I hate to be that guy, but.. he had a daughter that he didn't want to recognize, Sandra, she had to sue him (she did prove he was her father, but ended up receiving no money. she however could use his surname)
She also died of cancer, just like he died today, but back in 2006. Not even after she died he would show up - he sent flowers through his company, so.. that's not my definition of an all around nice guy
That's also not a man that somehow didn't want children. He also had 6 other children that he treated just fine. How would you live knowing that your father rejects you, but not your brothers and sisters?
As an analogy, I eat meat. Future generations might see that as immoral. It's definitely not a mistake I made one time, though, it's an ongoing choice that I'm making repeatedly over the course of my life.
I do believe he’s super wrong on this subject, but not even for a moment I consider him as a bad person because of that.
It's like you be a nice guy 99.9% of the time, but in the remaining percent you murder someone. All your niceness is nullified by your single action.
It's really weird to insist on using your biological father's surname if they disown you.
But what grosses me out is if Pelé were not who he is. She wouldn't have been so insistent on using his name.
I doubt it was a yearning to connect with her ancestor that lead to it and not money and fame. She had a mum, use her surname she raised you!
You think ahe tried to sue him into loving her? That's so gross.
She was deprived not only of the contact of his father but also her siblings and extended family from the father side, and for no reason at all. She always knew who her father was and knew that he wanted nothing to do with her.
It’s a stretch to argue that a lifetime of neglect is a singular mistake. This was an ongoing issue that he kept choosing over and over again.
It’s stupid and part of why they are so bad for my personal mental health
I bet that's a lie.
I also learned that a lot of Brazilians (at least in Rio) are bigger fans of their local/favorite club team than the national team so many who aren’t Santos fans don’t consider him the greatest (even though they obviously loved him).
Lawyer and former Congressman Vicente Cascione is a staunch supporter of Pelé. He guarantees that he was called by the King of football for a meeting that would be held at the house of Lúcia, Pelé's sister, in Ponta da Praia, in Santos, in August 1992.
The meeting, four years before Sandra Regina (Pelé's daughter) went to court to demand recognition of paternity, would be held with the presence of Pelé, Lúcia, Davi, a former soccer player and married to Lúcia, and Sandra.
“I remember well. It was a Saturday afternoon. I was not Pelé's lawyer. I saw Pelé start his football career at Santos. He just called me so I could listen to the conversation I was having with Sandra. Pelé would acknowledge paternity, without any problem”, says Cascione.
The problem, according to Vicente's account, was caused by Sandra's lawyer at the time.
“This lawyer, who has already passed away, called the press to the meeting. So, he arrived and started giving interviews on the street. Sandra didn't even go to the meeting. The lawyer appeared. It would be the first contact that Pelé would have with Sandra. But the one who showed up was the lawyer. A terrible situation was created. Pelé was very irritated with the lawyer's attitude and decided to just assume paternity in court", said Vicente Cascione.
“When Pelé saw that the lawyer had called the press to the meeting, he looked at me and said: I was betrayed. Now I will only recognize paternity in court”, remembers Vicente Cascione.
> “When Pelé saw that the lawyer had called the press to the meeting, he looked at me and said: I was betrayed. Now I will only recognize paternity in court”, remembers Vicente Cascione.
I understand he was pissed, and I don't fault him for this specifically (even though it was a poor decision)
The trouble was all the other decisions he did regarding her, during her whole life. Do you think he acted like he did just because of the PR stunt caused by the lawyer? It would be kind of lame to hold this grudge for decades.
Outside ball carrying, at least to me, Maradona was much more admirable because he remained unapologetically himself. Pelé on the other hand, eventually became a salesman of his own image: a permanent smile on his face, always talking in platitudes to keep everyone happy, fully aligned with his (not so innocent) FIFA bosses.
He certainly wasn't a perfect person, with controversial attitudes throughout his life, but let's remember that he had humble beginnings like many black poor boys in Brazil whose destiny was to starve and, at least publicly, he always acted as a citizen of the world trying to sell a good image from Brazil. he was never involved in drugs.
Despite him being a scumbag in many aspects of the personal life, this is way off the mark. He is one of the all time GOATs and his adoration in Argentina borders on the fanatical.
It's absolutely not true that he is widely remembered as a scumbag; some people of course do, others acknowledge that he struggled with drugs all of his life but he came from humble beginnings and never forgot nor reneged on this, and many call him D10S (a play on Spanish "dios" and the number 10 he wore on his t-shirt). That's not the mark of someone widely remembered as a scumbag.
Sports wise, he was a genius.
As a person? He was a total asshole.
Remember that's the argument I'm responding to, that outside the soccer field Maradona's legacy is that of a scumbag. That's simply untrue.