What Is Pele Net Worth? Childhood, Career and After Football

Pele is a renowned Brazilian footballer. During his career, he earned a reputation as one of the best and highest-paid athletes in the world. Today, Pele is one of the legendary figures in the world of sports with an impressive net worth.

Pele’s net worth is a whopping $100 million. This is an accumulation of his earnings as a footballer. In Brazil, he is one of the national heroes and remains a leading goalscorer with 77 goals.

Pele was skilled at striking the football while anticipating the move of his opponents. His adept skill made it easy for him to score at least a goal in every game he played. Though he was mostly a striker, he could take on the role of playmaking, assisting his teammates with passing and dribbling.

Upon retirement, Pele became a global football ambassador and an activist who sought to improve his country. However, he still holds important football records, as he was the athlete that scored the most goals during his career.

Pele
Date of birth 23 October 1940 
GenderMale
Occupation Footballer
Net Worth$100 million
Nationality Brazil
Height 5 ft 8 inches (1.73m)

Read: Desmond Archer Cameron Football Career: What we know so far

Birth And Childhood

Pele, born on October 23, 1940, is the son of Celeste Arantes and Footballer Dondinho. Originally, he bore Edson Arantes but earned the nickname Pele because of his mispronunciation of the name of his favourite player.

Pelé grew in Bauru in the State of Sao Paulo where he suffered from poverty. He had to work as a servant in tea shops to earn more money. He learned to play football with his father, but both could not afford to get a proper football. Hence, they resorted to playing with a paper-stuffed sock.

As he grew, he played for small teams like Canto do Rio, São Paulinho, and Sete de Setembro. In his mid-teens, he became one of the Ardent players of indoor football, also called futsal.

According to Pele, playing futsal contributed significantly to his skills on the football field. Futsal also gave him the opportunity to play with more experienced players, even at a young age. With this, he developed more confidence than his peers.

Career Beginning

Pele started out in 1956 after de Brito took him to Santos. He gained recognition after he impressed the Santos coach during a trial. In June 1956, Pele signed a contract with the Santos club.

That same year, Pele scored the first goal of his career in a 7-1 victory match. At the beginning of the 1957 season, Pele had a starting place on his team. Ten months after signing the contract, he joined the Brazil national team. 

After his success in the 1958 and 1962 world cup matches, popular clubs like Juventus, Manchester United, and Real Madrid tried to sign him to their team. However, Santos’ Brazilian fans revolted and in 1961, Brazil declared him as a national treasure to prefer his transfer to another league.

Pele Net Worth

International Career

Pele first played in an international match on July 7, 1957. The match was a 2-1 defeat against Argentina at the Maracana. Here, he scored his first international goal at 16 and became the youngest goalscorer for Brazil.

Pele became the youngest player to play in a world cup final on June 29, 1958. Then, he was 17. He scored two goals in the final, beating Sweden 5-2. According to Barney Ronay, Pele had nothing but the talent to guide him. Still, he became the first black sporting superstar.

Pele also played in the 1959 South American Championship. After the tournament, he became the best player and top scorer with 8 goals in his name.

Pele’s fame continued till the 1962 world cup when he scored the second goal for his team. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury that kept him out of the rest of the tournament.

Read also: Hottest Female Soccer Players: Top 7 of 2021

Pele made history when he scored in the 1966 world cup, a goal that made him the first player to score in three consecutive world cup matches. After suffering injuries, he vowed he would never play in a world cup again. However, he changed this thought and still took part actively in the 1970 world cup.

Pele played his last international match on July 18 1971 where Brazil recorded 67 wins, 14 draws, and only 11 losses. 

After Football

After retiring, Pele continued to receive accolades for his service in his youth. Several players use his style of play as references in football. There’s also the Pele law which aims to reduce bribery and corruption in Brazilian football.

Affiliate Disclosure: Purchases that are made using our links may earn us commissions from affiliate partners such as Amazon and other retailers.

Leave a Comment!