10 interesting facts about Pelé that you probably didn't know

1. Pelé’s tag as the greatest soccer player of all time has often gone without contention. It would be an exercise in futility trying to look for another soccer player – dead or alive – that has three World Cup titles to his name.

2.Pelé was named after the inventor of the lightbulb, Thomas Edison. The young Edson “Pelé” Arantes do Nascimento certainly showed plenty of invention in his career and lit up many a football pitch with his skills.

3.When Brazil lost the World Cup final to Uruguay in 1950, Pelé saw his father crying. “Don’t worry,” he told him. “One day I’ll win it.” Now that’s confidence!

4.Pelé signed for Santos at the tender age of 15 and proceeded to score four goals on his debut against FC Corinthians. That's one way to reward the scout's faith.

5.Pelé is the only footballer to have been on three World Cup winning teams. Coincidence? We think not.

6. No really - he's literally a national treasure. The Brazilian government declared him one in 1961 to prevent foreign football clubs from taking him out of the country.

7.Pelé got his nickname after his mispronunciation of the name of the Brazilian goalkeeper, Bilé, as Pelé. One of his classmates started to call him “Pelé” to tease him and the name stuck.

8.Pelé scored his 1000th goal on 19 November 1969, causing the day to be simply known as Pelé Day in Santos.

9.He came out of retirement to play for the New York Cosmos.

10.in 1999, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) named Pelé the World Player of the Century. Similarly, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), voted him the Athlete of the Century, beating other greats like Mohammad Ali and even soccer legend Maradona.