The football world has been mourning the loss of one of its most iconic figures for hours now. His name Pele for decades, it was the starting point as the highest step, which aspired to every child, every teenager, every man who dreamed of a brilliant football career.

The “King” was well-known and enjoyed universal respect both in the field of sports, culture, and politics.

Here’s everything they’ve said about him from his playing on the field until now:

“The best player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pele as a football player. It was something higher.”

– Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)

“When I saw Pele play, I felt like I should hang my shoes on the floor”

– Gist Fontaine (France)

“Pele was a goat. He remained at the top for 20 years. All the rest – Maradona, Cruyff, Platini – below. No one can compare to him”

– Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)

“There is a male Pele and a soccer player Pele. When Pele plays, it’s like playing God.”

– Eusebio (Portugal)

“In my eyes, an artist is someone who lights up a dark room. I have not yet discovered and will not discover the difference between Pele’s hand to Carlos Alberto in the 1970 World Cup final and the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud. Both have a human celebration, an expression of beauty that touches us and gives us a sense of eternity.”

– Eric Cantona (France)

“In some countries they wanted to touch him, in some they wanted to kiss him. In others, they wanted to kiss the grass he stepped on. It was great, just wonderful…”

– Clodoaldo (Pelé’s teammate in Santos and the Brazil national team)

“Greatest of all time? Pele! Messi and Ronaldo are great players with special abilities. Pele was better.”

– Osvaldo Ardiles (Argentina)

“His great secret was improvisation. What he did suddenly, in an instant. He had an incredible eye for the game.”

– Carlos Alberto Torres (Pelé’s teammate in Santos and the Brazil national team)

“He was the most complete player”

– Bobby Moore (England)

“I came in the hope that I could stop a big player. I left convinced that he was someone who wasn’t born on the same planet as us.”

– Costa Pereira (Defender of Benfica, after losing to Santos in the 1962 Intercontinental Cup final)

“Pele was one of the few who disproved my theory: instead of 15 minutes of publicity, he will have 15 centuries”

– Andy Warhol (USA)

“I have been a Pele fan since childhood. Then the conversation turned to the comparison with Maradona. For me, it has always been Pele.”

– Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland)

“He was the only footballer who overcame the boundaries of logic”

– Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)

“Before the fight, I told myself that he was made of flesh and bones, like the rest of us. I was wrong…”

– Tarcisio Burnic (Italy, named Pele in the 1970 World Cup final)

“Sometimes I feel like football was made for this magical player.”

– Sir Bobby Charlton (England)

Malcolm Ellison: How do you spell PELE?

Pat Creerant: “Easy: TEOS”

— Dialogue between two British commentators at a World Cup match in Mexico in 1970.

“Pele played football for 22 years and has done more friendship and brotherhood for the world than any ambassador”

– J.B. Pinheiro, Ambassador of Brazil to the UN

“I am Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America. You don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pele is.”

— Ronald Reagan on meeting the “King”

“The moment the ball hit Pele’s feet, football became poetry”

– Pier Paolo Pasolini (Italian poet and director)

“Literally everyone wanted to shake his hand, take a picture with him. To say that you were at a party with Pele was the greatest honor.”

– Mick Jagger (English rock star)

“Watching him play was a combination of the genius of a child with the exquisite grace of a full-fledged man.”

– Nelson Mandela