Pelé

CTL-E-5840 · Person · other · 1940–2022

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07096 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-5840.

Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on 23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil, was a Brazilian forward widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in history and one of the sport's first global icons. He joined Santos at 15 and debuted for Brazil at 16, then announced himself at the 1958 World Cup, scoring a hat trick in the semifinal against France and two goals in the final against Sweden at age 17. He remains the only player to win three World Cups, lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and he scored 77 goals in 92 official matches for Brazil, a national record that stood for more than fifty years. At club level he is Santos's all-time top scorer, with 643 goals in 659 competitive matches, before closing his playing career with the New York Cosmos (1975–77). Named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999, he later served as Brazil's Minister of Sports (1995–98). Pelé died in São Paulo on 29 December 2022, aged 82.

The record

• Also known as: Edson Arantes do Nascimento, O Rei, Pérola Negra

Notes

Staged 2026-10-16 under CTL-GOV-006 (Census Intake Wave 2 — 747 Program, Wave 8; 40-record packet). Gate A (2026-10-16): no Pelé entity in the live graph at 3,523 entities (exact / normalized / alias + token containment); ID CTL-E-5840 free. Supply: 747 Supply Ledger, Tier 3 — Famous Birthdays ABSENT census, readiness rank 974 (Soccer Players list). The census supplied the NAME ONLY; no fact in this record is sourced to it (CTL-GOV-004). SCOPE GATE: PASS — Afro-Brazilian football figure — Black diaspora scope (Brazil). Vital status: DECEASED — 29 December 2022, São Paulo, Brazil, aged 82 (Britannica; AP; hospital statement reported multiple organ failure following colon cancer). Tribute treatment. CONFLICTS CARRIED (never blended): career goal totals differ by counter and by what is counted — 757 goals in 812 OFFICIAL matches (Reuters factbox); FIFA's all-matches figure 1,281 goals in 1,366 games; CBF/Santos's all-matches figure 1,283 in 1,367; Wikipedia/Guinness 1,279 in 1,363 including friendlies; RSSSF's recount gives 778 official / 1,303 all matches (via The18). Each figure is carried with its counter named; no single total is asserted. Brazil goals likewise: 77 in 92 official matches (FIFA count) vs 95 in 114 matches including unofficial fixtures (AP). STATISTICS (sourced, dated): Three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970) — the only player with three (FIFA/Britannica); 77 official Brazil goals in 92 matches (Reuters); Santos 643 goals in 659 competitive matches (FIFA/Reuters) — accessed 2026-10-16. MEDIA: photo HELD (candidate: Wikimedia Commons and FIFA/AP archival photography of Pelé is extensive (incl. 1958–1970 World Cup imagery); no file page was read at file-page level in this pass, so no image is cleared — CTL-PHOTO-001; a CTL-created graphic is the standing alternative); chart FILLED (charts/chart-ctl-e-5840-pele.svg); video HELD (the Shorts Link Map catalog was checked by name and variants, incl. accent-normalized forms — no matching-entity CTL Short exists for this subject); audio HELD (no CTL-owned or rights-cleared matching-entity audio). MEDIA LAYER (staged 2026-10-16; full per-asset PHOTO-001 records + embed specs in the packet's staged JSON, Drive packet folder): map = N/A (Person records carry no map slot under the media-layer rule; maps attach to places and institutions.) | visual_assets = HELD: | chart = FILLED (CTL-created SVG (black / deep red / gold) built only from this record's sourced facts) | video = HELD (No matching-entity CTL Short in the Shorts Link Map catalog (checked by name and variants, incl. accent-normal) | audio = HELD (No CTL-owned or rights-cleared matching-entity audio at staging; the subject's own recordings/appearances are )

Sources

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Pelé" — born 23 October 1940, Três Corações; died 29 December 2022, São Paulo; Brazil debut 1957 at 16; 1958 semifinal hat trick and two final goals; three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970); IOC Athlete of the Century (1999) — https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pele-Brazilian-football-player (build store)
• FIFA, statement of President Gianni Infantino (29 December 2022), via Soccer News — the only player to win the World Cup three times; 643 goals in 659 matches for Santos — https://www.soccernews.com/pele-dies-brazil-legend-achieved-immortality-fifa-president-infantino/347396/ (primary source · build store)
• Reuters factbox, "Pele's career in numbers" (29 December 2022), via Duke FM — 757 goals in 812 official matches; CBF/Santos all-matches count 1,283 in 1,367 vs FIFA's 1,281 in 1,366; 77 goals in 92 official Brazil matches; Santos top scorer 643 in 659 competitive matches — https://duke.fm/2022/12/29/factbox-peles-career-in-numbers/ (primary source · build store)
• Associated Press obituary, via IPM Newsroom (29 December 2022) — died in São Paulo on 29 December 2022, aged 82; Santos debut at 16 in 1956; 95 goals in 114 Brazil matches including 77 official — https://ipmnewsroom.org/pele-brazils-mighty-king-of-beautiful-game-has-died/ (primary source · build store)
• Wikipedia, "Pelé" — Santos 1956–74; New York Cosmos 1975–77; Minister of Sports 1995–98; 1,279 goals in 1,363 games including friendlies (Guinness World Record) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelé (build store)

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Record CTL-E-5840 · Combined Graph record U-07096 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 5 sources.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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