Pelé

October 23, 1940 – December 29, 2022 · Footballer · Brazil

“The beautiful game made flesh”

Brazilian forward widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, the only player to win three FIFA World Cups and a global ambassador for the sport.

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Their story

Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born in Três Corações, Brazil, in 1940, the son of a footballer, and grew up in poverty in Bauru, playing with balls made of rags. Signed by Santos FC at fifteen, he scored on his professional debut and within a year was called up to the national team, announcing a talent the world had never seen.

At seventeen he lit up the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, scoring twice in the final, and went on to win the tournament again in 1962 and 1970, anchoring the celebrated Brazil side considered among the finest ever assembled. With Santos he won continental and world club titles, and he finished his career with the New York Cosmos, helping plant football in North America.

Credited with well over a thousand career goals, he became Brazil's sporting ambassador, a minister of sport and a symbol of joy in the game itself. He died in São Paulo in 2022, after treatment for colon cancer, mourned across the world. His legacy is the idea of football as art, 'o jogo bonito', and the belief that greatness can rise from anywhere.

A life in moments

1940
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in Três Corações, Brazil.
1956
Made his professional debut for Santos FC at the age of fifteen.
1958
Won his first World Cup in Sweden at seventeen, scoring twice in the final.
1970
Captured a record third World Cup with Brazil's celebrated team in Mexico.
1975
Joined the New York Cosmos, bringing football to a new American audience.
2022
Died in São Paulo at 82 after a long battle with colon cancer.
Today
Remembered as the king of football, whose joy in the game remains its highest standard.