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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are considered to be the best footballers of today. At the same time, Mbappé is being named as the future star since FIFA World Cup 2022, but if we talk about GOAT then it is difficult to say who is actually the greatest of all time, because among these names there are many Brazilian greats. Footballer Pele also comes. Pele is the only player in this world who has won 3 World Cups.

Pele Vs Messi

Argentina’s Lionel Messi has a total of 790 goals at club and international level, while Pele is believed to have 767. This figure is still disputed today. Pele says he has scored over 1,000 goals. Based on FIFA’s official website, Pelé has a total of 1,281 goals including international and club football.

There were no red and yellow cards during Pele’s time. The rules for fouls were also tough. Because of this, Pele used the body well against the defender. He was famous because of this skill. Messi, on the other hand, excels in converting goals from set-pieces ie free kicks and corners. Messi has excellent dribbling skills, able to carry the ball forward alone from midfield. This makes him an all round player. Pele took a jibe at Messi in 2011, saying that Messi was an incomplete player because he could not score headers.

Pele Vs Ronaldo

If we talk about official statistics, Ronaldo is ahead of Pele in scoring goals. But Pele was a better finisher than Ronaldo. He scored many goals for his club. On the other hand, Ronaldo has scored more goals for his national team than Pele.

Talking about the FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo has not been able to win this tournament till now. While Pele has 3 World Cups to his name. He is the only player to have 3 World Cups. This shows how important his presence has been in the national team Brazil. Pele will always be ahead of Ronaldo in terms of trophies.

Football is believed to have been tougher during the 1950s and 1960s than it is today. During this time Pele played more football. Most of the teams at this point were evenly balanced on the pitch. All the teams were judged equally. These days the ball is much lighter, which makes it much easier to hit headers. In such a situation, scoring so many goals of Pele can be considered better.

Pele Vs Mbappe

It is difficult to compare Pele and Embappé because Embappé is only 24 years old. He has a whole career ahead of him but has yet to cross the 100-goal mark in club and international football. So to compare Pele and Mbappe we have extracted the goal scores of both till the age of 23.

Although Pele retired from international football in 1971 ie at the age of 30. If 24-year-old Embappé plays until the age of 34 to 36, he can match Pele, but at the moment Pele is better than Embappé.

 

Legendary footballer Pele passed away.

Legendary Brazilian footballer Pele passed away on Thursday at the age of 82. His daughter Kelly Nascimento informed about his death on social media. Pele was battling stomach cancer. He was admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo on 29 November.He was treated through chemotherapy. But, they were not getting any benefit.After this chemotherapy was stopped and he was given medicines to reduce pain. He also had kidney and cardiac dysfunction.

 

Pele, Brazil’s all-time top scorer.

The great football player Pele is no more in this world. He was also known as Black Pearl and Black Diamond. He won 3 FIFA World Cups for his country. Even today he is on top in this matter. His record has not been broken by any footballer in the world so far, be it Messi, Ronaldo or Mbappe.

However, if the 24-year-old Mbappe plays football for France from the age of 34 to 36, he can definitely match Pele. They currently have one World Cup and they reached the final of the 2022 World Cup and lost.

Pele grew up in poverty, his father was a sweeper. He started playing football in the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. Due to financial constraints, he also worked on a tea stall.

pele made from billet

Pele was named Edison when he was born. His family members also fondly called him Diko. He was fond of football since childhood. His father had played for the big Brazilian club Fluminense, but due to lack of money, he had to become a cleaner. Pele was very fond of goalkeeper Bille of the local club Vasco da Gama in his area. When he used to play football in school, his friends started calling him Pele. Since then he was named Pele.

Used to play football by stuffing newspapers in socks

Pele used to play football with his friends in his street. Growing up in poverty, he did not have the money to buy a football. For this reason, he used to play barefoot by stuffing newspaper in his sock and tying it with a rope.

Started playing for local club at a young age

At the age of 12-13, Pele started playing for the local club Radium football team in his hometown Bauru. For the first time in his city, there was an indoor tournament between Futsal i.e. 5-5 players. He participated in this tournament and won the championship. Apart from this, the organizing committee of a tournament did not allow him to participate, saying that he was underage. He still fought and played the tournament and scored the most goals in that too. From here his picture changed.

Brazil’s biggest club went to Santos

Santos selectors caught sight of Pele while playing futsal. He recognized Pele’s potential and ability and offered to play for his club. After this, Pele joined Santos in 1956 at the age of just 15. He scored a goal in his very first match and then became a part of the first team.

At the age of 16, Pele started playing regularly for his club Santos and became the top scorer of the league in the same year. In 1957, big clubs in Europe such as Juventus, Real Madrid and Manchester United tried to sign him, but Pele did not join these clubs.

Called from Brazil team at the age of 17

Due to performing well in the league, he was called up by the Brazil National Football Team just 10 months after joining the club. He started playing for the country. Pele played in the World Cup in 1958 and won it too. He scored a hat-trick in the semi-final against France. Which is still a record today. At the age of just 17, Pele gave his country the World Cup trophy. His name is still on top among the youngest players to score goals in the World Cup.

Won 2 more World Cups after 1958

Pele played 4 World Cups in his career. He won 3 of these. The first World Cup was won in Sweden (1958), the second in Chile (1962) and the third in Mexico (1970). They could not win the 1966 World Cup. During that time England won the trophy.

Played for Santos from 1956 to 1974

Pelé played for Brazil’s top club Santos from 1956 to 1974. He scored 643 goals in 656 appearances for Santos. At the same time, while living in the club, 21 trophies were also named after him. He also had an illustrious career in Brazil. He played 92 matches and scored 78 goals. He retired from international football in 1971. After 1971 he continued to play club football.

Took retirement from football in 1977

After playing for Santos, Pelé spent his last few years in America. He used to play for the New York team New York Cosmos. In America he played 64 matches and scored 37 goals. After this, he said goodbye to football by taking retirement at the age of 36.

Pele has been Brazil’s sports minister

In 1995, the President of Brazil made Pele the Sports Minister, so that corruption in football would end. After this, Pele’s law was also made in his name. In this, all professional football clubs had to pay tax to the government within 2 years.

Pele’s controversies

There is also a controversy attached to Pele’s name. In 2001, Pele was accused of involvement in a corruption scandal involving the theft of $7 million from UNICEF. It was claimed that despite the cancellation of the match, Pele gave the profit to his company and never returned it. However, not a single allegation against him was proved in this case. UNICEF also later retracted its claim.

Pele never won the Ballon d’Or

The Ballon d’Or is considered the biggest individual award in world football. It is given to the best football player of the year. Despite Pele’s achievements, he never received the Ballon d’Or. The reason for this is that before 1991 this award was given only to the players of Europe. That’s why Pele of Brazil and Maradona of Argentina could never get this award.

FIFA and all of the football world is mourning the death of O Eterno Rei – the eternal king.

Rest in peace, Pelé. Our thoughts and sympathies are with your family, friends and all who had the joy of watching you play.

— FIFA (@FIFAcom) December 29, 2022