Brazilian football legend Pele has revealed he received an offer to play for Manchester United in the 1960’s.
The ex-Santos striker, who incredibly scored over 1000 goals in his 21-year professional career, suggested the offer came his way in 1968, which would have seen him team up with United’s holy trinity of George Best, Dennis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton.
When asked if he had ever had the chance to play in Manchester, Pele said:
Yes I had an offer in, I think in ‘68. The late sixties. The team I used to play for [Santos], said “we have had a number of calls to play in Manchester for Manchester United”. They asked “do you want to play there?” Back then Santos was one of the best teams – Santos and Real Madrid. So I said, no, I will stay.
Had Pele made the move to Manchester, he would likely have been part of the Reds’ European Cup winning side of 1968 – a trophy he never won given that he spent the entirety of his career in Brazil and the U.S.A.
On United’s current side, though, the former New York Cosmos goalscorer revealed his admiration for England international, Marcus Rashford.
Speaking about Rashford, the Brazilian declared:
He has a great future. There’s no doubt. I had a little bit of luck. Because in my time, they didn’t have the information, they didn’t have the TV. Now people know when they are going to play anywhere, it’s tough. There’s no doubt he’s a very good player.
Pele was speaking at an event in Manchester on Saturday hosted by humanitarian aid charity, Human Appeal.
Human Appeal (www.humanappeal.org.uk) is one of the UK’s fastest growing charities. With a presence in 25 countries, spanning Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, they help in times of crisis and deliver sustainable development programmes in the world’s poorest nations.
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