King In Life

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Pelé signs endorsement deals with MasterCard and Umbro. He collaborates on the sportswear brand’s new football boot range.

Pelé and Celso Grellet, the former managing director of São Paulo, set up Pelé Sports & Marketing.

After rigorous preparation, Pelé returns to the field to play a one-off match with the Brazilian National Team as part of his fiftieth birthday celebrations. He is left disappointed after Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian CBF, refuses to allow any Brazilian internationals based abroad to participate in the match.

Pelé cries as he marries Assíria Seixas Lemos in the Anglican Episcopal Church in Recife, Brazil. Hundreds of well-wishers line the streets around the church, which was guarded by 170 policemen.

Pelé is appointed extraordinary minister for sport by Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, becoming Brazil’s first-ever black cabinet minister. Making the announcement, Cardoso described Pelé as ‘a symbol of Brazil that has come up from the roots… that has triumphed.’

Pelé meets Nelson Mandela during a trip to Pretoria, South Africa.

Pelé’s wife, Assíria, gives birth to twins, Joshua and Celeste.

Pelé’s father, Dondinho, dies of heart failure.

Pelé is awarded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

Pelé is voted Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).