Pele documentary to air on Netflix

14 January 2021

A new documentary about football icon Pele will air on Netflix.

Pele gets new documentary

The film will document the Brazilian legend's life as he became the only player to win the FIFA World Cup three times and is set to launch on the streaming service on February 23.

With rare and exclusive filmed access to Pele himself, the documentary shows how Pele became a teenage superstar at the 1958 tournament amidst a radical and turbulent era in the South American nation's history and ultimately the 'King of Football' after leading his nation to World Cup glory in 1970.

Pele emotionally reflects upon his career with Santos FC and Brazil's national team and also includes rare archive interviews with legendary team-mates of the star including Mario Zagallo and Jairzinho.

Testimonials are also given by family members, journalists, artists and other personalities who witnessed the golden age of Brazilian football.

'Pele' is directed by David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas and is being executive produced by Kevin Macdonald.

David and Ben previously worked together on 'Crossing The Line' which told the story of US Olympian Danny Harris's descent into drug addiction.

Tryhorn has also produced sports films such as 'Kenny' - a documentary on Liverpool FC legend Kenny Dalglish – and 'Andy Murray: Resurfacing', which followed the tennis star as he recovered from surgery.

Ben, meanwhile, has previously worked on films such as '28 Days Later', 'Sunshine' and 'The Last King of Scotland'.

Pele is widely considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time and paid a moving tribute when one of his rivals for the honour, Argentina's Diego Maradona, died in November.

He wrote on Twitter: "What sad news. I lost a great friend and the world lost a legend. There is still much to be said, but for now, may God give strength to family members. One day, I hope we can play ball together in the sky."