Following the death of Pele on Thursday, December 29, 2022, here are some quotes from other stars extolling his greatness and impact on The Beautiful Game.
“When I saw Pele play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots.” – Just Fontaine
“The greatest player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pele as a player. He was above that.” – Ferenc Puskas
“Pele is the greatest player of all time. He reigned supreme for 20 years. All the others – Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini – rank beneath him. There’s no one to compare with Pele.” – Franz Beckenbauer
“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.” – Clodoaldo
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“His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game.” – Carlos Alberto
“Pele was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.” – Johan Cruyff
“An artist, in my eyes, is someone who can lighten up a dark room. I have never and will never find the difference between the pass from Pele to Carlos Alberto in the final of the World Cup in 1970 and the poetry of the young Rimbaud. There is in each of these human manifestations an expression of beauty which touches us and gives us a feeling of eternity.” – Eric Cantona
“Muhammad Ali was waving to the crowd, blowing kisses, doing the Muhammad Ali thing. As soon as he walked into the locker room and saw Pele…he was like a star-struck child.” – Shep Messing
“There’s Pele the man, and then Pele the player. And to play like Pele is to play like God.” – Eusebio
“I’m a Pele fan from way back when I was a kid, and then there was always this thing later about Pele and Maradona. I was young and impressionable as a kid but it was always Pele for me.” – Sir Alex Ferguson
“Malcolm Allison: “How do you spell Pele?” Pat Crerand: “Easy: G-O-D.”” – British commentary team at Mexico 1970
