Pele RIP. “arguably the greatest footballer”? Who’s doing the arguing?

The greatest footballer of all time: PELE.

RIP sir!

While he was alive, modesty leads to adding words such as ‘arguably’. The reality is that anyone with a half-decent appreciation of football will know that Pele was and will likely always the the greatest footballer – until someone else can surpass what he did. To date, nobody has. To begin with, he is the only man to have won 3 world cups. I doubt there is any child anywhere in the world, who knows what the round object called a football is, who doesn’t then know of the name ‘Pele’.

Essentially, you know football, you know the name Pele. Can’t say the same for any other past or present footballer

“Before the match, I told myself that Pelé was just flesh and bones like the rest of us,” Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich said after his side’s defeat in the final. “Later, I realised I’d been wrong.” (1970 World Cup Final: Brazil 4 Italy 1)

All that aside, the fact that he faced huge challenges (the usual) but rose above it all, to secure the respect of everyone across the globe, is in itself phenomenal. His attitude, the joy, his philanthropy…… need I say more? RIP Pele..