Overview
Pelé is the only player to have won three World Cups. He was seventeen at the first, in 1958, when he scored a hat-trick in the semi-final and two in the final; he was injured through most of 1962 and 1966, and in 1970 was the central figure in a Brazil side widely regarded as the finest ever assembled.
He spent almost his whole club career at Santos, where the Brazilian government is said to have declared him a national treasure to prevent a transfer to Europe. His move to the New York Cosmos in 1975 gave American soccer a mass audience for the first time. His career goal total is disputed because it includes exhibition matches, but no reasonable count places him below the very top of the game's history.
Clubs
International record: 92 caps and 77 goals for Brazil.
Honours
Major team and individual honours.
World Cup Appearances
Pelé appeared at four FIFA World Cups.
Other Brazil Internationals
Other players profiled for this national team.