One interesting thing about football (soccer) is that in every generation and every dispensation there are amazing players who put up great plays and make headlines. Lately, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, etc., are making headlines. However, in the past, names such as Diego Maradona and Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known to the world as Pelé, made headlines. Although several decades have passed since the footballing legends retired from professional football, they have continued to make headlines from time to time, with their names still entering lists of the greatest footballers of all time.
While they are the reigning kings of football at the moment, this article isn’t about Ronaldo or Messi, but about Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento). How well do you know about this fantastic player who recorded great stats while on vacation? In case you were born decades after he stopped playing football and know little or nothing about him, here are seven interesting facts about this all-time great that will blow your mind.
Bottom details
Pelé was born in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil on October 23, 1940 as Edson Arantes do Nascimento. His father, João Ramos do Nascimento (Dondinho), was also a famous football star who played for Brazilian football club Fluminense in his time. His mother’s name was Celeste Arantes and he had two older siblings.
Edson grew up in Bauru, city of São Paulo. Due to his family’s poor living conditions, he had to work in tea shops as a servant to earn extra income.
Soccer career
His journey to fame began in the state of São Paulo (Bauru to be precise) when his father taught him how to play soccer and since he couldn’t afford a soccer ball at the time, he made some. one with a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with a string. His playing skills were exceptional. he would later play for many amateur teams, including Amériquinha, São Pauloinho, Canto do Rio, Sete de Setembro and Bauru Athletic Club juniors, which he would twice lead to the São Paulo State Youth Championships.
In his mid-teens, he played indoor soccer for a team called Radium. At the same time, indoor football was beginning to gain popularity in Bauru and Pelé, who loved football, participated in the first Futebol de Salão (indoor football) competition in the region and his team won the first championship and several others.
His breakthrough came in 1956 when he signed a contract with Santos FC. In his first match for the team which ended in a 7-1 win, Pele scored the opening goal which put the game on track. Already the following season, he became the team’s top scorer and was promoted to the national team. After appearing in the 1958 and 1962 World Cup tournaments, big clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus started looking to sign him, but to no avail.
Inter Milian managed to sign him a Italian oil tycoon Angelo Moratti has been torn following the attack on the Santos president by a Brazilian fan. He led Santos to the Copa Libertadores of 1962 and 1963 and remains the club’s top goalscorer to this day.
After spending nineteen seasons with the Brazilian club, he left the team in 1974 but continued to play with them only in competitive matches. Two years after taking partial retirement, he signed a deal with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) and it is well known that his involvement with the team raised public awareness and sparked his interest in sports in the United States. He was with the club for three seasons. In his final season with the team, he led it to the 1977 NASL Championship.
He also played in the South American Championship. In 1958, Pelé was named the competition’s best player after scoring eight goals in total.
He won three FIFA World Cup trophies with the Brazilian national team (1958, 1962 and 1970), being the only player in history to have enjoyed such a career. In 1958, in the FIFA World Cup final, Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final at the age of 17. In that game, he scored two of the five goals Brazil used to beat Sweden. At the 1962 FIFA World Cup, he was ranked the best player in the world. He is also Brazil’s top scorer with 77 goals in 92 games.
In 1977 he retired from professional football. His last game was an exhibition match between the two clubs he played for (Cosmos and Santos). The game took place at Giants Stadium and was broadcast live in the United States on ABC’s Wide World of Sports and watched around the world. His parents were present, as well as Bobby Moore and Mohammed Ali.
Net value
During his active days, he was at one time, thehighest paid athlete in the world. More than four decades after his retirement, Pelé is still one of the richest ex-footballers in the world. His net worth is currently $100 million. Although he no longer plays football, the former Brazilian player earns a lot of money from endorsements.
Woman, children
Pelé was married three times and had countless mistresses. His first marriage dates back to 1966 and to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1982. In 1994 he married Assíria Lemos Seixas, a gospel singer and psychologist. In 2008, the couple separated after fourteen years of marriage.
Her third marriage was Japanese-Brazilian importer Marcia Aoki. They first met in the 1980s and then again in 2008 and started dating in 2010. After around six years, the couple tied the knot in July 2016. The former footballer has been dating in love with several other women, including Xuxa TV presenter, Anizia Machado. (housekeeper), journalist Lenita Kurtz, among others.
Pelé has several children; his first marriage to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi had three daughters – two daughters (Kelly Cristina and Jeniffer) and one son (Edinho). His son Edinho was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2014 for money laundering and drug trafficking. The sentence was later reduced to twelve years and ten months after appeal. Her second marriage produced a set of twins; Josué and Céleste, born from fertility treatments in 1996.
His affair with Anizia Machado in 1964 also produced a daughter, Sandra Machado, whom Pele refused to accept even after a DNA test and court rulings proved he was indeed her biological father. He never accepted her or her children, even after her death in 2006. The Pelé affair with journalist Lenita Kurtz also fathered a daughter, Flávia Kurtz.
Also Read: Hakeem Olajuwon Biography, Net Worth, Height, Age, Wife and Career
7 interesting facts about Pelé
1. In 1999, he was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). In the same year, he was one of the winners of the FIFA Player of the Century trophy.
2. In 1961, then-Brazilian President Jânio Quadros declared Pelé an “official national treasure” to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.
3. According to IFFHS records, Edson Arantes neNascimento is the most successful goalscorer in domestic league football history with a total of 650 goals in 694 league matches and 1281 goals in 1363 matches. This does, however, include unofficial friendlies.
4. He was never on good terms with fellow footballing legend Diego Maradona whom he often called a bad role model for youngsters.
5. He was awarded an honorary British knighthood in 1997.
6. In reality, Pelé is named after Thomas Edison (American inventor), but his parents decided to make a little readjustment. Instead of Edison, they removed the “i” and called him Edson.
7. He received his nickname Pelé during his studies. His classmates nicknamed him for his mispronunciation of the name of his favorite player, Bilé – a local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper at the time.
