$20,480
A bronze tone metal sculpture, the Champion du Siècle [Athlete of the Century] trophy presented to Pelé by L'Equipe magazine in May 1981 in Parc des Princes, Paris, France. Pelé received the Athlete of the Century honor from a poll of journalists worldwide conducted by L'Equipe , a French daily newspaper devoted to sports that started publishing a weekend magazine in 1980 to accompany its Saturday newspaper edition. Engraved into the base of the trophy is the tribute "Champion du Siècle/ L'Equipe/ Magazine." The trophy is accompanied by a book titled Pelé : O Atleta do Século (São Paulo: Editora Abril S/A, 2000). A color image of Pelé in Paris holding this trophy is on page 199 of this book. Pelé was presented the trophy before a friendly match between Brazil and France. Brazil won, 3-0. "That award in 1980 was a huge surprise for me. An Athlete of the Century award. They called to tell me I had won. ‘You’ve been elected the Athlete of the Century.’ At first, I thought it was a joke, and replied, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Many people joked about this trophy and said, ‘Is the Athlete of the Century naked?’ What matters is that I was elected Athlete of the Century, the greatest award ever given to a sportsman. I laughed at the jokes, too. This award was very important for me. I imagine that very few people will ever win this award." - Pelé 43 by 8 by 6 1/2 inches $20000-30000 £14000-21000 Categories: PELÉ
Auctioneer:
Juliens Auctions
Date:
2016-06-07
