Pelé, a Brazilian icon, three-time World Cup winner, and soccer’s first global star, died Thursday at 82.
“Everything that we are is thanks to you,” his daughter Kely Nascimento wrote in a post on Instagram. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
Pelé was admitted to a hospital in São Paulo in late November for a respiratory infection and complications related to his colon cancer.
Last week, the hospital said his health had steadily worsened as his cancer progressed. Family members had begun to arrive at the São Paulo hospital, The Guardian reported on December 24.
A inspiração e o amor marcaram a jornada de Rei Pelé, que faleceu no dia de hoje.
Amor, amor e amor, para sempre.
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Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today.Love, love and love, forever. pic.twitter.com/CP9syIdL3i
— Pelé (@Pele) December 29, 2022
For over 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with soccer. He dazzled fans during his nearly two-decades-long career as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazilian national team.
His grace, athleticism, and mesmerizing moves captivated players and fans. He played with a fast, fluid style that revolutionized the sport.
“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé once famously said.
The humble beginnings of Pelé’s story to becoming a global icon only add to his legacy, which stretches far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goal-scoring records.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in Três Corações — roughly 155 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro — in 1940, Pelé and his family then moved to the city of Bauru in São Paulo.
There, Pelé got his first taste of soccer as a child, playing barefoot with socks and rags rolled up into a ball. His ambitions were modest as he started his soccer career.
“My dad was a good football player; he scored a lot of goals,” Pelé told CNN in 2015. “His name was Dondinho; I wanted to be like him.
“He was famous in Brazil, in Minas Gerais. He was my role model. I always wanted to be like him, but what happened, to this day, only God can explain.”
Pelé left home as a teenager and began training with the Brazilian soccer club Santos, scoring his first goal for the club before his 16th birthday.
Official stats note that he would score 619 times over 638 appearances for the club.
However, Santos historian Odir Cunha previously told ESPN that the Brazilian icon actually tallied 1,091 goals for Santos, with a large amount coming in non-official friendly matches.
With Pelé at the forefront, Santos would go on to win the Copa Libertadores in 1962 and 1963 and was crowned the champion of Brazil’s first division on six occasions.
However, his feats in the iconic yellow jersey of the Brazilian national team created the most enduring memories. He played in four World Cups for Brazil and is the only player in history to win three.
The soccer player, dubbed “The King,” was introduced to the world in 1958 when he made his World Cup debut at age 17 and won the tournament’s Best Young Player award after scoring six goals in four matches.
He scored Brazil’s only goal in a quarterfinal victory against Wales, then netted a hat trick in the semifinal against France and two in Brazil’s 5-2 win in the final against host nation Sweden.
After delivering Brazil’s first World Cup title, he was carried off the field on his teammates’ shoulders.
Brazil successfully defended its World Cup title in 1962, but Pelé was limited to just two appearances in the tournament due to a thigh injury.
Four years later, he and Brazil failed to advance past the group stage as the physicality of Bulgaria and Portugal outmuscled them.
The failure disheartened Pelé so much that he contemplated walking away from the national team altogether.
Luckily for fans, he was back in the fold for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico and played a vital part in what many believe to be the best men’s national team in the sport’s history.
Brazil beat Czechoslovakia 4-1 in its opening game before taking down reigning champion England 1-0 in its second fixture. The run culminated in a 4-1 demolition of Italy in the final.
Pelé netted the opener in the 18th minute, and Carlos Alberto capped off a magnificent team effort in the 86th minute with the country’s fourth goal in the final.
With his club and international career winding down, Pelé added to his legacy by signing with the New York Cosmos in 1975. The move briefly put soccer on the map in the United States and laid the groundwork for the sport’s explosion in popularity in North America decades later.
In the debate about soccer’s greatest players, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside Pelé.
What is not for debate is that both on the pitch and in retirement, Pelé was one of soccer’s most influential figures.
“Pelé changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment,” Neymar, a fellow Brazilian soccer player, said on Instagram. “Football and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure. Pelé is eternal!”
