The greatest quotes about Pele

It's difficult to quantify just how exceptional Pele was - a footballer, a global star, a magical talent, a peace-maker, an icon.

The Brazilian enjoyed one of the most remarkable careers of all time, with his divine footballing quality launching him to worldwide stardom. The plethora of trophies he lifted, the abundance of goals he scored and the monumental number of minds he captivated are testament to his sheer impact on, not just the beautiful game, but so many people's lives.

Indeed, the admiration for the legendary Brazilian is quite evidently reflected in some memorable quotes - here are some of the greatest words ever spoken about Pele.

As you'd expect, there are many quotes about the great Pele from within the world of football.

A player who made the game look as simple as anything and inspired so many, Pele has, among several other records, three World Cup-winner's medals to his name (no other player has achieved that feat) as well as a mountain of individual honours.

His stature in the game is beyond description, with some of the game's biggest names pouring their admiration for the Brazilian over the years.

"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

"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

Pele competed in four World Cups during his international career, winning the competition in his maiden appearance as a 17-year-old in 1958. The enigmatic striker also went on to pick up winner's medals in 1962 and 1970, only failing to win football's top prize in 1966 - England's year of glory.

Two titans of the Three Lions squad that year were skipper Bobby Moore and the talismanic Bobby Charlton, both of whom have plenty of praise for Pele.

"Pele was the most complete player."

- Bobby Moore

"I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player."

- Bobby Charlton

It wasn't just football that took Pele into its heart.

The formidable Brazilian had a global impact, surpassing the boundaries of football to become an ambassador, actor and all-round archetype of good.

"Pele played football for 22 years, and in that time he did more to promote world friendship and fraternity than any other ambassador anywhere."

- J.B. Pinheiro

"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 Pele is."

- Ronald Reagan

"Pele was one of the few who contradicted my theory: instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries."

- Andy Warhol

"The difficulty, the extraordinary, is not to score 1,000 goals like Pele – it’s to score one goal like Pele."

- Carlos Drummond de Andrade

"To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full."

- Nelson Mandela

"The moment the ball arrived at Pele's feet, football transformed into poetry."

- Pier Paolo Pasolini

"Absolutely everybody wanted to shake his hand, to get a photo with him. Saying you had partied with Pele was the biggest badge of honour going."

- Mick Jagger

A Brazilian newspaper did well to epitomise what Pele meant to his country, as well as the world, following his final career appearance in a friendly between New York Cosmos and Santos:

"Even the sky was crying"