Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940, in Três Coraçes, Minas Gerais, Brazil, the son of Fluminense footballer Dondinho (born Joo Ramos do Nascimento) and Celeste Arantes. He was the oldest of two siblings and was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison. His parents opted to drop the I and call him “Edson,” but there was an error on the birth certificate, so many records reflect his name as “Edison,” not “Edson,” as he is.
His relatives dubbed him “Dico” at first. When he was in school, it is said that he was given the moniker “Pelé” because how he mispronounced the name of his favorite player, the local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé. The more he complained, the longer the term stayed. Pelé claimed in his memoirs that neither he nor his former pals knew the meaning of the moniker. The word has no recognized Portuguese meaning aside from the claim that it is derived from “Bilé” and that “miracle” is its Hebrew equivalent.
In 1956, de Brito took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city near So Paulo, to try out for the professional club Santos FC, promising the Santos directors that the 15-year-old would be “the best football player in the world.”
Pelé impressed Santos coach Lula during his trial at the Estádio Vila Belmiro, and he signed a professional deal with the club in June 1956. Pelé was heavily hyped in the local media as a potential superstar. At the age of 15, he made his senior team debut against Corinthians de Santo André on September 7, 1956, and had a spectacular performance in a 7-1 triumph, scoring the first goal of his prolific career during the match.
Pelé top 10 career goals
Above is the video of Pelé’s top ten carrier goals
