. 
• Pele received a call from the Brazilian national side.
• The Brazilian President declared Pele a national treasure so that foreign clubs such as Manchester United wouldn't sign him.
• Later in his football career, Pele went on to score over 1,000 goals in professional games. 
• On 19 November 1969 at Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium Pele scored his remarkable 1000th.
• Pele's strike rate in international games was one of the highest ever.
• In 1977 Pele completed his career and retired after he led the New York Cosmos in the direction of the US title.  

Personal life

• The Brazilian football player, Pele got married thrice and is a father to several children. 
• Pele, in the 1970s, was investigated by the authoritarian Brazilian government as there was a suspicion that he was in sympathy with left-wing political prisoners. 
• Post retiring Pele went on to be a great ambassador for football and sport in general. 
• Pelé was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment in 1992.
• Pele has also been appointed a UNESCO goodwill ambassador. 

The footballer was not only one of the most gifted athletes of his generation but also a mild-mannered man who used his fame and prestige for a positive effect.

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Pelé Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Pele

• Did Pele smoke?: No
• Did Pele drink alcohol?: No
• He was born to Dondinho and Dona Celeste Arantes. His father was a soccer player himself.

Pele’s childhood photo

• They were very poor and he had to work as a servant in a tea stall in his childhood.

Pele in his childhood

• He learned the first kicks of soccer from his father and played for many amateur teams in his youth. With no money to buy a football, he used to stuff newspapers inside socks and play with that.

Pele in his childhood playing football

• He said in an interview that the indoor tournaments he used to play in his childhood helped him to take his game to another level. The indoor tournaments taught him to make quick decisions; as the pitches were small and the players were more.
• Football star de Brito was impressed by his talents and took him to Santos in 1956, where he started his professional football career. He became a regular starter for the side in 1957.
• He became the top scorer in the league in 1957. His consistent performances earned him a place in Brazil’s squad, and he played his first game for Brazil in July 1957 against Argentina.

Pele after a successful season in Campeonato Paulista

• He scored 6 goals in 4 matches in the 1958 World Cup and eventually won the World Cup.

• In the 1962 World Cup, his campaign was halted by an injury and he remained out of most of the tournament.
• In 1964, he was involved in an affair with a housemaid, Anizia Machado who gave birth to Sandra Machado. Sandra fought for years to be acknowledged by Pele as his daughter, but he refused to submit his DNA. Although the court recognized her as his biological daughter based on the DNA evidence in 1993. Though Pele never acknowledged her as his daughter, even after her death in 2006.

Pele getting married to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi

Pele injured in 1966 World Cup

• In 1968, he had another extramarital affair with journalist Lenita Kurtz and had a daughter, Flávia, with her.
• He scored his 1000th goal against Vasco da Gama from a penalty kick at the Maracana Stadium in 1969.
• The 1970 World Cup was his last World Cup. Brazil won the World Cup, and he was named the ‘Player of the Tournament’.
• He played his last international match against Yugoslavia on July 18, 1971, in Rio de Janeiro.

Pele playing for Santos

• In 1976, he emerged from the semi-retirement by joining New York Cosmos.
• In his last game on October 1, 1977 (an exhibition match between Cosmos and Santos), he played the first half for Cosmos and the second half for Santos. He scored from a direct free kick in the first half which turned out to be his last goal.
• In 1982, Pele and his wife, Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi, divorced. Pele was then involved in a romantic relationship with a TV presenter Xuxa. She was just 17 at that time.
• In 1992, he was appointed as a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment.
• In April 1994, he married psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas and had twins with her. The couple divorced in 2008.
• In 1995, he was appointed as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
• He was the Minister of Sport of Brazil from 1995 to 1998.

• He was voted “Athlete of the Century” by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999.

Pele married to Marcia Aoki

• He scored 1281 goals in 1363 games, the most by any player ever to play this game. He scored 92 hat-tricks, and scored four goals on 31 occasions, five on six occasions, and once scored eight in one match.

References/Sources: [ + ]

• Born October 23 , 1940 · Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil
• Died December 29 , 2022 · Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil (colon cancer)
• Birth name Edson Arantes do Nascimento
• The Black Pearl
• The King Pelé
• The King of Football
• Height 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
• Simply he was, and for many people still is, the greatest football player of the world. Not a single thing was impossible for him: he won three World Cups with his National Team of Brazil (Sweden 1958, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970). He scored more than 1.200 goals during his long career (more than 1.300 official matches). He also won many national Leagues and Continental Cups ("Copa Libertadores"), with his team, the Santos Futebol Clube (of Brazilian 'São Paulo' State). In the '60s, he was nick-named "O Rei" (The King), and in the '70s, ninety-five people out of 100 knew his name. ("Wow, man, you're popular!" said Robert Redford , some years ago, after seeing Pelé give dozens of autographs in New York while he was not asked for one). In the late 1960s, when he and his team, Santos, went to Nigeria to play a few friendly matches, the ongoing civil war stopped for the duration of his visit. He finished his career in the New York Cosmos, in 1977. He later became a United Nations Ambassador and has been also Minister for Sports in his country, but, for the people who saw him make magics with his right foot, he is, now and forever, the biggest footballer in the world, and the one and only "King". - IMDb Mini Biography By: Sergio D'Afflitto <[email protected]>
• Pelé is a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Pelé is the most successful domestic league goal-scorer in football history scoring 650 goals in 694 League matches, and in total 1281 goals in 1363 games, which included unofficial friendlies and is a Guinness World Records (2004) . During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world. Pelé began playing for Santos F.C. at age 15 and the Brazil National Football Team at 16. During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, being the only player ever to do so. Pelé is the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games. At club level he is the record goalscorer for Santos F.C. , and led them to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores (2004) . Since retiring in 1977, Pelé has been a worldwide ambassador for football and has made many acting and commercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the Honorary President of the New York Cosmos . - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
• Spouses Marcia Cibele Aoki (July 9, 2016 - December 29, 2022) (his death) Assiria (April 30, 1994 - 2008) (divorced, 2 children) Rosemary Cholbi (February 21, 1966 - 1982) (divorced, 3 children)
• Children Jennifer Edinho Kelly Flavia Christina Sandra (deceased) Celeste Joshua
• Parents Celeste Dondinho Nascimento
• Relatives Jair (Sibling) Jorge Arantes (Aunt or Uncle) Malcolm (Grandchild) Ruby (Grandchild) Enzo (Grandchild) Ella (Grandchild) Otavio (Grandchild) Gabriel (Grandparent) Maria Lucia (Sibling)
• Juggling a soccer ball on his toes, thighs and head, without using his hands.
• The bicycle kick: throwing himself on his back while kicking a soccer ball back over his head.
• Over his entire career, he officially scored 1,284 goals in 1,363 matches. He played one game as a goalkeeper.
• He is the only player to have won three FIFA World Cup titles (1958, 1962, 1970).
• His last professional playing appearance, which took place on October 1, 1977, was played in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In that match, most unusually, he wore the jerseys of, and played for, both teams. He wore the jersey of his then present team, the New York Cosmos (1975-1977), for the first half of the game, and his original team, Santos (Brazil, 1956-1974) for the second half of the game. At halftime, the Cosmos retired Pelé's number 10. Pelé presented the Cosmos retirement jersey to his father, who was escorted from the stands to the field by Cosmos Captain Werner Roth .
• Played in 92 matches for Brazil and scored a remarkable 77 goals.
• In 1995, Pelé was awarded Brazil's Gold Medal for outstanding services to sport; Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed him to the position of "Extraordinary Minister for Sport." During his time as Minister for Sport, he proposed legislation to reduce corruption in Brazilian football, which when passed, became known as the "Pelé law." Pelé left government in 2001 after being accused of involvement in a corruption scandal, although nothing was proven, and the charges were further denied by UNICEF. In 1997, Pelé was honored by Queen Elizabeth II as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 2005, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) bestowed their award for lifetime achievement on Pelé. 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," his first such honorary degree from a European university.
• I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players.
• [on players who bring football into disrepute] They don't love the game, they don't love the team.
• For many people, their memory of Gordon Banks is defined by the save he made against me in 1970. I understand why. The save was one of the best I have ever seen - in real life and in all the thousands of games I have watched since. When you are a footballer, you know straight away how well you have hit the ball. I hit that header exactly as I had hoped. Exactly where I wanted it to go. And I was ready to celebrate. But then this man, Banks, appeared in my sight, like a kind of blue phantom, is how I described him. He came from nowhere and he did something I didn't feel was possible. He pushed my header, somehow, up and over. And I couldn't believe what I saw. Even now when I watch it, I can't believe it. I can't believe how he moved so far, so fast. I scored so many goals in my life, but many people, when they meet me, always ask me about that save. While it was indeed phenomenal, my memory of Gordon is not defined by that - it is defined by his friendship. He was a kind and warm man who gave so much to people. So I am glad he saved my header - because that act was the start of a friendship between us that I will always treasure.
• People talk about the best being Pele or Diego Maradona [ Diego Maradona ], but for me the best was Alfredo Di Stéfano . Maradona was a great player, but he could not kick with his right foot and did not score goals with his head. The only time he scored an important goal with his head, it turned out he had used his hand.

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Pelé family members recall ‘big heart’ of football’s king, who inspired generations

The son and former wife of Brazilian football legend Pelé, have been talking to UN News about the father and husband they knew, recalling his big but soft heart - and love for children from all walks of life across the country.

His son, Joshua Nascimento joined his mother, Assíria Lemos, in conversation with Monica Grayley, head of our Portuguese service, to talk about the legacy of the footballing great and three-time World Cup winner, who died in hospital in Sao Paulo, on Thursday.

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 (1940–2022). South American soccer (association football) superstar Pelé was the world’s most famous and highest-paid athlete when he joined a North American team in 1975. He led the Brazilian national soccer team to three World Cup victories in 1958, 1962, and 1970 and to permanent possession of the Jules Rimet Trophy.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born to a poor family on October 23, 1940, in Três Corações, Brazil. He began playing for a local minor-league club when he was a teenager. He made his debut with the Santos Football Club in 1956. With Pelé at inside left forward, the team won several South American clubs’ cups and the 1962 world club championship, in addition to the three World Cup championships.

Pelé scored his 1,000th goal in 1969. The legendary athlete retired in 1974 but made a comeback in 1975 after accepting a reported $7-million contract for three years with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. He said he came out of retirement, not for the money, but to “make soccer truly popular in the United States.” His farewell appearance was against his old Santos club in 1977.

Pelé, whose nickname does not mean anything, became a Brazilian national hero and was also known as Pérola Negra (“Black Pearl”). An average-sized man, he was blessed with speed, great balance, tremendous vision, the ability to control the ball superbly, and the ability to shoot powerfully and accurately with either foot and with his head. In his career he played in 1,363 matches and scored 1,281 goals. His best season was 1958, when he scored 139 times.

In addition to his accomplishments in sports, Pelé published several best-selling autobiographies and starred in several documentary and semidocumentary films. He composed numerous musical pieces, including the entire soundtrack for the film Pelé (1977). Pelé was the 1978 recipient of the International Peace Award. In 1980 he was named athlete of the century by the French sports publication  L’Equipe , and he received the same honor in 1999 from the International Olympic Committee. In 2014 the Pelé Museum opened in Santos, Brazil. Pelé died on December 29, 2022, in São Paolo, Brazil.

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Pele: Life Story, Bio and Facts

Pele is a name no soccer fan can do without, and the man is touted to be the best soccer player the world ever saw.

Pele did not have the world handed over to him on a silver platter, he worked his way sweat and blood to the upper echelons of sports persons.

What is it that had the young man get back onto his feet every time he was tackled to the ground? What inspired him to take no notice of buffeted bones in his body, and return to the soccer field at the earliest?

The answer to the questions posed is something that you must experience to believe. When your work is not just work but the element that defines you, and when you derive satisfaction that is greater than any pain that can be inflicted on you, nothing else matters, and you plough on.

Pele was born Edson Arantes Do Nascimento on 3 October 1940. His father was a soccer player who was forced to retire from the game when he fractured his leg.

Young Pele grew up in poverty, and used to polish shoes to help contribute to the family income. The boy showed great interest for, and talent in, soccer and was playing for a local minor league club when he got his first break.

The 11-year-old Pele caught the eye of Waldemar de Brito, a premier player of the nation. Brito is said to have presented Pele to skeptical directors at Santos, boldly stating that Pele would be the greatest soccer player in the world. Whether or not he truly believed in his passionate statement at the time he made it remains immaterial.

Pele proved himself to Santos when, at the age of 16, he scored a goal in his very first mainstream match, which was against Corinthians FC.

The world began to sit up and pay attention when a 17-year-old Pele scored a whopping 6 goals during the 1958 World Cup, thereby leading the Brazil National Team to victory. Brazil won its first World Cup that year.

With word of his brilliant performances spreading like wildfire, and a wide range of sports clubs showing unmasked interest in having Pele play for them, Brazil declared its star soccer player a national treasure, thereby barring Pele from playing for any non-Brazilian club or corporation.

Pele was a vision when on the field, with his agile 5 ft. 8 inches frame swiftly running across the arena, his deft feet expertly dribbling the ball. Besides being hailed for his extraordinary command on the ball and powerful kicks, Pele also commanded admiration for his powerful head shots.

In 1962, Pele was unable to play alongside his team during World Cup as he sustained severe injuries during the first match of the tournament. However, in 1970, Pele led his team to win what would be the 3rd World Cup for his nation.

His goal was precious in more ways than one – not only was it Brazil’s 100th World Cup goal, but it was also a goal that was close to Pele’s heart as he had scored it with his head. Pele’s dad was adept at headshots, and is reported to have made 5 headshot goals in a single match, and the move was special for Pele.

Pele’s score board is stunning. In all, the master soccer player has scored 1,280 goals, and is second only to Arthur Friedenreich, another Brazilian soccer player with 1,329 goals in his kitty. Pele’s average worked out to one goal at every international game. 92 hat tricks and 97 international goals are the statistics that place his at the top of his game, with his statistics being the highest ever.

After he retired, Pele returned to active soccer for a short span of 2 years to promote soccer in North America. He played in the North American Soccer League to attract the interest of millions of Americans towards the “beautiful game” of soccer.

He played an exhibition game between Cosmos and Santos, playing for the former during the first half, and for the latter team during the second half. He used his popularity to spread the message of love and peace among the followers of the game, and had crowds chanting “Love! Love! Love!” during the exhibition match.

Pele invested a lot of time and effort to advance the popularity of soccer. He penned autobiographies, and even starred in various documentary and semi-documentary films that focused on soccer, or on his life as a soccer player.

Towards the end of his soccer career, Pele also went to display his acting skills, and he is also a musician. His other talents, too, were invested to promote soccer and goodwill among populations.

Lessons from Pele's story

All that a person who thumbs down Pele’s biography will see are a series of success stories, with glorious inputs from the player himself, sports commentators and ecstatic audiences highlighting the legend’s prowess on the field.

Few care to recount the instances when Pele suffered grievous wounds during a game and quit the field in tears, only to return better than before for the next match. Here is the sportsmanship that propelled the player to be the man he is.

The world of soccer would still be waiting for its king if Pele was an ordinary player who was on the field for merely fame or money, rather than for true passion for the sport.

One lesson that can be learnt from Pele's story, therefore, is that the key to success is to indulge in that which your heart lay.

Another lesson is that a successful man is not the one who does not meet failure, but the one who accepts failure as a part of his learning process and moves on. An adult who is trying to attain a set goal must be like a toddler learning to walk - not afraid of falling down, and getting up every time he falls down to try and walk again, one step at a time.

Short Bio: Who is Pele?

Pele is the nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, a retired Brazilian professional soccer player. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Pele began his professional career as a teenager with Santos FC in Brazil and quickly became one of the most successful soccer players of his generation. He helped Santos win multiple Brazilian league titles and international club competitions.

Pele's performances with Santos earned him a call-up to the Brazilian national team, and he quickly established himself as one of the team's key players. He played in four World Cup tournaments and is considered one of the best players in World Cup history, he helped Brazil win the tournament in 1958, 1962 and 1970, becoming the only player ever to win three World Cups. He was the first player to score over 1,000 goals in his career and set a number of records that still stand today.

Pele was known for his exceptional ball control, speed, and goal-scoring abilities. He was a prolific scorer and a creative playmaker, and he was able to score goals in a variety of ways, from headers to free kicks to volleys. He was also known for his sportsmanship and his ability to play with his teammates. Pele was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit in 1984 and was inducted into the FIFA Hall of Fame in 2011.

Pele Fast Facts

• Pele's real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but he is widely known by his nickname Pele.
• He began his professional soccer career as a teenager with Santos FC in Brazil and quickly established himself as one of the best players in the world.
• Pele helped Santos win multiple Brazilian league titles and international club competitions.
• He played in four World Cup tournaments with the Brazilian national team, and he is considered one of the best players in World Cup history. He helped Brazil win the tournament in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
• He was the first player to score over 1,000 goals in his career and set a number of records that still stand today.
• Pele is known for his exceptional ball control, speed, and goal-scoring abilities. He was a prolific scorer and a creative playmaker, and he was able to score goals in a variety of ways, from headers to free kicks to volleys.
• He was also known for his sportsmanship and his ability to play with his teammates.
• Pele was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit in 1984 and was inducted into the FIFA Hall of Fame in 2011.
• Pele was also known as "The King of Football" and "The Black Pearl"
• After his retirement, Pele has been active in charity and in promoting the sport of soccer, he also was a United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment.

How pele changed soccer?

Pele is credited with popularizing soccer in South America and around the world, and his success on the field helped to bring the sport to a wider audience. Dutch star Johan Cruyff stated, "Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic." 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."

Pelé has been known for connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football. 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. Pelé was also a hard-working team player with exceptional vision and intelligence, who was recognised for his precise passing and ability to link up with teammates and provide them with assists.

Short biography and history of Pele as a footballer

Pelé became famous for his exceptional skill and success on the soccer field. He started his professional career at a young age, and quickly gained recognition for his talent and ability to score incredible goals.

• Pelé signed a professional contract with the club Santos in June 1956. He made his senior team debut on September 1956 at the age of 15. 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. Pelé won his first major title with Santos in 1958.
• Pelé's first international match was against Argentina in 1957. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16, and he remains the youngest goalscorer for his country. In 1958 Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years. When the 1962 World Cup started, Pelé was the best-rated player in the world. Pelé's last international match was in 1971.
• After his 19th with Santos, in 1974, Pelé retired from Brazilian club football. A year later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. Pelé led the Cosmos team to the 1977 Soccer Bowl, in his third and final season with the club.

Did Pele win a world cup?

Yes, Pele won the World Cup three times. Pele won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, and 1970, with a total of 12 goals.

Did Pele play outside Brazil?

After a successful career in Brazil with Santos FC, Pele signed with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1975. He played with the Cosmos for two seasons and helped to popularize soccer in the United States. Pele retired from professional soccer in 1977.

Did Pele and Maradona play together?

No, Pele and Diego Maradona did not play together on the same team. Pele and Maradona are widely considered two of the greatest soccer players of all time, but they played during different eras and never had the opportunity to play on the same team. Pele played professionally from 1956 to 1977, while Maradona played from 1976 to 1997.

Does Pele have kids?

Yes, Pele has children. Pele has been married three times and has a total of six children. His children are named Edinho, Jennifer, Marko, Joshua, Celeste, and Lila.

How Pele get his name?

Pelé's real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. He was given the nickname "Pelé" when he was a young boy. The story behind his nickname is that it was given to him by his friends who thought that he looked like a Brazilian goalkeeper named Bilé. Pelé's friends started calling him "Pelé," which was a combination of his last name and Bilé. The nickname stuck, and Pelé became known as Pelé throughout his career and in popular culture.

Was Pele rich?

Pelé amassed a significant fortune throughout his career. In addition to his salary as a professional soccer player, Pelé also earned income through endorsement deals and other business ventures. He used his wealth and influence to support a number of charitable causes, and he was known for his philanthropy and generosity.

Was Pele a striker?

Yes, Pelé was a striker, and he is known for his exceptional skill and ability to score goals. Pelé was known for his speed, agility, and exceptional finishing ability, which made him one of the most dangerous strikers in the history of the sport.

Has Pele passed away?

Yes, Pelé passed away on 29 December 2022, at the age of 82, due to multiple organ failure, a complication of colon cancer.

Pele Quotes

"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." ( Meaning )

"Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string." ( Meaning )

"If you don't give education to people, it is easy to manipulate them." ( Meaning )

"The bicycle kick is not easy to do."

"A penalty is a cowardly way to score."

"Sport is something that is very inspirational for young people."

"I always had a philosophy which I got from my father. He used to say, 'Listen. God gave to you the gift to play football. This is your gift from God. If you take care of your health, if you are in good shape all the time, with your gift from God no one will stop you, but you must be prepared.'" ( Meaning )

"The bicycle kick is not easy to do. I scored 1,283 goals, and only two or three were bicycle kicks."

"At 17, I already had responsibility because I took care of my family, but in the football I was young; I wasn't experienced or the captain - I was just in the team."

"All my life I thank God. My family was very religious."

"When I was minister of sport in Brazil, I tried to bring in a law that would make the chairmen of clubs reveal their accounts like other businesses. It was turned down, but I think it is an important story that will make a good film."

"I played for Santos at 16, and we had an excellent team, so it helped a lot. And then I played for Brazil at the Maracana against Argentina. So I get more experience. This was one year before the World Cup, and it made a lot of difference."

"When you play against dirty players or very tough players, it's easy to escape because you know what they're going to do. But when the player is tough but intelligent, it's much more difficult."

"When you are young, you do a lot of stupid things."

"When I retired, at that time I had a lot of proposals to play in Europe, England, Italy, Spain, Mexico. But I said no, after 18 years I want to rest, because I want to retire."

"To be a striker you need to be in good shape."

"Everything is practice." ( Meaning )

"A lot of people, when a guy scores a lot of goals, think, 'He's a great player', because a goal is very important, but a great player is a player who can do everything on the field. He can do assists, encourage his colleagues, give them confidence to go forward. It is someone who, when a team does not do well, becomes one of the leaders."

"I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players."

"Pele doesn't die. Pele will never die. Pele is going to go on for ever."

"When I was a footballer, I surrounded myself with footballers. We were all friends. But in Brasilia you don't know who your friends are. It can be a dangerous place."

"The World Cup is a very complicated tournament - six games, seven if you make it to the final - and maybe if you lose one game you're out, even if you're the best."

"Everybody knows my life. I won a lot of tournaments and scored more than 1,000 goals, won three World Cups but I could not play in Olympic Games."

"Brazil's always had great players, both at home and abroad, but we need to put all that talent together and mould a team out of it."

"I was really proud that I was named after Thomas Edison and wanted to be called Edson. I thought Pele sounded horrible. It was a rubbish name. Edson sounded so much more serious and important."

"Everything on earth is a game. A passing thing. We all end up dead. We all end up the same." ( Meaning )

― Pele Quotes

* The editor of this short biography made every effort to maintain information accuracy, including any quotes, facts, or key life events. If you're looking to expand your personal development, I recommend exploring other people's life stories and gaining inspiration from my collection of inspiring quotes . Exposing yourself to different perspectives can broaden your worldview and help you with your personal growth.

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Pelé, Brazilian soccer legend, dies at 82

Brazilian soccer icon Pelé, regarded as the sport’s greatest player, whose wizardry on the pitch helped popularize it as “the beautiful game,” died Thursday after a yearlong bout with cancer.

His daughter confirmed the death on Instagram. “Everything we are is because of you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace,” Kely Nascimento wrote.

The Brazilian legend , whose real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, helped his country win the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and he remains the national team’s co-scoring leader, with 77 goals in 92 matches.

Brazil's current superstar, Neymar, tied him at the 2022 Qatar World Cup , scoring his 77th goal in 124 games.

A post on Pelé’s Facebook page said he “enchanted the world with his genius in sport, stopped a war, carried out social works all over the world and spread what he most believed to be the cure for all our problems: love.”

“His message today becomes a legacy for future generations,” the post said.

Pelé became the World Cup's youngest scorer in 1958 when he bagged a goal against Wales in Stockholm at the age of 17 years and 239 days. His record still stands, and he is still the only player under 18 to have scored in a World Cup.

He would also help Brazil triumph in the 1962 tournament in Chile, and, after injury ruled him out of the competition four years later in England, he lit up the Mexico World Cup in 1970.

Speaking to soccer's governing body, FIFA, for Pelé's 80th birthday tribute, Tarcisio Burgnich, an Italian defender in the final that year, admitted that he had struggled against him.

“I told myself before the game, ‘He’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else,’” he said. “But I was wrong.”

Pelé's name and dominance on the pitch came to represent the sport itself.

While North Americans know the game as “soccer” and most of the globe knows it as “football,” virtually everyone agrees it’s “the beautiful game”  — or “o jogo bonito” to Brazilians and Portuguese.

While the exact origins of that phrase can be debated, its popularization can be traced to the 1977 biography “Pele, My Life and the Beautiful Game” by Pelé and Robert L. Fish.

Born into poverty in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state on Oct. 23, 1940, Pelé honed his skills playing with a grapefruit before he signed with the Brazilian team Santos at age 15.

He would go on to great success with the team, winning over 20 major titles, before he signed with the New York Cosmos in the fledgling North American Soccer League in 1975.

Pelé and the Cosmos played a key role in building the sport’s U.S. profile and popularity before he closed out his professional career in 1977.

The glamorous Cosmos, led by aging stars such as Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia, won Soccer Bowl '77 and along the way attracted some of the biggest crowds that had ever seen a soccer match on U.S. soil.

Pelé's Cosmos defeated the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in a playoff match before 77,691 fans at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was the biggest crowd to ever see an NASL match.

The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes Pelé as having scored the most goals during a specified period, with 1,279 in 1,363 games from Sept. 7, 1956, to Oct. 1, 1977.

Such was his acclaim that Pelé transcended the world of sport, becoming a recognizable figure even to those who did not follow the game. He rubbed shoulders with the likes of boxing's Muhammad Ali , Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger and pop artist Andy Warhol , who created a portrait of him.

“Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries,” Warhol said.

Pelé also was a regular White House visitor, gaining invitations from Presidents Richard Nixon , Gerald Ford , Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan .

In 1986, when Reagan invited Pelé for a state dinner in honor of Brazilian President José Sarney, he said: “My name is Ronald Reagan. I’m the president of the United States of America. But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is.”

After his soccer career ended, Pelé starred in several movies, including “Escape to Victory,” starring Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine, and several documentaries about his life.

But he was perhaps best known for his ambassadorial work with the United Nations, in which he campaigned against the aggressive marketing of baby milk formulas and on environmental issues, among other causes.

In 1999, he was recognized as one of Time magazine’s “100 Persons of the Century.”

A supporter of various charities throughout his life, he set up the Pelé Foundation in 2018 to help impoverished children.

Married three times, Pelé confessed in a 2021 Netflix documentary named after him that he had so many affairs that he didn’t even know how many children he had.

His seven known offspring include Sandra Machado, whom he refused to acknowledge even after a court-ordered DNA test proved she was his daughter. She would go on to write the book “The Daughter the King Didn’t Want,” before she died in 2006 at 42.

Five other children — Kelly, 55; Edinho, 51; Jennifer, 43; and twins Joshua and Celeste, 25 — came from his first two marriages, to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi and Assiria Lemos Seixas. His daughter Flávia Kurtz, 53, was born to Lenita Kurtz in 1968.

In 2016, Pelé married his third wife, Márcia Cibele Aoki, whom he described as his “definitive love” on social media.

Pelé had surgery to remove a colon tumor in September 2021 and had been checking in with the Albert Einstein hospital in the Brazilian city of São Paulo every month since.

The hospital said he was admitted late last month to regulate medication for an infection.

News of his death sent shock waves throughout the sports world and beyond. Former England soccer player Gary Lineker said Pelé was the “ most divine of footballers and joyous of men ,” while Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo said a “mere ‘goodbye’ ... will never be enough to express the pain that the entire football world is currently embracing.”

French soccer player Kylian Mbappé said on Twitter : “The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten. RIP KING.”

Former England star Geoff Hurst said on Twitter that Pelé was "without doubt the best footballer I ever played against."

“For me Pele remains the greatest of all time and I was proud to be on the pitch with him. RIP Pele and thank you,” he tweeted.

André Ceciliano, the state deputy of Rio de Janeiro, called Pelé the “greatest Brazilian sporting idol of all time.”

“Brazil is in mourning,” he said in a tweet . “Thank you for everything.”

Former U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted: "Pelé was one of the greatest to ever play the beautiful game . And as one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together."

"Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him," he said.

Mithil Aggarwal is a Hong Kong-based reporter/producer for NBC News.

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Movie Review: ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ brings beloved book to life in a familiar story

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Zachary Levi in a scene from “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” (Sony Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Zachary Levi, background left, Benjamin Bottani, left, Lil Rel Howery, background right, and Zooey Deschanel in a scene from “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” (Sony Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Zachary Levi, right, and Lil Rel Howery in a scene from “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” (Sony Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows a scene from “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” (Sony Pictures via AP)

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“Harold and the Purple Crayon,” the famed 1955 children’s picture book, is getting the three-dimensional treatment nearly 70 years after its release.

The picture book , written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson, follows Harold, a child who can create whatever he can imagine, so long as he draws it with his magic purple crayon. The film adaptation opens with a short animated sequence that gives life to the book’s famous illustrations. But how far can a children’s picture book stretch across an hour and a half-long movie? Not very.

After the film gets through the book’s story in about a minute, the narrator says that the book’s ending was not the close of Harold’s story. Cut to an animated adult Harold, all grown up but still in a onesie, with his purple sketched friends, Moose and Porcupine, as they venture around their two-dimensional existence and wonder what goes on in “the real world.”

After some brief exposition and short narration by Alfred Molina, Harold (Zachary Levi) draws a door labeled “Real World” and walks through it. He’s then miraculously spit out in Providence, Rhode Island, as a “real” person. Moose and Porcupine, played by Lil Rel Howery and Tanya Reynolds, respectively, follow through the magical door shortly after. Together, they embark on a mission to find the book’s narrator and author — the “old man,” as they call him — to ask him why he created them and their story.

What we get from there is something that feels like a hybrid of characters played by Amy Adams in “Enchanted” and Will Ferrell in “Elf”: an adult person who left their animated or fantasy world and is incredibly unfamiliar with reality. It’s an entertaining idea to see someone so naive navigating everyday life, but it feels rather derivative.

Much like her character in “Elf,” Zooey Deschanel plays Terry, a “real world” woman who is unenthused by our other-worldly protagonist’s antics for the better part of the movie. As the mother of the young and creative Mel (Benjamin Bottani), Terry hits Harold and Moose with her car, and eventually lets them stay at her house after some convincing from her son.

Predictably, shenanigans ensue as Harold lacks understanding of how to behave as the adult everyone sees him as (and wreaks havoc with his magic crayon). Levi is terribly earnest as Harold, making his hijinks more endearing.

Director Carlos Saldanha, an animation veteran who helmed the “Ice Age” franchise and the “Rio” movies, keeps the story moving with light humor and fun visuals sprinkled throughout. The imaginative animation over the live-action shots is the movie’s highlight, as Harold can still create anything with his purple crayon in the real world. With more colors and dimensions to play with now, he draws everything from a plane they fly over Rhode Island to Mel’s imaginary pet, which is some sort of dragon-lizard hybrid.

The plot, again, feels familiar when we meet the villain, librarian Gary, who wants to wield the powers of the crayon to feed his self-serving interests. Gary (Jemaine Clement) uses the crayon to make the fantasy world of his failing book come to life so he can get “revenge” on the publishers who turned it down. As far as conflict goes, it falls a little flat, but it does result in a sweet lesson of empathy; Gary says he just wanted to be in a place where he can fit in and Harold, using the crayon for good, creates that world for him.

While much of the movie may feel well-worn, I’d wager many copies of “Harold and the Purple Crayon” have seen better days. It’s the kind of children’s book that’s stayed on shelves through multiple generations. Even if the book’s story has been told and the movie’s format has been done before, a movie that reminds us to be imaginative — and that delivers some imaginative visuals to boot — can’t really get old.

“Harold and the Purple Crayon,” a Columbia Pictures release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for mild action and thematic elements. Running time: 92 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Missing 80-year-old saved by devoted Lab who waited with her for days until rescuers came

This is the story of elsie, a very devoted lab, who was with her 80-year-old owner when they got lost, and stayed by her side for 3 days and 2 nights until elsie could alert nearby rescue crews..

They say a dog is a man's (or woman's) best friend and this 5-year-old chocolate Labrador proves it, staying by his owner's side for three days and two nights as crews searched for the missing woman.

An 80-year-old woman from Colorado who has dementia was visiting her family's summer home in a remote area of central Utah when she wandered out of their cabin last month. Elsie, a 5-year-old chocolate Labrador, was by her side. When the woman's family, who were busy making dinner, realized she had gone missing, they went looking for her. When they were unable to find her, they alerted authorities and contacted the Emery County Sheriff’s Office for help. Multiple rescue crews with various agencies sprang into action to locate the missing lady and dog but were unsuccessful in their efforts.

Ralph Mitchell, a resident of the Joes Valley located in the remote mountains of central Utah, who has known the missing woman's family for over 50 years told USA TODAY an extensive search involving the sheriff's office, local authorities and members of the community was conducted to locate the woman. Helicopters and drones were deployed, personnel were dispatched on motorcycles and trail bikes, and members of the community went door to door looking for the woman, Mitchell said. No expense was spared, and all surrounding areas were checked continuously for two days and two nights.

James Thomas, a K9 officer with the Utah Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division, told USA TODAY that he and his K9 Kip joined search efforts on the second day the woman was missing. Kip is trained to pick up human tracks and odors, Thomas said.

Thomas explained that high temperatures in the mornings and afternoons hindered their search and "working at night," when the temperatures were cooler was the "best option" for them. Thomas said during their search they heard faint dog barks multiple times alerting them and giving them an idea "where to start looking a little bit more in depth."

"When I was out checking the outbuildings, I heard a dog bark and it was brief," Mitchell said. "I was in a very good position to get a direction on where this dog bark was coming from."

When he heard the bark, he reached out to the missing woman's husband telling her what he heard, and the husband told him that their pet of five years had also been missing with the woman.

Security footage gives investigators direction

On the morning of the third day, Thomas said authorities were able to get hold of security footage from one of the neighbor's cameras, that showed the woman walking past that cabin with her dog.

"It was the first evidence that we had of her presence, and it gave us a timeline of when she was out in walking and how long she'd been missing," Mitchell said.

Thomas said the footage gave them an idea of which direction the woman may have headed in, and he and Mitchell split ways and "hit the hillsides" to continue their search.

Rugged terrain and steep climb

Mitchell said he followed his instincts, having years of training as a first responder under his belt, and went in the direction where heard the barking, even though the terrain was getting extremely rugged, steep and brushy.

"I can see why the K-9 unit had discontinued their search in that area," Mitchell said. "It was very unlikely that this 80-year-old woman would have gone up into such a rough country, but I kept going."

Mitchell said he saw a couple of very slight tracks showing someone had passed that way, despite the ground being very dry and hot. Mitchell continued to follow the tracks, passing through thick brush laced with cactus and rocks, and calling out the dog, until he came about 15 feet of the woman.

That's when the dog barked again, Mitchell said, leading them to the woman.

Woman found with dog by her side

When she was finally found after an extensive search of three days and two nights, Thomas said the woman was asleep with her face down and her dog right by her side. Mitchell said she had sticks in her hair and had lost her shoes.

"She was all scratched up and had bruises on her arms," Thomas said, adding she was also "super dehydrated."

However, she was alert and was happy to see all those who came to rescue her, said Thomas. He shared that the woman did not have any recollection of her ordeal and trauma.

Because there was no cell phone coverage in the area, Mitchell said he started yelling and whistling to alert the family and neighbors, before going down the hill to get them along with water and other provisions for first aid.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, in a post on Facebook , said the woman was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation and Mitchell told USA TODAY Wednesday that the woman is back home and doing well.

Mitchell said the family is incredibly grateful towards everyone involved in rescuing the missing woman and especially thanked him for not only saving the matriarch of their family, but also saved a lifetime of memories for them in a place that they love to be in.

Traveling with dogs? Strict rules about flying with dogs start Thursday, after months of confusion

As for Elsie, Mitchell said she was taken to a vet for a checkup and was dehydrated but is doing well.

"In my story, the outcome is that the dog ultimately is responsible for me being able to find her," Mitchell said. "The dog is ultimately the hero in all this for her loyalty to her owner. That dog's determination to stay with her owner and her devotion and dedication is really commendable."

"Most likely the brief barking that I heard and led me to find her was probably the dog defending the owner from a coyote or another wild animal," he added.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources also credited the woman's rescue to her dog, saying that its barking alerted those searching in the area.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

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14-year-old sensation Cavan Sullivan catches eye of sports world as blossoming MLS prodigy

August 4, 2024 / 5:38 PM EDT / AP

Outside the home clubhouse, a teen with close-cropped, bleached-white hair waited for Bryce Harper. The kid was in a Philadelphia Phillies jersey, flap open, a gold chain against his bare chest. Most kids Cavan Sullivan's age would grow bug-eyed or feel some jitters meeting the Phillies slugger. Most kids Cavan Sullivan's age would plead for a selfie.

Cavan Sullivan is not most kids . Never has been, not since he was ordained as soccer's next big thing before he could buy a ticket for a PG-13 movie.

At 14 years, 293 days old, Sullivan became the youngest player to appear in a game for any major professional sports league when he made his July debut for the Philadelphia Union.

The teen soccer phenom caught the attention of a former teen prodigy who knows more about baseball but also a thing or two about soccer. Harper is a bit of a soccer nut. His wife played in college. He sent fans into a frenzy when he celebrated a home run in MLB's London Series with a soccer-style slide, then roared in the dugout, "I love soccer!"

Harper has handled the unwieldy expectations that came with being a Sports Illustrated cover boy at 16. It's the kind of career blueprint Sullivan would love to follow, the prospect who spins potential into greatness rather than slips into a whatever-happened-to trivia answer.

"Your skills are incredible, bro. Incredible," Harper told him that day.

"You've seen a few clips?" Sullivan said.

Yeah, Harper's seen a few. After Sullivan gifted Harper a Union jersey with the Phillies first baseman's name on the back, the midfielder sounded more like a sage World Cup veteran than a high schooler who needs to hitch rides to practice.

"As you know, lot of work to do still," Sullivan said. "The hype doesn't really mean anything."

The hype is real in Philly, mushrooming by the day in MLS and could go global by the time he is expected to transfer to English Premier League powerhouse Manchester City when he is 18.

It's the kind of start Sullivan has dreamed of his entire life. All 14 years.

"I'd say I realized I could be a pro at 10 or 11," Sullivan says. "I think that's when I posted my first highlight reel. ... People said stuff that I didn't imagine, thinking that I could be where I am today. It came out true."

Sullivan was younger than any player who has appeared in the NBA, NHL, NFL, WNBA or Major League Baseball since at least 1970, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, though 14-year-old McKenna Whitham made her NWSL debut this past week with Gotham at 10 months younger than Sullivan.

The Sullivans are a soccer family. He is the second child of collegiate soccer players at Penn, Brendan and Heike Sullivan. Oldest brother Quinn already plays for the Union, and younger brothers Ronan and Declan are in the team's pipeline. Union coach Jim Curtin played soccer at Villanova under Sullivan's grandfather, Larry. Brendan Sullivan coached under his father at Villanova, all the familiar ties needed to ease the family's comfort level with turning Cavan pro so young.

His earliest soccer memory, "shirtless in diapers kicking stuff at (stuffed) animals" was enough to send Sullivan on the road from his Norristown, Pennsylvania, home to a future in Europe.

His mother recalled the overwhelming feeling when fans recognized Sullivan at the Union stadium and started asking for autographs. That was before he made history; he has since popped up around the area, pushing fast-food chicken for a promotional campaign. He's been filmed for a documentary and was mobbed on a day off with his family by autograph seekers at the shore. He threw out the first pitch at that Phillies game.

"Better throw a strike or they'll boo you," manager Rob Thomson warned Sullivan in his office.

Sure enough, Sullivan uncorked a wild one, way high. The Philly crowd went easy.

"I aimed high," Sullivan said. "It just kept going."

More than a pro soccer career has been accelerated for Sullivan. He should be starting his freshman year of high school but is, instead, headed into his junior year at the YSC Academy, a soccer-specific high school where his dad is a humanities instructor.

"I feel like, if I work now, I can have fun later," he said. "But I'm having fun. I'm working every day. That's the beauty of it."

So this is the part of Sullivan's story where mom and dad and kid and coach say, sure, he could be a future Messi but he's just like any other kid his age. He sleeps late and goofs around and Snapchats girls and plays videogames and .. no. None of that.

Sullivan's fun: soccer. His home life: soccer. His hobbies: soccer, soccer and soccer. He laughed and said no when asked if he played FIFA, at least not regularly. Sullivan still lives at home where soccer reigns over a social life, where mom says: "Prodigy was not a word used in our house."

"Do all of my kids sort of miss out on some of those normal childhood things? Yes," Heike says. "Is Cavan's probably exacerbated by his situation? Absolutely. ... Yes, he is missing out on fun childhood things, and we've had conversations about that. He does not seem to be bothered by that."

One reason, among many that include instant fame, endorsements, nearly 72,000 TikTok followers and 245,000 Instagram followers, is a reported $500,000 salary. The Union negotiated a $5 million transfer deal with Man City, winner of Premier League titles from 2021 to 2024.

The collaborative transfer agreement makes Sullivan's deal unusual. It signals that the Premier League club trusts that the Union can develop an elite player.

Sullivan can't play for Manchester City until he is 18. But he holds a German passport that could allow him to move to Europe and play for City-affiliated teams — like Girona in Spain or Palermo in Italy — when he turns 16.

"Man City doesn't mean anything," Sullivan says, "if I don't do anything here."

Heike Sullivan says 99% of Cavan's money is invested, with the rest in a checking account. He gets financial guidance from his mother, a top Philadelphia attorney, and they read together every detail in a contract.

His family, the Union and Man City have lined up the tools Sullivan needs to thrive and reach the heights projected for him. But for every Harper, every LeBron James, every Sidney Crosby, there are far more can't-miss teen sensations who missed. Freddy Adu, a pro at just 14, was christened the next Pele but bounced around without leaving much of a legacy.

"That is a data point that's important to learn from," Heike said. "But I think his situation is different. He still has to go to school, that's something we're on top of him about. Recognizing that this is an entirely new situation for us, I think we are smart enough, educated enough, well-guided enough, by his agent, things like that, to keep him on the right path."

Even with elite athletes such as Harper wanting to meet him, Sullivan has remained humble in his new life as a sports attraction.

"Fame doesn't really mean much to me," he said. "It's really about the soccer side of things and what you can do with the ball at your feet."

So far, pretty good. Sullivan was named the best player at the CONCACAF Under-15 championships. He had a pair of assists in the 4-2 victory over Mexico in the final. The next chance to potentially catch him is Sunday in a Leagues Cup game, a tournament in the MLS regular season.

"Right now, we think this is the best environment for him to play in a place where he has a full support system," said Curtin, the Union's coach since 2014. Though he allows: "He's going to play at the very highest level that this sport has."

Or take it from Harper, who had to get his introduction in while he can: Philly is just the genesis of what could be a fruitful career well beyond MLS.

Cracked Harper: "Don't forget about all of us when you go to Manchester City."

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