Edinho says he fights to take on Pelé’s brand – 05/15/2023 – Sport

One of Pelé’s seven children, former goalkeeper Edinho said this Monday (15) that he is seeking investors to take over the brand of the King of football, currently controlled by the Sports 10 office and managed by American businessman Joe Fraga.

The speech was given during the opening for public visitation of the mausoleum where the body of the King of football lies, in the vertical cemetery Memorial Necrópole Ecumenica, in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo.

“Today I’m trying to bring together investors to be at the forefront of the brand again. It’s even a simple thing in terms of concept, but it’s a challenge because there are very high values,” he said.

“This is my personal challenge, my dream. I want to be able to really represent it in every sense. Not only as a family member, but professionally as well. Today I am the main channel for searching for information, of any interest regarding the brand It would be incredible for me, for the family. No one in the world would be able to perpetuate the brand, the legacy, like me. This is really a challenge I have to face”, he added.

According to Edinho, the intention of Pelé’s family is to ensure that the new space is used not only for public visitation, but as part of an elaborate tourist itinerary in the municipality.

“In fact, I have a dream of really being able to create a project that will generate an experience, together with the city’s tourism department, with Santos Futebol Clube. end of this experience to stop by and say goodbye to him”, he explained.

The King’s relatives suggest that the experience involving the mausoleum be extended to Vila Belmiro and the Memorial das Achievements, which belong to Santos, the Pelé Museum, managed by the local city hall, and other historical points that were part of the former’s life. -player, killed on December 29th. The mission, however, comes up against negotiations with Sports 10.

“The issue of the brand that is part of this process and I need to understand how this can work. But I have this desire, it is worthy, it is deserved and has a very great appeal. The whole world will certainly be able to take advantage of it. It has to be worth it.” worth coming here. Not just coming [ao memorial], visit, but have an experience of what his life was like. This can be a very beautiful thing”, explained Edinho.

“Joe Fraga is an operator, he is not the owner. And, without a doubt, we are always in contact. It is a healthy, professional relationship, but my wish is that this can evolve in the way that I idealize”, he added.

Fraga met Pelé at the launch of the new Cosmos, in 2002. Since 2017, he has personally taken care of all business involving his image.

crowd at the mausoleum

The mausoleum was opened in the early afternoon, firstly, for members of one of Santos’ organizations to pay their respects. Afterwards, journalists had access to the site for the first time.

Starting at 2 pm, around 30 visitors who had previously registered could also pay tribute to the King of football. The first two were a couple from Santos: legal analyst Erika Taboada, 42, and businessman Ronaldo Rodrigues, 44.

“At the time it opened, we already entered the site, but we didn’t know that we would be the pioneers, the first to have this honor”, stated Rodrigues, who confessed to having escaped from work to be able to carry out the visit.

thousand goal car

In addition to access to the mausoleum, the cemetery administration also placed a car that became the King’s pet on permanent display on the ground floor: a Mercedes-Benz S-280, delivered to him by the German automaker in 1974.

The car is a gift for the one who is celebrated as the thousandth goal of his career, scored in the 2-1 victory over Vasco, on November 19, 1969, at the Maracanã stadium, in Rio de Janeiro.

Mercedes-Benz delivered the 250 W 114 model in 1969, but five years later it switched to another, new model, the S-280. Pelé even sold the car, recovered with original parts by the automaker, armored and returned to him in 2004. The vehicle went through 18 different owners.

The 200 m² mausoleum was designed on December 18, 2018 by Argentine businessman José Salomon Altstut, known as Pepe Altstut, to honor his friend after death.

He turned to the Spanish artist Hugo Garcia to anticipate a farewell worthy of the King — who approved the idea. The space was just set up in 2020 and subsequently locked under lock and key.

The mausoleum has two statues that measure 1.73 m – Pelé’s height– and weigh 130 kilos, sculpted in brass by Garcia. The floor is entirely covered with synthetic grass, which simulates a football field, and there are pictures of fans on the walls.

The tomb is lined with mirrored golden aluminum plates and four panels made by Garcia with a mixture of fiberglass and bronze powder. Two portray a goal by Pelé, and two others, the famous celebration with a punch in the air.

In the four corners of the tomb, of the same material, there are angle brackets. They have different shapes: they start with the planet Earth at the top, and there are details like the Jules Rimet cup, a crown and a shirt with the number ten. They end on a soccer ball.

In addition, there is a reproduced sky above and Carrara marble finishes. Inside the mausoleum, there is a shirt from the Brazilian team and another from Santos.

The visitation will be made from Monday to Friday, in two periods: from 9 am to 12 am, in the morning, and from 2 pm to 6 pm, with thirty people in each period. There are no fees charged.

Folha learned that a security team was hired to take care of access to the site on a daily basis.