Pelé quotes
Born
23 October 1940 Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Died
29 December 2022.
Occupation
Footballer, humanitarian.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pelé) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Everything is practice.
– Pelé
Everybody knows my life. I won a lot of tournaments and scored more than 1,000 goals, won three World Cups but I could not play in Olympic Games.
– Pelé
Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string.
– Pelé
When you are young, you do a lot of stupid things.
– Pelé
When I was a footballer, I surrounded myself with footballers. We were all friends. But in Brasilia you don’t know who your friends are. It can be a dangerous place.
– Pelé
If I pass away one day, I am happy because I tried to do my best. My sport allowed me to do so much because it’s the biggest sport in the world.
– Pelé
You must respect people and work hard to be in shape. And I used to train very hard. When the others players went to the beach after training, I was there kicking the ball.
– Pelé
No doubt, I am earning more money with my endorsements than I ever earned playing soccer.
– Pelé
I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players.
– Pelé
A penalty is a cowardly way to score.
– Pelé
I don’t think I’m a very good businessman. I act too much with my heart.
– Pelé
To be a striker you need to be in good shape.
– Pelé
Lionel Messi is a wonderful player. Very skillful. Highly intelligent. He is not good in the air.
– Pelé
Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.
– Pelé
Sport is something that is very inspirational for young people.
– Pelé
I sometimes lie awake at night and wonder why I am still so popular and, to be honest, I don’t know.
– Pelé
Brazil’s always had great players, both at home and abroad, but we need to put all that talent together and mould a team out of it.
– Pelé
Wherever you go, there are three icons that everyone knows: Jesus Christ, Pele and Coca-Cola.
– Pelé
Yes, I have a lot of business interests. But I don’t work for just anyone, and I choose the companies very carefully.
– Pelé
The World Cup is a very important way to measure the good players, and the great ones. It is a test of a great player.
– Pelé
I’ve come to accept that the life of a frontrunner is a hard one, that he will suffer more injuries than most men and that many of these injuries will not be accidental.
– Pelé
I have to trust something that gives me power; I have to believe in something, but in my career I have a lot of moments I cannot explain with God.
– Pelé
Edson is the person that supports Pele. Edson is the base. Pele just comes and adds the face.
– Pelé
Everything on earth is a game. A passing thing. We all end up dead. We all end up the same, don’t we?
– Pelé
When you play against dirty players or very tough players, it’s easy to escape because you know what they’re going to do. But when the player is tough but intelligent, it’s much more difficult.
– Pelé
At 17, I already had responsibility because I took care of my family, but in the football I was young; I wasn’t experienced or the captain – I was just in the team.
– Pelé
The World Cup is a very complicated tournament – six games, seven if you make it to the final – and maybe if you lose one game you’re out, even if you’re the best.
– Pelé
When I was minister of sport in Brazil, I tried to bring in a law that would make the chairmen of clubs reveal their accounts like other businesses. It was turned down, but I think it is an important story that will make a good film.
– Pelé
I represent Brazil all over the world. Wherever I go I have to do my best, to not disappoint the Brazilian people. And that I’ve done.
– Pelé
When I retired, at that time I had a lot of proposals to play in Europe, England, Italy, Spain, Mexico. But I said no, after 18 years I want to rest, because I want to retire.
– Pelé
The level of football in England is the top. English football is the leader in the world.
– Pelé
All my life I thank God. My family was very religious.
– Pelé
Brazil eats, sleeps and drinks football. It lives football!
– Pelé
If you don’t give education to people, it is easy to manipulate them.
– Pelé
I was really proud that I was named after Thomas Edison and wanted to be called Edson. I thought Pele sounded horrible. It was a rubbish name. Edson sounded so much more serious and important.
– Pelé
Pelé doesn’t die. Pele will never die. Pele is going to go on for ever.
– Pelé
The bicycle kick is not easy to do. I scored 1,283 goals, and only two or three were bicycle kicks.
– Pelé
Of course, my father was a soccer player. He used to play very good. Then, when I was young, eight or nine years old, ten years old, I just want to be like my father.
– Pelé
The first World Cup I remember was in the 1950 when I was 9 or 10 years old. My father was a soccer player, and there was a big party, and when Brazil lost to Uruguay, I saw my father crying.
– Pelé
I played for Santos at 16, and we had an excellent team, so it helped a lot. And then I played for Brazil at the Maracana against Argentina. So I get more experience. This was one year before the World Cup, and it made a lot of difference.
– Pelé