Pelé Biography

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, was born on 23 October 1940 and passed away on 29 December 2022. Pelé was widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history and among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. Pelé received recognition as Athlete of the Century from the International Olympic Committee and was listed among the 100 most influential individuals of the 20th century by Time magazine in 1999. Pelé began playing for the Brazilian club Santos at age 15 and made his debut for the Brazil national team at 16. Pelé scored 77 goals in 92 appearances for Brazil, a tally that made him the nation's leading scorer for more than half a century. At club level, Pelé is Santos' all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games. Pelé's skill and goal-scoring ability led to international tours by his teams, capitalizing on his global recognition.