Pelé led a Brazil team that made the game a global obsession, and will remain the father of modern football
Shortly after his 30th birthday, on the verge of his extended disco-retirement phase, the crimplene jumpsuit years, Pelé was voted the Most Famous Person in the World. By that stage his career as a serious footballer was all but done. A world champion for the third time that summer, Pelé had already become the thing he would remain for the rest of his life: the Pelé identity, the Pelé industrial complex, Big Pelé.
What did he choose to do in 1970 with this superpower, this gift, the status of most famous human? He wore a white suit and waved a lot. He played the guitar. He shouted “love” into a microphone.
Written by Barney Ronay
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/30/pele-paradox-brazil-1970-celebrity-modern-game under the title “The Pelé paradox: football’s greatest celebrity still defines beautiful game”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
