Greatest soccer player of all time. Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He is widely regarded as the greatest football player of all time.

1. Pelé
greatest soccer
player of all
time

3. Top scorer of all time
With an incredible 1281 goals
in 1363 games

4. Edson Arantes do
Nascimento
known as Pelé

10. That same year, Pelé was elected Athlete of
the Century by the International Olympic
Committee. According to the IFFHS, Pelé is
the most successful league goal-scorer in
the world, scoring 1281 goals in 1363
games, which included unofficial friendlies
and tour games. During his playing days,
Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete
in the world.

11.  Pelé began playing for Santos 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.

12. 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, and led them to the 1962 and 1963
Copa Libertadores.
• Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for
spectacular goals" made him a star around the
world, and his teams toured internationally in
order to take full advantage of his popularity.
• 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.

13. Pelé has also been known for connecting the
phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football.
A prolific goalscorer, Pelé was known for his
ability to strike powerful and accurate shots
with both feet in addition to anticipating his
opponents' movements on the field.
Early in his career, he played in a variety of
attacking formations and would use his
dribbling skills to go past opponents.

14. Early in his career, he played in a
variety of attacking formations
and would use his dribbling skills
to go past opponents.
In his later career, he played in a playmaking role
behind offensive strikers. In Brazil, he is hailed as a
national hero for his accomplishments in football
and for his outspoken support of policies that
improve the social conditions of the poor.
Throughout his career and in his retirement, Pelé
received several individual and team awards for his
performance in the field, his record-breaking
achievements, and legacy in the sport.

16. Pelé was born
on 23 October
1940, in Três
Corações,
Minas Gerais,
Brazil, the son
of Fluminense
footballer
Dondinho
(born João
Ramos do
Nascimento)
and Celeste
Arantes.
He was the
elder of two
siblings. He
was named
after the
American
inventor
Thomas
Edison.
His parents
decided to
remove the "i"
and call him
"Edson", but
there was a
mistake on the
birth
certificate,
leading many
documents to
show his name
as "Edison",
not "Edson", as
he is called.
He was
originally
nicknamed
"Dico" by his
family.

17. He received the
nickname "Pelé"
during his school
days, when it is
claimed he was
given it because of
his pronunciation of
the name of his
favourite player,
local Vasco da Gama
goalkeeper Bilé,
which he misspoke
but the more he
complained the
more it stuck.
In his
autobiography, Pelé
stated he had no
idea what the name
means, nor did his
old friends.
Apart from the
assertion that the
name is derived
from that of Bilé,
and that it is
Hebrew for
"miracle” the word
has no known
meaning in
Portuguese.

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

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

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

21. When the 1957
season started, Pelé
was given a starting
place in the first
team and, at the
age of 16, became
the top scorer in
the league.
Ten months after signing professionally,
the teenager was called up to the Brazil
national team. After the 1962 World
Cup, wealthy European clubs such as
Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester
United tried to sign him, but the
government of Brazil under President
Jânio Quadros had declared Pelé an
"official national treasure" the year
before to prevent him from being
transferred out of the country.

22. Pelé won his first major
title with Santos in 1958
as the team won
the Campeonato Paulista;
Pelé would finish the
tournament as top scorer
with 58 goals, a record
that stands today.
A year later, he would
help the team earn their
first victory in the Torneio
Rio-São Paulo with a 3–0
over Vasco da Gama.
However, Santos was
unable to retain the
Paulista title.
In 1960, Pelé scored 33
goals to help his team
regain the Campeonato
Paulista trophy but lost
out on the Rio-São Paulo
tournament after
finishing in 8th place.

23. In the 1960 season, Pelé
scored 47 goals and
helped Santos retain the
Campeonato Paulista.
The club went on to win
the Taça Brasil that same
year, beating Bahia in the
finals; Pelé finished as top
scorer of the tournament
with 9 goals.
The victory allowed Santos
to participate in the Copa
Libertadores, the most
prestigious club
tournament in the
Western hemisphere.

24. Santos's most successful Copa Libertadores season
started in 1962; the team was seeded in Group One
alongside Cerro Porteño and Deportivo Municipal Bolivia,
winning every match of their group but one (a 1–1 away
tie versus Cerro).
Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the
semifinals and met defending champions Peñarol in
the finals. Pelé scored twice in the playoff match to
secure the first title for a Brazilian club.
Pelé finished as the second top scorer of
the competition with four goals.

25. That same year, Santos would successfully defend the
Campeonato Brasileiro (with 37 goals from Pelé) and the
Taça Brasil (Pelé scoring four goals in the final series
against Botafogo).
Santos would also
win the 1962
Intercontinental Cup
against Benfica.
Wearing his number 10 shirt, Pelé produced one of the
best performances of hs career, scoring a hat-trick in
Lisbon as Santos won 5–2.

26. The ballet blanco, the
nickname given to Santos
for Pelé, managed to
retain the title after
victories over Botafogo
and Boca Juniors.
Pelé helped Santos overcome a
Botafogo team that contained
Brazilian legends such as
Garrincha and Jairzinho with a
last-minute goal in the first leg
of the semi-finals which made it
1–1.
In the second leg, Pelé scored a hat-trick
in the Estádio do Maracanã as Santos won,
0–4, in the second leg. Santos started the
final series by winning, 3–2, in the first leg
and defeating Boca Juniors 1–2, in La
Bombonera.
It was a rare feat in
official competitions, with
another goal from Pelé.

27. In the 1964 Copa Libertadores,
Santos were beaten in both legs
of the semi-finals by
Independiente.
The club won the Campeonato
Paulista, with Pelé netting 34
goals. Santos also shared the Rio-
São Paulo title with Botafogo and
won the Taça Brasil for the fourth
consecutive year.
In the 1965 Copa Libertadores,
Santos reached the semi-finals
and met Peñarol in a rematch
of the 1962 final.
After two matches, a playoff was
needed to break the tie. Unlike
1962, Peñarol came out on top and
eliminated Santos 2–1.

28. This proved to be the start of a decline as Santos failed to retain the Torneio Rio-São
Paulo.
In 1966, Pelé and Santos also failed to retain the Taça Brasil as Pelé's goals were not
enough to prevent a 9–4 defeat by Cruzeiro (led by Tostão) in the final series.
The club did, however, win the Campeonato Paulista in 1967, 1968 and 1969.
On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1000th goal in all competitions, in what was a
highly anticipated moment in Brazil.
The goal, popularly dubbed O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against
Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.

29. • Pelé states that his most memorable goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a
Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rival Clube Atlético Juventus on 2
August 1959.
• As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation
be made of this specific goal.
• In March 1961, Pelé scored the gol de placa (goal worthy of a plaque), against
Fluminense at the Maracanã.
• Pelé received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, and ran the length of
the field, eluding opposition players with feints, before striking the ball beyond the
goalkeeper.
• A plaque was commissioned with a dedication to "the most beautiful goal in the
history of the Maracanã".
• In 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour
ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos.
• During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito,
Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks,
and goals.

30. New York Cosmos
• Pelé signing a football for U.S. President Richard Nixon at the White House in 1973,
two years before joining the New York Cosmos.
• After the 1974 season (his 19th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football
although he continued to occasionally play for Santos in official competitive matches.
• Two years later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of
the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season.
• Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé was credited with significantly
increasing public awareness and interest of the sport in the United States.
• Hoping to fuel the same kind of awareness in the Dominican Republic, he and the
Cosmos team played in an exhibition match against Haitian team, Violette AC, in the
Santo Domingo Olympic Stadium on 3 June 1976, where over 25,000 fans watched
him score a winning goal in the last seconds of the match, leading the Cosmos to a 2–

31. • He led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL championship,
in his third and final season with the club.
• Pelé (left) with Eusébio (far right) before a game in
the NASL in April 1977.
• On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed out his career in an
exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos.
Santos arrived in New York after previously defeating
the Seattle Sounders in New Jersey, 2–0.
• The match was played in front of a sold out crowd at
Giants Stadium and was televised in the United
States on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as
throughout the world.
• Pelé's father and wife both attended the match, as
well as Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore.

32.  Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against
Argentina on 7 July 1957 at the Maracanã.
 In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16
years and nine months to become the youngest player to
score in international football.
1958 World Cup
 Pelé arrived in Sweden sidelined by a knee injury but on
his return from the treatment room, his colleagues stood
together and insisted upon his selection.
 His first match was against the USSR in the third match of
the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where he
gave the assist to Vavá's second goal.
 He was the youngest player of that tournament, and at
the time the youngest ever to play in the World Cup.
Against France in the semifinal, Brazil was leading 2–1 at
halftime, and then Pelé scored a hat-trick, becoming the
youngest in World Cup history to do so.

33.  On 29 June 1958, Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final
match at 17 years and 249 days.
 He scored two goals in that final as Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in Stockholm, the
capital.
 His first goal where he flicked the ball over a defender before volleying into the
corner of the net, was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the
World Cup.
 Following Pelé's second goal, Swedish player Sigvard Parling would later
comment; "When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that Final, I have to be honest
and say I felt like applauding".
 When the match ended, Pelé passed out on the field, and was revived by
Garrincha.
 He then recovered, and was compelled by the victory to weep as he was being
congratulated by his teammates.
 He finished the tournament with six goals in four matches played, tied for
second place, behind record-breaker Just Fontaine, and was named best young
player of the tournament.

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

35. South
American
Championship
Pelé also played in the
South American
Championship. In the
1959 competition he
was named best player
of the tournament and
was top scorer with 8
goals, as Brazil came
second despite being
unbeaten in the
tournament.
1962 World
Cup
Pelé fighting for a
ball against the
Swedish
goalkeeper Kalle
Svensson during
the 1958 World
Cup final

36. 1966 World Cup
• Pelé was the most famous footballer in the world
during the 1966 World Cup in England, and Brazil
fielded some world champions
like Garrincha, Gilmar and Djalma Santos with the
addition of other stars like Jairzinho, Tostão and Gérson,
leading to high expectations for them.

37. • Brazil was eliminated in the first round, playing only three matches.
• The World Cup was marked, among other things, for fouling's on
Pelé that left him injured by the Bulgarian and Portuguese
defenders.
• Pelé scored the first goal from a free kick against Bulgaria,
becoming the first player to score in three successive FIFA World
Cups, but due to his injury, a result of persistent fouling by the
Bulgarians, he missed the second game against Hungary.

38. Brazil lost that game and Pelé, although still
recovering, was brought back for the last crucial
match against Portugal at Goodison Park in
Liverpool by the Brazilian coach Vicente Feola.

39. Feola changed the entire defense, including
the goalkeeper, while in midfield he
returned to the formation of the first match.

40. During the game, Portugal defender João Morais fouled Pelé, but
was not sent off by referee George McCabe.Pelé had to stay on the
field limping for the rest of the game, since substitutes were not
allowed at that time. After this game he vowed he would never
again play in the World Cup, a decision he would later change.

41. 1970 World
Cup
• Pelé was called to the national team in early 1969,
he refused at first, but then accepted and played in
six World Cup qualifying matches, scoring six goals.
• The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was expected to be
Pelé's last. Brazil's squad for the tournament
featured major changes in relation to the 1966
squad.
• Players like Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Valdir Pereira,
Djalma Santos and Gilmar had already retired.
• However, Brazil's 1970 World Cup squad, which
included players like
Pelé, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Gérson, Carlos Alberto
Torres, Tostãoand Clodoaldo, is often considered to
be the greatest football team in history.

42. Personal Life & Legacy
• His first marriage was with Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi in 1966.
The couple was blessed with two daughters. They divorced in
1982.
• From 1981 until 1986, he was romantically involved with Xuxa,
whom, he aided to become a model. Xuxa was only 17-year-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 has separated.

43. HONOURS

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

45. 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 honorary
degree from the University of Edinburgh for ‘significant
contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as
well as his sporting achievements’.

47. Awards and Accomplishments
1956, 1958, 1960-62, 1964-65, 1967-69, 1973 Plays on Sao Paulo state champion team
1957-65, 1969, 1973 Top goal scorer in Sao Paulo league
1958, 1962, 1970 Plays on FIFA World Cup champion team
1959 Top goal scorer in Copa America
1961 Plays in Copa Liberatadores
1962-63 On World Club champion team
1962-65, 1968 On Brazilian Cup winner
1966 Plays in FIFA World Cup
1977 North American Soccer League champion team, Cosmos
1978 International Peace Award
1993 National Soccer Hall of Fame
1999 Athlete of the Century, National Olympic Committee
1999 World Sports Awards
2000 Second place, Sportsman of the Century award

48. Where Is He Now?

49.  Pele remains active in business, charities and
promotional activities, and continues to play a
major role in his own coffee company, Pele Coffee.
 He is frequently a commentator on televised
soccer games, and in 2001 signed a deal to be an
analyst with the Pan American Sports Network.

50. • Pele earns an estimated $30 million a year from endorsements and
his businesses.
• He flies around the world representing many international companies,
including Time Warner, MasterCard, Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut,
Pepsi, and his own Pele Sports & Marketing.
• Products endorsed by Pele range from soccer balls, clothing, and
equipment to a Pele soccer video game.
• He became a spokesman for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company's
anti-impotency drug, Viagra, in 2002.
• Pele also continues to work for UNICEF and other children's
organizations and is a noted philanthropist in his native Brazil, the
United States, and around the world, often visiting impoverished
countries.