After Brazil lost the 1950 World Cup final to Uruguay, a 9 or 10-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento, now better known as Pelé, made a promise to his devastated father. “I remember jokingly saying to him: ‘Don’t cry, dad — I’ll win the World Cup for you,” Pelé recalled to FIFA.com in 2014.
Eight years in 1958 later, however, his so-called joke became a reality when he won the first of his record-breaking three World Cup titles
So Pelé’s storied career began, and by the time he played his final professional game in 1977, he’d netted over 1,280 career goals as part of Brazil’s Santos Football Club and the New York Cosmos. Although he’s now widely considered to be the greatest soccer player of all time, here are 10 things you might not know about Pelé:
He’s named after Thomas Edison
As Pelé explained, his parents named him Edson as electricity had just been introduced to his hometown in Brazil when he was born.
He got creative when he couldn’t afford a soccer ball or shoes
Growing up in poverty, Pelé practised his dribbling skills with a sock stuffed with rags when his family couldn’t afford to buy him an actual soccer ball. When he was 6, the family moved to a larger town in southern Brazil, where he shined shoes and sold roasted peanuts outside movie theatres to earn money for a soccer ball.
His first contract was far from lucrative
At 15 years old, Pelé signed his first contract with Santos in 1956, earning just $10 a month. Years later, he signed a three-year $7 million contract with the New York Cosmos in 1975, making him the highest-paid team athlete in the world at the time.
He’s a Brazilian national treasure — literally
After Pelé led Brazil’s national team to their first World Cup win in 1958, European clubs such as Real Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan and Manchester United began courting the rising star. In order to prevent him from being traded to foreign teams, Brazilian President Jânio Quadros eventually had Pelé declared a national treasure in 1961.
He holds two Guinness World Records
By the end of his career, Pelé had won three FIFA World Cups with Brazil (in 1958, 1962 and 1970), earning him the most wins by any player. The four goals Pelé scored in his 1956 professional debut only set the stage for the 1,283 total goals he scored over the years.
Henry Kissinger convinced him to play in the U.S.
After Pelé retired from the Brazilian national team and Santos in 1974, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger travelled to Sao Paulo to convince him to return to gameplay for the New York Cosmos.
He was friends with Nelson Mandela
In 2007 Pelé played in the “90 Minutes for Mandela” charity match in honour of Nelson Mandela’s 89th birthday. During a joint press conference, Pelé awarded Mandela an autographed jersey, which the latter called a “priceless gift” he’d treasure for the rest of his life.
He played for both teams in his final pro game
In October 1977, Pelé competed in his final professional game in an exhibition match between the New York Cosmos and Santos F.C. in front of 77,000 spectators — including Muhammad Ali— at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium. He played the first half of the game for Santos, scoring one goal, and then switched jerseys and played for the Cosmos in the second half. The Cosmos eventually won the match with a final score of 2-1.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
Despite not being of British descent, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed upon Pelé the honorary title of Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE) in 1997 for his humanitarian work and activism. Beginning in 1994, Pelé served as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Champion for Sport and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, creating such campaigns as Children in Need fundraising in 1996, and the Match of the Hearth, in 2000.
