Picture of Pelé

Football legend Pelé passed away at the age of 82, leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest athletes in history, as the only player in history to win three World Cup titles and becoming the sports first global icon, Pelé also played the guitar and was an avid singer-songwriter.

A 1977 album by Brazilian composer Sérgio Mendes was the soundtrack to a documentary on Pelé’s life and marked his debut as a singer and songwriter. Pelé performed two of his own songs on the album.

Later in his life, he released the album ‘Pelé Ginga’ in 2014, featuring legends Gilberto Gil and Elis Regina. He also released the single ‘Esperança’ to mark the start of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“I didn’t want the public to make the comparison between Pelé the composer and Pelé the football player,” he told The Guardian in 2006. “That would have been a huge injustice. In football, my talent was a gift from God. Music was just for fun.