The time when Pelé could have played for Liverpool

Pele, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died at the age of 82, after a battle with colon cancer that was detected in September 2021. In recent months, he was seen attending Albert Einstein Hospital, sometimes out of the ordinary for his scheduled appointments. Last Friday, December 2, 2022, Pelé himself sent a reassuring message.

Before the match against Cameroon at the Lusail World Cup stadium, Brazilian fans unfurled a giant green and yellow flag with a picture of Pelé wearing the number 10 on the back and the message "Get well soon" in English. A month earlier, he had met prodigy Kylian Mbappé, a World Cup winner like the Brazilian star before he turned 20 (Pele at 17 in 1958 and the Frenchman at 19, in 2018) during an event in Paris.

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Shortly after the meeting with Mbappé, interpreted by some as the handover of the baton, came the most recent scare: King Pelé was hospitalised with a severe urinary tract infection. Because of his hip problems, the athlete who flew over opposing defences was forced to get around with the aid of a walker: "My new boots," he joked.

Ahead of his 80th birthday, he said he was happy to be "lucid" and in full possession of his mental faculties, although his son Edinho said in February that the King was living "in seclusion" and "suffering from a form of depression". "I'm fine, I'm just not going to be able to play," he joked on 22 October that year, after being confined near Sao Paulo by the coronavirus.

Pelé could have played for Liverpool

It was at the 1966 World Cup that England were struck by Pelé's quality at the World Cup. Although he played very little due to injury, several teams wanted to sign him, including Liverpool. However, due to his great love for Santos of Brazil, he rejected the proposals and stayed in Brazil. Years later, Pelé posed with the Liverpool shirt with the number 10, something that drove the Reds fans crazy.