Pele Obituary, Funeral

Brazilian professional footballer, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, best known as Pelé, who played as a forward and is largely regarded as one of the Greatest Of All Times (GOAT) has died. Pele was born on 23 October 1940 and died on 29 December 2022 at age 82.

Labelled “the greatest” by FIFA, Pele was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.

In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.

In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century.

His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.

Born on 23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Pele began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16.

Till date, he is the only player to win three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970.

At club level he is Santos’ all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games.

In a golden era for Santos, he led the club to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, and to the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup.

During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world.

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.

He is survived by his wife Marcia Aoki and several children.

Details of his funeral will be announced by his family in due time.