Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento), a Brazilian football (soccer) player, was born on October 23, 1940, in Três Coraçes, Brazil, and was perhaps the most renowned and well-paid athlete in the world at the time. He was a member of three World Cup championship-winning Brazilian national teams (1958, 1962, and 1970)
Pelé became a global superstar thanks to his dynamic play and knack for spectacular goals. Santos, his squad, toured abroad in order to capitalize on his celebrity. In 1967, he and his team flew to Nigeria, where the country's civil war was put on hold for 48 hours so that everyone could witness the great player.
Pelé proclaimed his retirement in 1974, but in 1975, he agreed to a three-year, $7 million deal with the North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos to promote the game in the United States. After leading the Cosmos to the league title in 1977, he announced his retirement.
In 1978, Pelé was awarded the International Peace Award. He was selected Athlete of the Century by the French sports magazine L'Equipe in 1980, and the International Olympic Committee honored him with the same honor in 1999. The Pelé Museum opened in Santos, Brazil, in 2014. He produced many best-selling memoirs and starred in several popular documentary and semi-documentary films, in addition to his sporting achievements. He also composed a number of musical works, including the Pelé film's soundtrack (1977).
