Brazilian soccer icon Pele has died at age of 82 years his daughter Kely Nascimento confirmed on instagram.
Pele( 23 October 1940- 29 December 2022) the Brazilian soccer icon who brought the World Cup trophy to his home country three times, becoming an international superstar and the highest-paid team athlete in the world at the time.
The standard-bearer of the beautiful game had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical centre where he had been hospitalized for the last month said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer.
Pele’s performance and humanity changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment, Neymar, a fellow Brazilian soccer star player , said on Instagram. “Football and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure. Pele is eternal!”
Widely regarded as one of soccer’s greatest players, Pele spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team.
He carried Brazil to soccer’s heights and became a global ambassador for his sport in a journey that began on the streets of Sao Paulo state, where he would kick a sock stuffed with newspapers or rags.
The player who was called “The King” was introduced to the world at 17 at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the youngest player ever at the tournament. He was carried off the field on teammates’ shoulders after scoring two goals in Brazil’s 5-2 victory over the host country in the final.
injury limited him to just two games when Brazil retained the world title in 1962, but Pelé was the emblem of his country’s World Cup triumph of 1970 in Mexico. He scored in the final and set up Carlos Alberto with a nonchalant pass for the last goal in a 4-1 victory over Italy.
The civil war in Nigeria cease-fire due to Pele
Pele’s fame was such that in 1967 factions of a civil war in Nigeria agreed to a brief cease-fire so he could play an exhibition match in the country. He was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. When he visited Washington to help popularize the game in North America, it was the U.S. president who stuck out his hand first.
“My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the president of the United States of America,” the host said to his visitor. “But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pele is.”
Pele was Brazil’s first modern Black national hero but rarely spoke about racism in a country where the rich and powerful tend to hail from the white minority.
Opposing fans taunted Pelé with monkey chants at home and all over the world.
“He said that he would never play if he had to stop every time he heard those chants,” said Angelica Basthi, one of Pelé’s biographers. “He is key for Black people’s pride in Brazil, but never wanted to be a flagbearer.”
Pele’s life after soccer took many forms. He was a politician — Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport — a wealthy businessman, and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations.
He had roles in movies, soap operas and even composed songs and recorded CDs of popular Brazilian music.
Other legend statement on Pele
“To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full.” – Nelson Mandela.
“I told myself before the game, he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong.” – Italy’s Tarcisio Burgnich, after playing against Pele in the 1970 World Cup Final.
“Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.” – Andy Warhol.
“I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” – Sir Bobby Charlton, retired England great who won 1966 World Cup and Ballon d’Or in the same year.
Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.” – Johan Cruyff, the late Dutch star and standout manager who won the Ballon d’Or three times
He is the most complete player I have ever seen.” – Retired German great Franz Beckenbauer.
If you take the qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi, put them together, then you’d have a player to compare to Pelé!” – Retired Brazil forward Tostao.
The best player ever? Pele. (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pele was better.”-Alfredo Di Stefano, the late Argentine star for Real Madrid.
“His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game.” – Brazil defender Carlos Alberto Torres.
“The greatest player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that.” – Hungary star Ferenc Puskas.
Pele’s Career
Pele’s talent drew attention when he was 11, and a local professional player brought him to Santos’ youth squads. It didn’t take long for him to make it to the senior squad.
Despite his youth and height, he scored against grown men with the same ease he displayed against friends back home. He debuted with the Brazilian club at 16 in 1956, and the club quickly gained worldwide recognition.
The name Pele came from him mispronouncing the name of a player called Bile.
He went to the 1958 World Cup at the age 17 years old as a reserve but became a key player for his country’s championship team. His first goal, in which he flicked the ball over the head of a defender and raced around him to volley it home, was voted as one of the best in FIFA World Cup history.
The 1966 World Cup in England — won by the hosts — was a bitter one for Pele, by then already considered the world’s top player. Brazil was knocked out in the group stage and Pelé, angry at the rough treatment, swore it was his last World Cup.
He changed his mind and was rejuvenated in the 1970 World Cup. In a game against England, he struck a header for a certain score, but the great goalkeeper Gordon Banks flipped the ball over the bar in an astonishing move. Pele likened the save one of the best in World Cup history to a “salmon climbing up a waterfall.” Later, he scored the opening goal in the final against Italy, his last World Cup match.
Goals
In all, Pele played 114 matches with Brazil, scoring a record 95 goals, including 77 goals in the games official matches. His total was 1279 goals in 1363 games in his career.
FIFA world cup
Pele in their career won the three FIFA world cup –
1958- FIFA world cup
1962- FIFA world cup
1970- FIFA world cup
Pele’s World record
- Pele is the youngest scorer, youngest hat-trick scorer, youngest finalist and youngest player to score in a Final in World Cup history.
- Gunnar Gren, who competed against Brazil in the 1958 decider, made his Sweden debut before Pele was born. Never has such an age gap – 20 years – existed between opponents in a World Cup Final.
- Uwe Seeler, Pele, Miroslav Klose, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the only men to score at four or more World Cups. The West German pipped the Brazilian to become the first to do so by less than three minutes in 1970.
- Vava, Pele, Paul Breitner, Zinedine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé are the only players to have scored in two World Cup Finals.
- Pele registered six assists at Mexico 1970 – a record for one World Cup. Four players managed five: Robert Gadocha at Germany 1974, Pierre Littbarski at Spain 1982, Diego Maradona at Mexico 1986 and Thomas Hassler at USA 1994. Pele also recorded an unprecedented three assists in deciders: one against Sweden in 1958 and two against Italy in 1970.
Pele retired time
He went into semi-retirement after the 1972 season. Wealthy European clubs tried to sign him, but the Brazilian government intervened to keep him from being sold, declaring him a national treasure.
Family
Pele’s father is Dondinho and mother’s name is Celeste Arantes. Pele married three times in their life and had seven children .
- 1st in-1966 with Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi , they had two daughter
- 2nd in -1994 with psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas
- 3rd in -2016 with 41-year-old Marcia Aoki.
Pele’s net worth
Total net worth of Pele according to news sources is about $100 million in 2023.
He earns a lot of money by playing football and also by doing endorsement and advertisements deals.
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