10 Things You Should Know About Dead Football Legend, Pele

Tributes have continued to pour in for Brazilian football legend, Pele who died on Thursday at the age of 82.

Naija News earlier reported that the three times World Cup winner had been hospitalized at the Albert Einstein Israelita Hospital in Sao Paulo shortly before Christmas after news that his colon cancer had worsened.

There were reports that the 82-year-old was having cardiac issues and medical staff was concerned that his chemotherapy treatment was not having the expected results.

A medical report released on 21 December said Pele’s cancer had worsened. His daughter confirmed the family would spend Christmas in the hospital with Pele after it emerged he required treatment for heart and kidney trouble.

However, reports on Thursday night confirmed that the three times World Cup winner is dead.

Below are ten things you should know about the late football legend.

1. Pele played his first game for Santos at age 15 in 1956.

2. He won the World Cup with Brazil in 1958, 1962, and 1970.

3. The football legend scored 77 for Brazil, a mark only equaled at the 2022 World Cup by Neymar.

4. At the time Pele retired in 1977, he had scored more than 1,000 goals though his total tally is widely debated.

5. 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.

6. He appeared in the 1981 film, Escape to Victory, about Allied Prisoners of War during World War II along with the likes of Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, and Moore.

7. Between 1995 and 1998, he was even Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport.

8. He married for the third time in 2016, tying the knot with Marcia Aoki.

9. Pele’s impact on sport went far beyond the pitch as he also became a money-making phenomenon, lending his name to sportswear, credit cards, and watches among an array of products.

10. Pele earned a call-up to the national team in 1957, scoring on his debut against Argentina. In 1958, he was picked for the World Cup in Sweden.