Everyone will remember it. He was born as Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940 in Brazil, but he went down in history with the nickname Pelé. The athlete won the World Cup three times with his country's national soccer team. The first time was in Sweden 58, when the center forward was only 17 years old, repeating the feat in Chile 62 and Mexico 70. He played almost his entire career with Santos, although in the last years of his sports career, he traveled to the United States, finally retiring with the New York Cosmos.
YOU CAN SEE: Santos said goodbye to Pelé and changed its image on its accounts as a tribute: "Eternal"
Why do they call him Pelé?
The soccer player, who is considered a legend by many, is known worldwide as Pelé. This, when in reality his name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento.
The famous nickname was born in his childhood. The player's uncle says that when he was little, he played as a goalkeeper in order to "give the opponent an advantage".
It was here, precisely, that many of his relatives found similarities with Bilé, a goalkeeper with whom the world champion's father had played. For this reason, they began to call him Bilé until his nickname evolved into Pelé.
Why was he called 'O Rei'?
'O Rei' was another famous nickname of the soccer player. The 1985 World Cup caused Paris Match, a French magazine, to give him this nickname (which means 'The King' in French).
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The prodigious player managed to score 282 goals in 1,366 matches and, thanks to his three victories in the World Cups, he also earned the nickname 'Rey'.
Santos publishes emotional video in honor of Pelé
Santos FC, the team in which Pelé became a legend, made an emotional farewell with a video in honor of King Pelé.
Pelé's last message to Maradona: "One day, up there in heaven, we will play together on the same team"
In 2020, a week after the death of Diego Maradona, the three-time World Cup champion used his social media to dedicate a moving farewell message to his great friend. "The world would be much better if we could compare ourselves less and admire each other more. That's why I want to say that you are incomparable. Your career was marked by honesty. You always declared your loves and heartbreaks to the four winds. And with that unique way of being, you teach us that we must love and say 'I love you' many more times", wrote Pelé.
