Pele also revealed back in 2024 that he turned down Napoli, Man Utd and Real Madrid. The icon explained why he wanted to stay in Brazil and not head to Europe. "There were many times when I was very close to signing with Real Madrid, and then once more with Napoli in Italy," he told USA Today.

One of the most famous stories about Pel's influence on not just the sports world, but the entire world took place in 1969, while he was playing for Santos FC . The Brazilian side are said to have stopped the civil war in Nigeria for a few moments when they visited the country to play a friendly.