Brazil legend Pele, arguably the most famous and greatest footballer in the history of the game, has died at the age of 82.
His death was announced on Thursday having suffered from a series of health issues in recent years, most recently after being diagnosed with cancer in September 2021.
Pele - who played as a forward and later an attacking midfielder - spent much of his club career with Santos, for whom he scored 643 goals in 659 official games between 1956 and 1974. He then finished his career with three years at New York Cosmos in the United States, where he scored 66 goals in 107 games.
However, it was with the Brazil national team that Pele forged his global reputation, scoring 77 goals in 92 appearances and winning the World Cup an unprecedented three times.
Pele shot to prominence as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup, going on to become the youngest player to score in a final when netting twice in the 5-2 triumph over Sweden. He started the next tournament in Chile four years later, but was injured shortly after scoring in Brazil's opening game and was a non-playing member of the squad that beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in the final.
In the 1966 World Cup in England, Pele became the first player to score in three successive World Cups when bagging the opener for Brazil against Bulgaria at Everton's home stadium Goodison Park, but was on the receiving end of some brutal tackling that ruled him out of the defeat to Hungary. He was then viciously fouled on his return against Portugal and, with no substitutes allowed at that stage, was forced to limp on for the remainder of the game as Brazil lost 3-1 and were eliminated.
Pele vowed to never again play in the World Cup, but was persuaded to change his mind ahead of the 1970 edition in Mexico. It would go on to prove the pinnacle of his career as he inspired a Brazil team regularly regarded as the best ever to win the tournament in thrilling fashion by beating Italy 4-1 in the final.
He notched four goals during the tournament, including a towering header to open the scoring against the Italians, but arguably better known are the attempts from which he didn't score. Pele almost netted from inside his own half in the group opener against Czechoslovakia, saw a header kept out by what became known as "the save of the century" by England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, and, in the semi-final against Uruguay, produced perhaps his most famous moment when, played clear by Brazil forward Tostao, dummied the ball beyond goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz in outrageous fashion and went around the keeper to retrieve the ball before dragging his shot narrowly wide of the far post.
Pele accrued a whole host of landmarks during his career, including having scored the most hat-tricks (92), the most goals in a calendar year (127 in 1959, as recognised by FIFA), and providing the most assists in World Cup history (10). He was named the joint FIFA Player of the Century alongside Diego Maradona in 2000.
After retiring, Pele became best known for his ambassadorial work and support for charities, although he did briefly venture into politics in Brazil and featured in a number of films, including the 1981 cult classic Escape To Victory. His last visit to Merseyside came in March 2015, when he was a guest at Liverpool's home Premier League match against Manchester United.
His football, though, is for what Pele will forever be remembered, his reputation among his contemporaries - and beyond - unmatched. "Pele was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic," said late Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, while Cristiano Ronaldo stated: "Pele is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pele."
Real Madrid and Hungary hero Ferenc Puskas said: "The greatest player in history was (Alfredo) Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pele as a player. He was above that." And Di Stefano himself once commented: "The best player ever? Pele. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pele was better."
