Let the man himself say it. From his retirement speech in a 1977 match where he played half the match for New York Cosmos and the other half for Santos. I remember both watching the match and hearing him say this:
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I still remember my father telling me without hesitation in the mid 80s that Pele was the greatest of all. With just a few grainy images it was hard to tell at the time but since then as I grew older and I looked into his career more and more I really came to appreciate his greatness.
He truly was the King of football.
RIP
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RIP Pele.
He had the lot and played with such joy.
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Just out of curiosity. Did anyone here see him at Goodison Park during the world cup. My father saw the Brazil vs Bulgaria match which is where I heard a lot of legends from.
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Growing up in the 70s in the US Pele was the only footballer my friends and I ever heard about. If it weren’t for his reputation and promotion of the game he made beautiful, the US would be a decade or two farther behind the world than we are.
I learned about Liverpool, Kevin Keegan, Steve Heighway, and Ray Clemence in a year I spent with my family in Oxford int he late 70s. Because the two boys who befriended a geeky foreigner were Liverpool fans, so I pretended to be Keegan scoring goals in tue school parking lot with a flattened tin can before I had ever see him play - even on tv.
But it was still Pele who was best ever and the face of football to at least one generation
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The man who made me fall in love with the game
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The great Kenny Dalglish, I know him!
But this other fella?
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The greatest player who has ever lived, no question. RIP Pele 
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Lovely tribute. FIFA owes Pelé for promoting the beautiful game to the people around the world.
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Saw a clip a little while ago simply titled “Pele did it first”
All of those signature things that became synonymous with other great players such as the Cruyff turn etc. Pele was doing them before them all.
Can’t say whether that was strictly accurate but it seems fitting, right and not a surprise.
A player I wish I had seen more of.
RIP.
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This is a hidden gem of a video of the genius. A wonderful watch.
@Noo_Noo , in the video is the turn you were talking about, Pelé did it first before anyone else. He was a pioneer in football
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Pretty sure that Cruyff was the first to do the Cruyff turn, at least with precision and regularity. I remember a documentary (series?) about World Cup heroes, I would have seen it circa 1980. One of the most memorable pieces was Pele talking about the first time he saw Cruyff do one, explaining how amazed he was, exploding with laughter about it.
He had likely done one before, Garrincha undoubtedly had, but by Pele’s own narrative he learned it from Cruyff - he was practicing it the very next day.
edit: I think this quote was part of it
“People would always ask me, ‘Which players do you wish was Brazilian?’ I would say, ‘No-one. There are some incredible players, I admire watching them, but I don’t wish any were Brazilian. Then I saw Cruyff. I wished he was Brazilian. He was a joy to watch.” Pele
What I think has somewhat faded from our memories was the sheer joy he had for the game, for so long - even long past his prime with the Cosmos it was infectious.
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Ah I did wonder with social media being the shower of truth that it is.