In 1987, already retired, the ’10’ sang the phrase “ABC, ABC every child has to read and write” together with the children’s band Tren de Alegría, as part of a literacy campaign by the Brazilian Ministry of Education.
Pelé, who would later release other solo songs, had already tested the world in the 1980s with the popular side of the presenter Xuxa, with whom he formed the royal couple of Brazil for five years (1981-1986).
In 2006, Pelé will offer himself again with “Peléginga”, an album in which he makes a duet with the immense Gilberto Gil, and also a first version of the ballad “Acredita no véio”, which he would sing again in 2020 on the occasion of his 80th birthday, accompanied by the guitars of the Mexican duo Rodrigo y Gabriela.
Hollywood actor
On the big screen, Pelé appeared as a Trinidad and Tobago prisoner of war in a concentration camp in 1943 for the film “Escape to Victory” (1981), by director John Huston.
With Michael Caine as the team’s coach, Pelé had to play a game against Nazi soldiers alongside teammates like Sylvester Stallone, already established as Rocky, and former players like Bobby Moore, captain of England’s champions in 1966.
“I’m going to be honest. You don’t shoot well, you don’t dribble well, but you can be a good goalkeeper,” Pelé advises Stallone in dialogue from the film.