Full Name: Pelé Edson Arantis do Nascimento
Date of Birth: October 23, 1940
Death: December 29, 2022 
Father: Juan Ramos do Nascimento Dondinho
Mother: Celeste Arantes.
Profile: Professional Footballer, Former Minister of Sports of Brazil
Height - 173 cm
Weight - 67 kg
Carrer End: 1977

Pele's Achievements:

●    Brazilian Champion (1961, 1962, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1968)
●    Brazil Cup Winner (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965)
●    Robertan Cup Winner (1968)
●    Paulista League Champion (1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973)
●    Winner of the Rio Sao Paulo Tournament (1959, 1963, 1964, 1966)
●    Winner of the Libertadores Cup (1962, 1963)
●    Intercontinental Cup Winner (1962, 1963)
●    Intercontinental Champions Super Bowl Winner (1968)
●    North American Football League champion (1977)
●    World Champion (1958, 1962, 1970)
●    Doom Cup Winner (1957, 1963)
●    Top scorer in the history of the Brazilian national team
●    South American Footballer of the Year (1973)
●    Ranked #1 on World Soccer's list of the greatest footballers of the 20th century
●    IOC Athlete of the Century (1999)
●    FIFA Player of the Century
●    Paulista League record holder for the number of goals in one season (58 goals)

The best football player in the history of Pelé passed away on December 29, 2022, at 82. He was a football player with no weaknesses. He had phenomenal speed and dribbling, shot great with both feet, had a grand opening, and had crazy scoring instincts. We tell you everything you need to know about the King of Football.
Early Life

Pele was born on October 23, 1940, in Minas Gerais in eastern Brazil. The father, Juan Ramos do Nascimento Dondinho, played professional football before Pele was born and then worked as a milkman. In addition to Edson, the Pele family had three more children - two younger brothers and a younger sister. The oldest of the children was named after the famous inventor Thomas Edison.

Pele started showing interest in football at the age of 7. The father introduced him to this sport and gave him to the children's team. Pele's family was poor, so the Brazilian often had to play barefoot and earn extra money as a waiter as a teenager. However, this did not stop Pele from scoring a lot and demonstrating an outstanding game. Until the age of 15, he changed several teams and even managed to play futsal, and then got into the leading club in his life - Santos.

Pele ended up at Santos in 1956. In almost 20 years at Santos, Pele helped the club win more than 20 trophies, repeatedly became the tournament's top scorer, and once even scored eight goals in one match - in a game with Botafogo.

National Team Legend

Ten months after his debut at Santos, Pelé received a call-up to the Brazilian national team, and for the first time, he played in the national team's jersey in the summer of 1958 at the World Cup in Sweden. In the first two matches in the tournament's group stage against Austria and England, the football player sat in reserve, after which he entered the field in a game with the USSR team. (2:0). Pele failed to print the goal of Lev Yashin, but his teammate Vava did it twice.

However, playing and scoring simple Pele more than compensated in the following meetings. In the quarter-finals with Wales, the striker scored one goal, scored a hat-trick in the semi-finals with France, and in the final, scored a double against the tournament hosts. As a result, the Brazilians took the title, and 17-year-old Pele was recognized as the best young player in the World Cup.

For many players, winning the World Cup is an impossible dream, and those who do achieve the title, as a rule, do it once in a lifetime. But Pele is the King of Football, who repeated the trick of winning the gold of the World Cup twice more. In 1962, the Brazilian played only the first two matches in the tournament and then got injured and did not appear on the field again. Then, however, the forward received a well-deserved medal, especially in the first game he scored a goal.
The third world championship won by the Brazilians in 1970 was much more successful for Pele. He took part in all meetings, scored four goals, and was recognized as the best football player in the tournament. 

How Many Goals Did Pele Score? 

The Brazilian scored 643 goals for Santos in official matches. According to this indicator, he was the record holder until December 23, 2020, when Lionel Messi scored the 644th goal for Barcelona in the game against Valladolid. However, Brazilian statisticians believe Pele, the Brazilian's 448 goals in friendly matches, should also be counted.

So, Pelé scored 77 goals for Brazil. It took him 93 matches to do this. If you consider all the games, Pelé scored 1283 goals in 1363 games - he is the best scorer of all time.

Pele's Personal Life

Pele married, for the first time in 1966, Rosemerie dos Reis Cholbi. In marriage, the couple had three children: the girls' Kelly Christina and Jennifer, and the boy Edson, known as Edinho.

Pele's son became a headache for his father - at first, he played football professionally and was even a goalkeeper in Santos. However, then the guy got into trouble with the law. In 1999, Edinho was sentenced to 6 months in prison for participating in street racing. Then, in 2005, he was arrested on suspicion of having links with drug traffickers, and in the summer of 2014, Pele's son was sentenced to 12 years and ten months for money laundering related to drug trafficking.

Pele and Rosemery seperated in 1982. Probably, the relationship of the spouses was influenced by the Brazilian's novels with the journalist Lenita Kurtz, who gave birth to Pele's daughter Flavia, and the maid Anisia Machado, who had a daughter, Sandra, from the football player.

In 1994, Pele married Brazilian psychologist Assyria Lemos. Soon the couple had two children - twins Joshua and Celeste. However, Pele's marriage ended in divorce in 2008.

In July 2016, the Brazilian married for the third time. 

Pele's wife was Marcia Sibeli Aoki, a Brazilian businesswoman of Japanese origin. The football player did not part with her. Of course, the King of Football had more than one romance, but his other intrigues were not highlighted in the media. 

Pele's Children:

●    Sandra Machado (born 1964)
●    Kelly Christina (born 1967)
●    Flavia (born 1969)
●    Edinho (born 1970)
●    Jennifer (born in 1978)
●    Joshua (born 1997)
●    Celeste (born 1997)

Medical History

Pele's health problems became known a few years ago. Around the mid-2010s, news about planned and unscheduled hospitalizations of the player began to appear in the press regularly, which was not surprising due to his age.

In November 2014, the Brazilian had stones removed from his kidneys and was discharged from the hospital. Two weeks later, he was returned to the medical facility due to a urinary tract infection. Six months later, Pele was operated on due to prostatic hyperplasia, after which disturbing news about his health did not appear for several years.

In 2018, Pele began a new series of hospitalizations. First, the Brazilian underwent hip surgery, then ended up in the hospital due to exhaustion and high fever. Later, operations to remove stones from the ureter and to replace the hip joint followed. The latest intervention severely limited the Brazilian's motor activity. In early 2020 it was even reported that he fell into depression.

The famous athlete managed to deal with psychological problems, but physical ones again reminded them of themselves. In the summer of 2021, Pele went for a routine examination, as a result of which he was diagnosed with a tumor in his colon. The player was operated on, underwent chemotherapy, and recovered, but in December of the same year, he was again in the hospital.

Pele's regular moves from home to hospitals continued throughout 2022, and in December, it became known that chemotherapy was no longer helping the Brazilian. So doctors stopped the course and started providing palliative care. On December 29, 82, the King of Football died surrounded by his family.
Records and Awards

Pele was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the author of the most significant number of goals scored in football history (according to various sources, from 1279 to 1283). He is also the only three-time world champion in the history of football.

The International Olympic Committee recognized Pele as the best athlete of the century, even though he had never participated in the Olympic Games. Dozens of significant publications on the planet recognized Pele as the best football player of the 20th century. Among them are France Football, Guerin Sportivo, World Soccer, and Placar. Pele is also included in the FIFA World Team of the 20th Century.

Many football experts called Pele lightning, as he, with a slight growth of 173 centimeters, managed to jump two meters in height. Thanks to his physical data, the great striker could combine his football career with performances at the World Championships in Athletics.

According to a survey conducted among sports officials, coaches and journalists, Pele took first place in the list of the best players of the 20th century. And the publication Time included the football player in the list of the hundred most influential people of the past century.

Pele was also involved in business and charity, acted in films and commercials, and even wrote music.

It is noteworthy that the name of Pele made it possible to raise the level of education in Brazil. For such a cultural contribution, the footballer received a medal from the Brazilian Ministry of Education.

Becoming a Goodwill Ambassador, the legendary Brazilian spent a lot of effort and money to promote sports and a healthy lifestyle worldwide. 
Tributes are pouring in from all directions. We will always miss such a great footballer forever! 
 

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