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FOOTBALL ALL-TIME GREAT, PELÉ CLOCKS 80

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

World’s greatest footballer of all time, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé clocks 80 this Friday.

At 17 years and 239 days, he became the youngest scorer at the World Cup when he found the net in 1958 duel with Wales.

Five days later he added another record as the youngest player to score a World Cup hat trick in the Sweden ’58 duel with France.

He went on to become the first player with three World Cup winning medals after successes with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

He is so popular that he is well known and had met with several heads of states.

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On one instance, he was meeting with the US President, Ronald Reagan who introduced self thus:

“My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the President of the United States of America. But you don’t need to introduce yourself, because everyone knows who Pelé is.”

In 1999, he was voted World player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics and along with Argentina’s Diego Maradona, he won the FIFA Player of the Century Award.

Pele and Sports Villagw Square’s Kunle Solaja at France ’98 World Cup

Still in 1999, the International Olympic Committee elected Pelé as Athlete of the Century. Goal scoring was his habit, as he became the most successful league goal-scorer in the world, scoring 1281 goals in 1363 games, which included unofficial friendly matches and tour games. Among those goals were the two he scored against Nigeria’s Green Eagles during his first visit to Nigeria.

The match ended 2-2 as the then 28-year old Pele scored both goals in the match played on 26 January 1969 at the then Lagos City Stadium. Muyiwa Oshode and Baba Alli scored the goals for Nigeria.

Eight days later at the then Ogbe Stadium in Benin, Pele’s Santos beat the Midwest selected side 2-1. At the 4 February 1969 duel, Pele did not score. Santos goals came from Edu and Negreiros.

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During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world. He began his playing career for Santos Club of Brazil at age 15 and the national team at 16. He has visited Nigeria many times, the last being in 2000 shortly after the Sydney Olympics.

One of his most traumatic experiences was in February 1976 when he, along with some international tennis players was in Nigeria during the abortive coup against the regime of General Murtala Muhammed.

The sportsmen had to seek diplomatic channels to sneak out of Nigeria as all borders were closed.

Even with the advent of modern day strikers, Pelé with 77 goals in 92 games, is still the all-time leading for Brazil.

Pelé also featured as a prisoner of war in the Hollywood classic ‘Escape to Victory’.

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In spite of the athleticism in him, Pelé has health challenges. He attended the draw for the Russia 2018 on wheelchair to which he is still confined. He also for long has just one kidney as in 1977 the Brazilian media reported that he had his right kidney removed.

In November 2012, Pelé underwent a successful hip operation. Early this year, Pelé collapsed from exhaustion and was taken to hospital.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Ronaldo reaches one billion followers on social media

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Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.

Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.

“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.

“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”

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The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.

The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.

Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.

-Reuters

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Over a million subscribe as Ronaldo launches YouTube channel

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Euro 2024 - Quarter Final - Portugal v France - Hamburg Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany - July 5, 2024 Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo after taking a penalty during the penalty shootout REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File photo

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.

The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.

“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.

A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.

Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.

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The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.

-Reuters

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Lionel Messi set to hang boots

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Messi Sets Record Straight Over Hong Kong Absence -

Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.

Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.

“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.

“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.

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Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.

-Reuters

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