Pele admits his image has been tainted

One hug and one newspaper story were all it took to blemish a reputation which Pele had taken more than 40 years to build up.

The Athlete of the Century, who remains one of the world's most admired personalities nearly 25 years after his retirement, is sparing no effort to remove what he admits is a stain on his image.

"I know this will go away in the end...but a lot of people have doubted me," said Pele in an interview.

Last month, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo published a report saying the former player's company, Pele Sports and Marketing, had kept money intended to finance a benefit game for the United Nations.

Pele vehemently denied the allegation and UNICEF -- the United Nations Children's Fund -- issued a statement saying that the U.N. body did not gain or lose funds as a result of the arrangement after the cancellation of the match in 1995.

Pele's team of lawyers say they have 12 boxes of documents proving the allegations were unfounded but admit some damage has been done, especially as the report was reproduced by media around the world.

"I began playing at the age of 16 back in 1958. Brazilians have known me for over 40 years. Then one journalist comes out with this," said Pele, who has split with his former partner Helio Viana in his bid to make a fresh start.

"What makes me even sadder is that it is a Brazilian who has done this. I don't know why. If he has proof, fine. When I went to the World Cup draw (in South Korea on December 1), people were asking me about it. Sponsors and journalists were questioning me."

One of Pele's lawyers added: "I would say it has damaged his image by 30 percent."

SECOND TIME

It was the second time this year that Pele has been questioned.

The first was after he hugged Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ricardo Teixeira and agreed the pair would work together to pull Brazilian soccer out of its deep-rooted crisis.

Until the hug, Pele, who was Minister for Sports for four years under President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, had been a bitter critic of Teixeira, even refusing to back Brazil's bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

The apparent declaration of peace led critics to turn on Pele, especially as Teixeira's administration has been among the targets of two Congressional investigations into alleged mismanagement and corruption in Brazilian football.

The second probe ended early this month and its final report accused Teixeira of negligent administration and misuse of funds.

"The Athlete of the Century has disappointed many people," said Jose Trajano, a columnist in the sports daily Lance, at the time. "He has chosen which team he is going to play for and it isn't mine."

Pele said that he was surprised at the size of the reaction to the hug which, he said, had been blown out of proportion.

"Some journalists behaved like women in love," he said.

"The incident happened at a government meeting. It was not as if I went to his office or something. The idea was to do something for the good of football."

Pele said that following the Congressional inquiry's final report he thought it was time for Teixeira to step down.

"I've been saying this for the last five years," he added, calling for a clean-up in the crisis-hit Brazilian game.

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

Pele said an overhaul of the Brazilian game -- which has been hit by plummeting attendances and chaotic administration -- was long overdue and said the current disorganisation was costing Brazilian clubs millions every year.

"The clubs have been badly damaged. Today, there are probably only three teams in Brazil which seem capable of surviving -- Corinthians, Sao Paulo and Palmeiras. The others all have financial problems.

"If things were organised, they could sell tickets in advance, you could sell the sport better. If there was a better calendar there would be more investments, you could improve the stadia. But only if it was organised."

"For example, I think the third biggest source of income in Europe is from the sale of food and drink in the stadia. In Brazil, we don't earn anything from this."

"In the United States, parking at the stadium is a big source of income."

"It's absurd, all the presidents of the clubs want to do is earn money through selling players. This is very ignorant, very amateur."

He also criticised FIFA, which has in the past threatened to suspend Brazil because of government attempts to improve the way the sport is run.

Soccer's governing body insists its affiliates -- in this case the CBF -- must remain independent.

"I think they need an advisor," Pele said. "I don't think (FIFA) president (Sepp) Blatter has ever really understood what is happening.

"I think someone from the government, maybe the sports minister or some of the Congressmen, has to go over there and say: 'look, we are cleaning things up, there's a lot of corruption'.

"But nobody has ever gone over there and told him."