Brazilian football legend, Pele, has been confirmed dead at the age of 82, at a hospital in Sao Paulo, following complications with colon cancer, which was diagnosed in September 2021.
While Pele is considered by many to be the greatest-of-all-time in football history, it is worthy of note to consider why the three-time World Cup winner never played for a football club in Europe.
Unlike many, who have been given the same tag today as the ‘greatest-of-all-time’, who have played for several clubs across Europe, Pele only played for two clubs throughout his incredible career, namely, Santos in his native Brazil and American side New York Cosmos.
Playing European football is a ‘thing’ as it affords football enthusiasts to win trophies like the European Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Champions League and the ultimate Ballon d’Or.
Stories about instances where Pele could have signed a deal with a European club abound, especially, after the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, some of which include: Manchester United, Napoli, Valencia and Real Madrid.
Metro UK quoted Pele saying, “There were many times when I was very close to signing with Real Madrid, and then once more with Napoli in Italy.
“It’s not a regret. I was at Santos, and at the time they were a powerhouse.
“I didn’t play outside of Brazil because I was very, very happy at Santos, I had the best 15-20 years of my life there. I had plenty of other proposals and not just from Real Madrid either, but I was ok where I was.”
Pele once revealed, in an Instagram post in 2018, that he was close to signing a deal with the Italian giants, Juventus, this was as he congratulated Christiano Ronaldo on his first game for the club.
He wrote, “Good luck, Cristiano, for your first game with Juve. Had things worked out differently, I may have played for the Old Lady too.
“Over dinner one evening in 1961, the owner of Fiat offered the President of Santos FC a million dollars to sign me! I only played in Santos’ stripes though.”
