#PeleinIndia: 10 facts you need to know about the legendary footballer

Arguably the greatest individual to play the beautiful game, Brazilian great Pele is a household name across the world. A three-time World Cup winner, Pele's career continues to be widely celebrated more than four decades after his international retirement.

The 74-year old is currently in India to witness Atletico de Kolkata's inaugural Indian Super League encounter against Kerala Blasters on 13 October, as well as the Subroto Cup final on 16 October. This is the Brazilian's second trip to the subcontinent, having visited Kolkata with the New York Cosmos team in 1977 to play Mohun Bagan in an exhibition match.

Here are 10 facts about the legendary footballer which you need to know:

1. Born as Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele was named after American inventor Thomas Edison.

2. Pele made his professional debut at the tender age of 15 for Santos FC against Corinthians in 1956, scoring for his team in a 7-1 victory.

3. As a kid, he used to mispronounce the name of his favourite footballer Bile, the goalkeeper of the Vasco da Gama team, as Pele. He was initially chided by his friends with the same name, and that is how it eventually got stuck.

4. Pele was born to a poor family in Bauru, Sao Paolo, and had to work in tea shops to make ends meet.

5. At the age of 13, Pele caught the attention of Brazilian footballer Waldemar de Brito, who took him to Santos and predicted that he would one day become 'the greatest football player in the world'.

6. Pele made his international debut at the age of 16, playing and scoring in a 2-1 win against arch-rivals Argentina.

7. He rose to global acclaim at the 1958 World Cup, when at the age of 17, he scored 6 goals in 4 games to lead Brazil to the title, winning the best young player of the tournament and the Silver Ball accolades in the process.

8. Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus were among a host of European clubs which attempted to sign Pele during his early years. However, the Brazilian government declared him as an official 'national treasure' to prevent him from moving abroad.

9. Pele is the only footballer till date to have been part of three World Cup-winning teams.

10. Pele scored an astounding 1,281 goals, including 77 for Brazil, in 1,363 games in his professional career.