Do we like Pelé?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A decent record on the right side, with one real stain: his silence under Brazil's military rule.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born in 1940 and went on to win three World Cups, in 1958, 1962 and 1970, the only player to manage it. He scored 618 goals in 636 games for Santos and shared FIFA's Player of the Century honour in 1999. Mate, that's the kind of CV that makes everyone else's look like a shopping list.
The big knock is politics. A 2021 review in The Nation argued he accommodated whoever held power, noting that before the 1970 World Cup he was photographed hugging and laughing with dictator Emílio Médici. Pelé himself recalled that the 1964 coup made no noticeable difference to daily life. Former teammate Paulo Cézar Lima accused him of complicity, and the review's author agreed.
On the harm check, nothing turned up in his own words against LGBTQ+ people, women or the planet. The one flag is a signed Santos shirt he sent Bolsonaro in November 2020, inscribed “Ao presidente Bolsonaro, com abraço, Edson Pelé”. It drew online criticism, with others defending it. A gift isn't an endorsement, so we've left that as a mark, not a fail.
He was also Brazil's Minister of Sport from 1995 to 1998 under President Cardoso. The Pelé Law of 1998 aimed to professionalise club football and guarantee players' labour rights, and it ended the “passe” transfer system within three years. FIFA's then-president João Havelange and powerful club bosses criticised it. In 1995 he also urged Black Brazilians to vote for Black candidates in Congress.
The good stuff is real. He was UNESCO's Champion for Sport from 1994, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and goodwill ambassador for the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio. After his 1,000th goal in 1969 he asked that poor children be helped, and he later said he had a special regard for them because he had been a poor child himself.
Nothing fresh has come out about him lately beyond tributes. The Guadalajara statue, outside the stadium where he won the 1970 title, was unveiled by Jalisco's governor, who said “Pelé loved Guadalajara”. It's a tribute, not a scandal, and nothing harmful has surfaced since.