The legendary Brazilian Pele, who is widely seen as the best football player ever, celebrates his 78th birthday today, on 23 October.

The striker, who played for Santos and New York Cosmos, is the only third-time world champion in history, as he won the trophy with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

The King of Football, as he was frequently called by fans and media, played 92 matches and scored 77 goals for his national team between 1957 and 1971, and he took part in four World Cups.

After finishing his playing career, he was involved in politics for a while and was Brazil's Sports Minister between 1995 and 1998.