Former Black Stars skipper, Abedi Ayew, popularly known as Abedi Pele has expressed his heartfelt condolence to the late Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) having idolized him throughout his career as a footballer.
The former Marseille man, who was a fan of the Brazilian International, was in dismay when he heard that his mentor had passed on yesterday.
The maestro said, “It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of my friend and mentor, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the greatest footballer to ever play the game”.
According to him, the three-time World Champion was an inspiration to millions of generational footballers both in his country, Brazil, and the world at large.
He recalled his playing days when he was privileged to be associated with the Brazilian, who people described as having the same qualities and went on to earn him his new name as the African Pele.
“Pele is synonymous with football, and football will never forget its king, Rest well my mentor!”, he said.
Tagged as the African Pele, Abedi Ayew was inspired to achieve greatness, as he led Olympic Marseille to win its first European title in 1993 and also won the AFCON with Ghana in 1982.
He again won the France Football African Player of the year award in three consecutive years, 1991, 1992, and 1993.
Today, Abedi Ayew is regarded as one of the greatest African players in history due to the impact of Brazil’s Pele.
Pele died yesterday at age 82 after suffering from a multiple organ failure at the Albert Einstein hospital in Brazil.
GNA