Long before Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, Paris Saint-Germain was on the verge of recruiting Pelé in the early 1970s. But the transfer fell through.
In the list of stars of the Paris Saint Germain, it is difficult to do better than the current trio, made up of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. Before them, going back in time, there was Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pauleta, Ronaldinho, Rai, Safet Susic or Mustapha Dahleb. But PSG’s first star could have been the greatest of them all, Pelé.
In the early 1970s, shortly after winning his third World Cup, the King could really have joined the French championship. Pelé was a one-club man for a long time, but Santos were in serious financial trouble at the time. Informed, PSG, a very ambitious young club, tried this crazy bet.
Its president Guy Crescent traveled to Brazil to move the file forward, and if the player was not very keen on leaving his country, its leaders were close to giving in. ” The Santos club and King Pelé would agree to let him play for a year. We believe, for our part, that one year is insufficienthad even entrusted the president of PSG to Michel Drucker in the television news. But this leaves the very, very great hope of seeing Pelé in France. »
An original montage to afford Pelé
As L’Equipe recalls, PSG would have paid 9 million francs for the transfer (a colossal sum at the time), while paying 1.2 million francs to the Brazilian genius. The capital club would have even tried to go further, by offering a three-year loan, with an original financial package: during this period, PSG would make sure to play 60 games per season, two-thirds of which at home. , in order to donate nearly 40% of the proceeds to Santos. A tempting offer, but the transfer finally fell through.
One of the reasons is an offer from the United States for a gala match tour which allowed Santos to replenish its coffers and retain its star. Pelé will finally leave his club for a last lucrative freelance at the New York Cosmos, where he will evolve in 1974 and 1977. During this period, he will even play a friendly match at the Parc des Princes.
