EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
Grammy award-winning artist, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, has described late Brazilian football legend, Pele. as a strong legacy that will be remembered forever.
Burna Boy noted that legends never die, saying “they are always remembered in the hearts of the people.”
The Brazilian football legend Pele was reportedly hospitalized at the Albert Einstein Israelita Hospital in Sao Paulo before Christmas until he passed on at age 82.
The three times World Cup winner was said to have suffered from cardiac and other medical issues until his departure.
The statement reads, “Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, winner of record 3 World Cups and standard-bearer for ‘the beautiful game,’ has died at 82.”
Reacting to the death of Pele, Burna Boy took to his social media page to write, “RIP Pele. A man with a strong legacy that will be remembered FOREVER. Legends Never Die they are always Remembered in the hearts of the People.”
Pele’s legacy
Pele is the only player to win three World Cups. Among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century,[116] Pelé is one of the most lauded players in the history of football and has been frequently ranked the best player ever.
Following his emergence, at the 1958 World Cup he was nicknamed O Rei (“The King”).
Among his contemporaries, Dutch star Johan Cruyff stated, “Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.” Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning captain Carlos Alberto Torres opined: “His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game.”[
According to Tostão, his strike partner at the 1970 World Cup: “Pelé was the greatest – he was simply flawless. And off the pitch he is always smiling and upbeat. You never see him bad-tempered. He loves being Pelé.”
His Brazilian teammate Clodoaldo commented on the adulation he witnessed: “In some countries, they wanted to touch him, in some they wanted to kiss him.
In others they even kissed the ground he walked on. I thought it was beautiful, just beautiful.”
According to Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany’s 1974 World Cup-winning captain: “Pelé is the greatest player of all time. He reigned supreme for 20 years. There’s no one to compare with him.”
Former Real Madrid and Hungary star Ferenc Puskás stated: “The greatest player in history was Di Stéfano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that.”
Just Fontaine, French striker and leading scorer at the 1958 World Cup said “When I saw Pelé play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots.”
England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore commented: “Pelé was the most complete player I’ve ever seen, he had everything. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only five feet and eight inches tall, yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision.
“He was the greatest because he could do anything and everything on a football pitch. I remember Saldanha the coach being asked by a Brazilian journalist who was the best goalkeeper in his squad. He said Pelé. The man could play in any position”.
Former Manchester United striker and member of England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning team Sir Bobby Charlton stated, “I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” During the 1970 World Cup, when Manchester United defender Paddy Crerand (who was part of the ITV panel) was asked, “How do you spell Pelé?”, he replied, “Easy: G-O-D.”