Pele Quotes & Sayings

It was with a homosexual, I was barely 14 years old. But let's be fair, I wasn't the only one who did it. He was a man in Bauru that all our team visited. — Pele

If you don't give education to people, it is easy to manipulate them. — Pele

I think I've always had the shots. But in the past, I've suffered too many mental lapses. Now, I'm starting to get away from that and my mental discipline and commitment to the game are much better. I think I'm really taking a good look at the big picture. That's the difference between being around for the final or watching the final from my sofa at home. — Pele

I always think that I would have become an actor if I hadn't been a soccer player. — Pele

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. — Pele

I think he'll reach 1000 goals, but he'll never overtake my total.
(on 40-year old Romario) — Pele

I sometimes lie awake at night and wonder why I am still so popular and, to be honest, I don't know. — Pele

The head talks to the heart and the heart talks to the feet. — Pele

We're not great friends, but I admire him. If he thinks he's the best player of the century, that's his problem. — Pele

The level of football in England is the top. English football is the leader in the world. — Pele

Lionel Messi is a wonderful player. Very skillful. Highly intelligent. He is not good in the air. — Pele

If you ever want to be a decent player, you have to be able to use both feet without stopping to think about it. — Pele

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. — Pele

Success isn't determined by how many times you win, but by how you play the week after you lose. — Pele

Love is more important than what we can take ... Please say with me three times-Love! Love! Love! — Pele

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. — Pele

I played futsal growing up in Baurd. In futsal you need to think quick and play quick so its easier for you when you move to normal football. — Pele

There is always someone out there getting better than you by training harder than you. — Pele

No doubt, I am earning more money with my endorsements than I ever earned playing soccer. — Pele

Brazil, always they buy from the United States. The first who was sell to the United States was football. — Pele

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. — Pele

I treat everybody the same. You know I love to be with people: the youngsters. — Pele

Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string. — Pele

For 20 years they have asked me the same question, who is the greatest? Pele or Maradona? I replay that all you have to do is look at the facts - how many goals did he score with his right foot or with his head? — Pele

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. — Pele

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. — Pele

Neymar is undoubtedly the best player in Brazil. He deserves to play in the best team in the world; next to the best player in the world, Messi.He is a very good player with great quality and a great future.I have no doubt. For me, Neymar is a genius. — Pele

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 — Pele

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. — Pele

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. — Pele

When I was playing, they said soccer was a man's world and women should remain on the sidelines, all I can say is I'm glad I never had to go up against Mia Hamm — Pele

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. — Pele

When you are young, you do a lot of stupid things. — Pele

When football stars disappear, so do the teams, and that is a very curious phenomenon. It is like in the theatre, in a play, where there is a great star. If the star is not well, the whole cast suffers. — Pele

Over the years I've learnt to live with two persons in my heart. One is Edson, who has fun with his friends and family; the other is the football player Pele. I didn't want the name. 'Pele' sounds like baby-talk in Portuguese. — Pele

A lot of people, when a guy scores a lot of goals, think, 'He's a great player', because a goal is very important, but a great player is a player who can do everything on the field. He can do assists, encourage his colleagues, give them confidence to go forward. It is someone who, when a team does not do well, becomes one of the leaders. — Pele

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. — Pele

Everything on earth is a game. A passing thing. We all end up dead. We all end up the same, don't we? — Pele

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. — Pele

No individual can win a game by himself. — Pele

Football is like a religion to me. I worship the ball, and I treat it like a god. Too many players think of a football as something to kick. They should be taught to caress it and to treat it like a precious gem. — Pele

All my life I thank God. My family was very religious. — Pele

Enthusiasm is everything. It must ... — Pele

In 1962, my injury wasn't because of violence; I just kicked the ball and it happened. And that was OK because Brazil won; I didn't have any difficulty in accepting that. I still got a medal because I'd played two games. — Pele

Nelson Mandela was one of the most influential people in my life. He was my hero, my friend, and also a companion to me in our fight for the people and for world peace. Let us all continue his legacy with purpose and passion. — Pele

George Best was the greatest player in the world. — Pele

Everything is practice. — Pele

I think the kids always they look forward to be always the big stars. Not only football, any profession. They want to be the best, singer, they want to be the best political, only the stars. But I think sometime the life give you opportunity, and long to be a big star, but you don't need to be a big star, you need to be beautiful, excellent man. Human being. This is the first. — Pele

Yes, I have a lot of business interests. But I don't work for just anyone, and I choose the companies very carefully. — Pele

Another reason why I am always close to the people, because the communication is very important. When I stopped to play soccer I continued to ... I continued to work with UNICEF. I did a lot of work with UNESCO. We did a lot of charity programme and games. — Pele

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. — Pele

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. — Pele

I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint. — Pele

Pele doesn't die. Pele will never die. Pele is going to go on for ever. — Pele

Ronaldo has come through for the past two or three years and is the best in Europe. I think at the moment no doubt Ronaldo is the best player. — Pele

I want to do my best to make the people happy. I play with my heart for the sport. — Pele

The biggest family in the world is football, because football has more associate - and FIFA, for example - has more associates than UNESCO. — Pele

He is the greatest player in the world right now, without a doubt, he is the player who gives Brazilians the most joy.
(on Ronaldinho) — Pele

A penalty is a cowardly way to score. — Pele

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. — Pele

A team is not made up of isolated individuals. Always stay in the game. Don't be passive. Football is a team game. No one plays alone. Success depends on your whole team being a single unit. — Pele

Yes, Ronaldinho is bigger than me. Exactly 4 centimeters. — Pele

Wherever you go, there are three icons that everyone knows: Jesus Christ, Pele and Coca-Cola. — Pele

Edson is the person that supports Pele. Edson is the base. Pele just comes and adds the face. — Pele

Sport is something that is very inspirational for young people. — Pele

His left foot is fantastic. It's like Mozart. God gave Freddy the gift to play soccer. If he is prepared mentally and physically, nobody will stop him.
(on Freddy Adu) — Pele

I always had a philosophy which I got from my father. He used to say, 'Listen. God gave to you the gift to play football. This is your gift from God. If you take care of your health, if you are in good shape all the time, with your gift from God no one will stop you, but you must be prepared.' — Pele

The bicycle kick is not easy to do. I scored 1,283 goals, and only two or three were bicycle kicks. — Pele

Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man. — Pele

Brazil eats, sleeps and drinks football. It lives football! — Pele

The bicycle kick is not easy to do. — Pele

Brazil is crazy about football. People, they wait for this moment, but this doesn't mean we are going to win the championship. That is the problem. — Pele

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. — Pele

I don't think I'm a very good businessman. I act too much with my heart. — Pele

When you control the ball you control the score — Pele

Always when I come to the field, I try to do my best for other people. — Pele

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. — Pele

People always ask me: 'When is the new Pele going to be born?' Never. My father and mother have closed the factory. — Pele

The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning. — Pele

I love people. I wanted to be with the people. I wanted to give something back what I get from football, because God gave everything to me. — Pele

Football is the best, is the biggest sport in the world. — Pele

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. — Pele

Great teams are not made up of many well-rounded players. Great teams are made up of a variety of players, each having their own strengths. — Pele

To be a striker you need to be in good shape. — Pele

Everyone talks about the forwards, the players when they are scoring goals. But sometimes I look for the complete player not just the players who score but those who can pass. — Pele

Most important is be a good man. — Pele

Considerable research on successful soccer players and their developmental history, affirms that a good percentage of them have spent time in isolation, working on soccer skills. — Pele

Football is the only sport where you put people together, it doesn't matter if you are rich, or poor, or black, or white. It is one nation. This is the beauty of football. — Pele

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. — Pele

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. — Pele

I think that France, Germany, Spain, Holland and England will join Brazil in the semi-finals. — Pele

How much soccer training is it needed to become a top player? It depends on the efficiency of your training routine. Setting long and short-term goals is a must. When planning out a soccer training regime, one must strive for realistic and consistent program that will diminish specific weaknesses. Broad versatility of soccer skills is the Nirvana of every dedicated trainee. — Pele