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Pelé is carried off the field by fans after Brazil defeated Italy in the final of the 1970 World Cup.
Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images
Updated 2039 GMT (0439 HKT) April 16, 2023
By Kyle Almond and Will Lanzoni, CNN
Pelé, the Brazilian soccer star who became a global icon, has died at the age of 82.
Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is the only man in history to win three World Cups.
He was just 17 years old when he starred in the 1958 World Cup, scoring two goals in the final over Sweden. He would go on to add titles in 1962 and 1970, thrilling fans with his extraordinary dribbling skills and his prolific goalscoring ability.
For much of his career, Pelé played professionally for the Brazilian club Santos. In the last few years before his retirement, he signed a multimillion-dollar deal to play in the North American Soccer League, where he won a title with the New York Cosmos.
In 2000, FIFA named him Player of the Century along with Argentine great Diego Maradona. Many still consider him the greatest player of all time.
“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé once said.
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