Pelé is spending most of his time at his home in Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo, to protect himself from the COVID-19 pandemic, but he recorded a message before his birthday on Friday (October 23), telling viewers not to look back, but to look forward.
“On my 80th birthday, first of all, I have a lot to thank God for my health so far, and also for my lucidity – not so much intelligence, but lucidity,” Pelé joked in the video released to the press.
“I am well received everywhere I go around the world. I hope that when I go to heaven, God welcomes me with the same affection that everyone receives me thanks to our beloved football,” he declared.
During most of his career with the Brazilian national team and Santos, not to mention the Cosmos in New York, and also in the subsequent years, the man named Édson Arantes do Nascimento was considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time.
First Diego Maradona, then Argentine Lionel Messi came to challenge Pelé’s dominance, but the shelves of the former Brazilian striker are as filled with trophies as those of his rivals.
With Santos Futebol Clube, he won the CONMEBOL Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup twice, in addition to ten São Paulo championships and six Brazilian titles.
Pelé remains the only player to have won the World Cup three times. He was also famous for having scored over a thousand goals throughout his career.
Wherever he goes, Pelé is still hailed as the King of Football, a nickname given by playwright Nelson Rodrigues when he was only 17 years old.
But his emblematic birthday comes after a difficult period. Pelé has been hospitalized several times in recent years and faced health issues due to a hip problem, which did not prevent him from recording a song with Grammy-winning duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. The new single is called Acredita no véio (“Believe in the Old Man”).
The song was written by Pelé with Brazilian jazz artist Ruriá Duprat in 2005, but received final touches after the arrival of the Mexican duo.
This year also marked the 50th anniversary of Pelé’s third World Cup triumph: Mexico, 1970. That Brazilian team is still acclaimed by experts as the greatest football team in history.
Source: agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br