This Day in History: 2023-01-04

Nr. 375

ITALIANS TRY TO SIGN PELÉ (1961)

After Brazil’s success at the 1958 World Cup it was inevitable Europe’s leading teams would come calling for some of their players, but while Didi, Vava, Julinho Botelho and Altafini were lured away, the biggest gem of all – Pelé – proved immune to their charms. Italian giants Juventus were desperate to sign Pelé in the early 1960s and pulled out all the stops. «Giovanni Agnelli wanted to give me a share of Fiat in return for me signing,» recalled Pelé. However, he stayed in Brazil with Santos and only moved abroad later in his career, to the New York Cosmos in 1975.

Pelé resisted the offer from Juventus which included a share in ltalian car manufacturing giant Fiat in order to stay with Santos in Brazil.