Sports

13 Things To Know About Late Football Legend Pele

Published

3 years ago

December 30, 2022

Editor

Brazil football legend, Pele, who died on Thursday at the age of 82, was regarded as the game’s greatest player.

Pele was the best-loved footballer of his or any other generation, the eternal master of the beautiful game.

Here are 13 things to know about Pele:

1. Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in October 1940, Pele played his first game for Santos as a 15-year-old in 1956.

2. Pele won the World Cup with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970. His sumptuous range of skills made him the embodiment of his country’s golden age of football.

3. When Pele finally retired in 1977, he had scored more than 1,000 goals.

4. Pele scored 77 for Brazil, a mark only equalled at the recent World Cup by Neymar.

5. Pele’s impact on his sport went far beyond the pitch as he also became a money-making phenomenon, lending his name to sportswear, credit cards and watches among an array of products.

6. Pele earned a call-up to the national team in 1957, scoring on his debut against Argentina. In 1958, he was picked for the World Cup in Sweden.

7. Still only 17, Pele had become the youngest World Cup winner in history. The next two tournaments, however, were to be unhappy experiences.

8. Twenty-one by the time of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, an older, stronger Pele had been expected to take the tournament by storm.

9. Though he was to continue playing club football for his beloved Santos and later the New York Cosmos, Pele retired from international duty in 1971, making an emotional farewell in front of 180,000 fans at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

10. In 1977, he inspired New York to the national title in his final season with the club which featured fellow greats Franz Beckenbauer, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia and former Brazil captain Carlos Alberto.

11. He appeared in the 1981 film, Escape to Victory, about Allied Prisoners of War during World War II along with the likes of Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone and Moore.

12. Between 1995 and 1998, he was even Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport, while he also regularly appeared in public as an ambassador for numerous commercial brands.

13. He married for the third time in 2016, tying the knot with Marcia Aoki.

Sports

Ballon d’Or: Why Neymar Didn’t Win Award – Gerard

Published

7 hours ago

October 16, 2025

Editor

Barcelona legend, Gerard Piqué has said that Brazil legend, Neymar could have won the Ballon d’Or had he remained at the Catalan side a little longer.

Neymar left Barça for PSG in 2017, becoming the costliest player in the world.

Pique said that the move stopped the Brazilian from winning the Ballon d’Or.

He said that the superstar footballer actually deserved to win the France Football award in his career.

Speaking on the PodPah podcast, Pique, who was Neymar’s teammate for many years at Barcelona, said he tried to convince the Brazilian not to make the move but the former PSG star did not listen to him.

“I’m convinced he deserved a Ballon d’Or. I think going to PSG hurt him. We tried to convince him not to go, we did everything possible.

“Everyone thought he was going to stay, even me, but it seemed that it was already decided. In the end, he had an incredible career,” he said.

The Brazilian was at Camp Nou until 2017 when he decided to move to PSG who were willing to activate his €222 million release clause.

He left for Al-Hilal in 2023 and returned to Brazil with Santos in 2025.

Sports

Lionel Messi Names 10 Best Young Players Currently

Published

7 hours ago

October 16, 2025

Editor

Argentina and Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi, has named the 10 players he sees as future stars.

The legendary attacker has players from Chelsea and Liverpool in his list.

As part of an Adidas campaign, the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner was asked to name the players he deems the next big stars in the game.

The Inter Miami goal king partnering with Adidas Football for the ‘Messi+10: Season 2’ campaign named his 10 best rising stars.

He named Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha, Chelsea’s Andrey Santos, Kendry Paez, also of Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder, Brajan Gruda.

Others are Nico Paz (Como), Rodrigo Mora (Porto), Mika Godts (Ajax Amsterdam), and Kader Meite (Stade Rennes).

He named two female players, Barcelona’s Clara Serrajordi and Olympique Lyon’s Lily Yohannes.

Messi made a similar selection in 2024 to include Lamine Yamal, Antonio Nusa and Kenan Yildiz.

Sports

2026 World Cup: Why ‘England Can’t Win Trophy’ – Paul Scholes

Published

7 hours ago

October 16, 2025

Editor

Former England international, Paul Scholes, has said that the country stands no chance of winning the 2026 World Cup to be hosted in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

England became the first European country to qualify for the World Cup on Tuesday after beating Latvia 5 goals to nothing.

Scholes said Thomas Tuchel’s team has ‘no chance’ of winning the tournament unless the German gaffer brings his ‘three best players’ back into the squad.

Tuchel will now be hoping to lead England to their first major trophy in men’s football since 1966.

The former Chelsea manager was appointed as Sir Gareth Southgate’s successor last year.

England made it to two European Championship finals and two World Cup semi-finals under Southgate but failed to lift those trophies.

But former Manchester United midfielder, Scholes believes that England has ‘no chance’ unless Tuchel brings his ‘three best players’ back into the fold.

Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish were left out of the team for their last matches.

“I was a little bit surprised. Those three players, they have to be in his squad and they will be in his squad for the World Cup,” Scholes said on The Overlap.

“If you look at the squad now, you would say they have virtually no chance of winning the World Cup. Even with those three players it’s still a big ask but it gives you more of a chance of winning the cup.

“Jude Bellingham has missed a little bit of football but he’s fit now so I would have brought him back in.

“Thomas Tuchel hasn’t got many games left now until the World Cup actually starts, it’s only the November break and then the March one and then we’re there so we need to get these players playing.”

While announcing his squad for the last international break, Tuchel insisted he had ‘no problem’ with the omitted players, especially Bellingham.