Full Name
Edison Arantes do Nascimento
Position
Striker
Born
23 October 1940
Country
Brazil
Clubs
Santos (Brazil)
New York Cosmos (USA)
Professional Career
1956-1977
International Caps/Goals
92 caps/77 goals
Honours
10 Brazilian Campeonato Paulista title, 2 Copa Libertadores (Santos)
2 Intercontinental Cup (Santos)
1 NASL champion (New York Cosmos)
1958/1962/1970 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)
1970 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Winner
FIFA Player of the Century
Often compared with Diego Maradona on who is the greatest footballer ever to grace the game, Pelé’s glaring records spoke for himself. On the international stage, till this day, he is still the all-time scoring leader for the Brazil national team and the only footballer to win three World Cup medals.
Spending almost his entire football career at Santos, Pelé was often credited with a record of more than 1,000 career goals, but the stats included non-competitive games such as tours and friendlies. One of his major critics was that he had never played in the major European leagues. Nevertheless, officially, Pelé still scored an incredible 643 goals in 656 games – almost a goal per game ratio – for Santos.
Pelé has been the global ambassador for football since his retirement in 1977.
Best 100 Footballers in the World 