Pele admitted that he had been approached by top European club Manchester United when he was actively playing, in 1968 to be precise. So, what was Pele’s response? Quoted from the Manchester Evening News, Friday (30/12/2022), Pele said no to Man United. He chose to be loyal to Santos FC.
“Yes (I got an offer from Man United), in 1968. Their best team,” Pele said in an interview with The Guardian in 2006. “No, no, no. I said no to every team that was interested in me,” added the man named complete Edson Arantes do Nascimento.
Apart from Man United, Pele also claimed that he was in demand by Real Madrid. “Real Madrid is the best team that wanted me. They are a very good team. However, I don’t want to leave Santos,” Pele said. While actively playing, Pele has never played in mainland Europe.
Pele’s talent was seen from the age of 11 years. Then joined the Santos FC academy when he was 16 years old. He spent 18 years (1956-1975) with Santos FC before moving to the United States club, New York Cosmos in 1975.
“I didn’t play outside Brazil because I was very, very happy at Santos, I had the best 15-20 years of my life there,” he said. In the 1958-1959 season, Pele was almost in the uniform of Inter Milan. At that time, he was still young, 18 years old. Former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti says the club are one step away from securing Pele’s signature and are ready to pay for it.
“I remember very well that we brought in Pele in the 1958/1959 season. He was still young at that time and was able to amaze the world in Sweden,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “My father knew that he had to move quickly after the tournament was over. At that time the contract was full, signed and only needed to be deposited,” he continued. However, Santos fans revolted. They made threats to the club, even to President Santos.
Together with Santos FC, Pele won many prestigious titles, including six Brazilian League trophies and two Copa Libertadores. Pele then retired in 1977 after two years defending the United States club New York Cosmos.
Pele died Pele died on Thursday (29/12/2022) local time. The legend of the Brazilian national team breathed his last at the age of 82 at the Albert Einstein Hospital, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The hospital stated that Pele died due to organ failure due to the development of colon cancer he suffered.
The Brazilian government has declared three days of national mourning as a form of respect for Pele. The funeral ceremony for the winners of the three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970) is planned to be held early next week.
