Brazilian football legend Pele, only player to win three FIFA World Cup titles, dies at 82

Legendary Brazilian footballer Pele passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 after battling bowel cancer

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A few days back, the football legend's health deteriorated and doctors had said that he needed care for renal and cardiac dysfunction. He was also undergoing treatment for a respiratory infection that was aggravated by COVID-19

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Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is considered as one of the greatest to ever step a foot on a football pitch. He is the only player to have won three FIFA World Cup titles, having won the top prize in football in 1958, 1962 and 1970. The footballer also boasts of numerous trophies at the club and country level.

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Pele has also won many individual accolades as well. He won the 'Best Young Player' award in FIFA World Cup 1958. He has also won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award a massive seven times. His astonishing goal-scoring record makes him the rightful 'Greatest of All-Time'.

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The striker dominated the sport from the 1950s to 1970s an era marked by unstructured and decentralised record-keeping in the sport. This deprived the fans of knowing the exact measure of the footballer's greatness. His goal-scoring record is an issue hotly debated among fans and statisticians alike

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At the international level, Pele remains his country's all-time top-scorer. With 77 goals in 92 international appearances, this football legend's feet and the nets could not be separated.

He announced himself with a thunderous performance in 1958 World Cup, in which he scored six goals throughout the tournament. He emerged as the second-highest goal-scorer in the tournament.

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This goal tally also makes Pele the 11th-highest run scorer among international footballers at the FIFA World Cup, Pele has scored 12 goals in 14 matches across four editions, which is the second most by any Brazilian after Ronaldo

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At 17 years and 239 days of age, he is also the youngest footballer to have ever found the nets in men's FIFA World Cup, accomplishing this feat during the quarterfinals of the 1958 edition of the tournament against Wales.

PTI