Pelé was the best player of all time, however, few people actually saw this star play.

Therefore, we brought you a little of the history of the star who enchanted the world with his football.

The player became Santos' biggest idol and, in addition, became a football icon all over the world.

See in this text the details of this incredible career, such as records, great achievements and get to know the king of football better.

So, keep reading and check it out!

Pelé was simply the greatest football player of all time, this athlete is so important that people from all over the world know him and paid tribute to him when he passed away.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, that was the real name of the king of football.

Born in Três Corações, in Minas Gerais, he was the son of a former football player, a story very similar to that of Neymar Júnior, another Brazilian star.

The best definition for him is the player who changed the game, there is football before Pelé and football after Pelé.

After all, the number 10 played happily, smiling, and from an early age he had joy in his legs.

He innovated the game, made moves that no one had ever seen before, invented and improved dribbles that are still used today.

Firstly, people didn't go to watch football, they went to watch Pelé, and that's how the king made everyone fall in love with this incredible sport.

Pelé arrived at Santos in 1956 when he was just 16 years old, at that time he was already considered a great talent.

The star's first goal came for this club, in a game against a great rival, Corinthians, in the 36th minute of the second half, the player scored the first of many goals he would score during his career.

In 1957 he was already a regular starter in the Santos team and, in addition, he was already the club's top scorer in the Campeonato Paulista, with 36 goals.

The king of football played practically his entire life for this club, from 1956 to 1974, winning every possible title.

He was the protagonist and won the following competitions: 

And these are just the most important titles won by Pelé at Santos.

All this success at the club earned the player the title of eternal idol of the club.

After his death, the club's directors are studying the possibility of “retiring” the number 10 shirt, meaning that no other player will be able to wear this number while playing for Santos.

In other words, the player's importance to the club was so great that the number worn by the player will be immortalized with his name.

If Pelé's career at Santos was brilliant, his time with the Brazilian national team was extraordinary.  

Firstly, the Brazilian national team called up the player when he was just 17 years old. 

To this day, he remains the youngest athlete to play in and win a World Cup.

He made his debut for the national team in 1958, from Vila Belmiro directly to the World Cup in Sweden.

Where he won the first World Cup for Brazil, putting the country on the football map.

After the first title, the king won two more World Cups, in 1962 and 1970.

He ended up getting injured during the 1962 World Cup, but left his mark in the 1970 World Cup, where he had one of the greatest performances by a football player in a competition.

With this, he reached the milestone of three titles won. To this day, no other player has managed to match this feat.

Many people know about the king's great achievements, but do you know, for example, the origin of the name Pelé? Check out some interesting facts about this great player below.

One of the biggest curiosities about this player's career is precisely where the name “Pelé” came from, since the player's name is Edson, and the nickname is not at all conventional.

This nickname came from a friend of Edson's father. Pelé's father was a former player and had a teammate who was a goalkeeper, and his name is Bilé.

When little Edson Arantes was little he wanted to be a goalkeeper, and when he played with his friends, when making a save, he would shout Pilé, referring to his father's friend, and his friends started teasing the boy by calling him Pelé, and didn't the nickname stick?

In a friendly match between Santos and the Colombian Olympic team, after a scuffle, the referee asked Pelé to leave the field, as he had insulted him and committed a foul.

After a great commotion from the fans, including from Colombia, and from the players, following pressure from the authorities, Pelé was called back onto the field, and the referee was replaced by another referee.

Pelé played at a time when FIFA did not exist to officially count competitions and goals.

But even so, Pelé is the player with the most goals in the history of football, with 1282 goals in 1364 games, a very impressive number.

Now in relation to titles, FIFA counts only 37 titles won by the player, making him the third player with the most achievements in the history of football.

The king is only behind Daniel Alves and Messi, with 42 and 41 titles, respectively.

However, if all of Pelé's achievements were counted, including competitions and friendlies that have ended but were of great importance at the time, the star would be alone in the lead with 60 titles.

Pelé was more than a player, he enchanted an entire generation of people who learned to love football, he was an inspiration.

In addition to his great achievements with the national team and Santos, Pelé left a message of hope for the world, inspiring thousands of people that it is possible to win through sport.

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