Pelé: 10 Amazing Things You Must Know About The Football Legend

Many just know Pelé as a football legend but don’t know more about him.

Here are the 10 things to know about the Brazilian soccer legend, Pele who died on Thursday 29th Of December 2022, at age 82.

1. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, popularly called Pele was born October 23, 1940, and was named after the inventor of the lightbulb, Thomas Edison. The young Edson “Pelé” Arantes do Nascimento certainly showed plenty of invention in his career and lit up many a football pitch with his skills.

READ ALSO: Pele: Biography, Wife, Children, Career, Education, And Achievements

2. He was the only player to win three World Cups in football history.

3. Interestingly, Pelé got his nickname after he mispronounced the name of the Brazilian goalkeeper, Bilé, as Pelé. One of his classmates started to call him “Pelé” to tease him and the name stuck.

4. The football legend served as Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister of Sport between 1995 and 1998. He also served as a United Nations ambassador for Ecology and the Environment.

5. His father was also a footballer nicknamed Dondinho, whose claim to fame was scoring five-headed goals in a match.

6. Pele married three (3) wives: Marcia Aoki, Assíria Nascimento, and Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi, and had 7 children in his entire life.

7. Pele scored 77 for Brazil, a mark only equalled at the recent 2022 World Cup held in Qatar by Neymar.

READ ALSO: Pele: Brazil Legend Dies Aged 82 After Battle With cancer

8. Twenty-one by the time of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, an older, stronger Pele had been expected to take the tournament by storm.

9. Though he was to continue playing club football for his beloved Santos and later the New York Cosmos, Pele retired from international duty in 1971, making an emotional farewell in front of 180,000 fans at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

10. In 1977, he inspired New York to the national title in his final season with the club which featured fellow greats Franz Beckenbauer, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia and former Brazil captain Carlos Alberto.

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