Pelé's inheritance: possibility of unrecognized daughter
It is about a Brazilian woman, who would be the eighth child of 'O Rei'
The late Pelé, who died in December at the age of 82, left 30 percent of his estate to his wife and mentioned in his will a woman who could be his daughter, the lawyer of the ex-footballer's widow told AFP.
The only footballer to win three World Cups (1958, 1962, and 1970) specified in his will that his third and last wife, Marcia Cibele Aoki, would receive 30% of his assets, including "obligatorily" the house where they lived in Guarujá, a resort city in Sao Paulo, said the legal expert Luiz Kignel.
The legacy includes that residence, other real estate properties, and a stake in the Pelé brand, explained Kignel, who specified that the complete inventory has not yet been made, so the total amount of the estate is still unknown.
The lawyer stated that the will mentions the chance that Pelé has an unrecognized daughter who would be entitled to receive a portion of the 70% of the estate designated for the other seven children of the legendary former player.
"He indicated that there is a possibility of another daughter, whose recognition will depend on a DNA test that could not be performed (to Pelé) due to the pandemic and his health condition," he explained.
According to Kignel, she is a Brazilian woman who requests to be recognized as Pelé's daughter and little is known about her life.
The potential heir went to court in Brazil for a paternity investigation to be conducted.
A court in Sao Paulo ordered in September 2022 that Pelé undergo a DNA test, according to the portal G1, which will now have to be performed on one of his recognized children.
The woman would be the eighth recognized child of the man many consider the greatest footballer in history, who died on December 29 in Sao Paulo from cancer.
In his first marriage, with Rosemeri Cholbi, in 1966, he had Kely, Jennifer, and Edinho. During that time, Flavia was also born, as a result of an extramarital relationship.
From his second marriage, with Assiria Lemos Seixas, the twins Joshua and Celeste were born in 1996.
'O Rei' was also the father of Sandra Machado, born in 1964 from a romance with a cleaning lady.
After a five-year legal battle, the courts ruled in 1996 in favor of recognizing the young woman, who had no relationship with her father and died of breast cancer in 2006.
With Marcia Cibele Aoki, whom he married in 2016, he did not have children.
The opening of Pelé's will was recently requested and the family is working on the inventory, and then the distribution of assets, explained Kignel. AFP