The 35-year-old Messi will be following a well-trodden path of the greats of the 'Beautiful Game' by taking a lucrative pay day in football's less celebrated leagues.

Pele, who died on December 29 at age 82 after a battle with cancer, was laid to rest at the Ecumenical Memorial Cemetery in Santos, Brazil. It is a high-rise, 14-story mausoleum that holds the Guinness world record for the tallest cemetery on Earth

"Pele," arguably the best footballer in history, is now also an adjective.

Cristiano Ronaldo's new club coach Rudi Garcia on Sunday compared the Portuguese star's arrival at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia to Pele's signing with the New York Cosmos in 1975.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino insisted Wednesday he would never be disrespectful to Pele as he came under fire over a photo call at the Brazilian legend's wake.

Pele was a footballer like no other, and his final resting place will be exceptional, too: a large replica stadium complete with artificial turf inside the world's tallest vertical cemetery.

Rodrygo scored the only goal and celebrated by paying tribute to  Pele as Real Madrid advanced to the Spanish Cup last 16 on Tuesday with a hard-fought 1-0 win over fourth-tier Cacereno.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva led the tributes Tuesday as Brazil said its final farewell to late football legend Pele, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time.

The world lost Pele, the "king" of football in 2022, but his name will live on in more than 700 Peruvian children born last year, according to a list published by Peru's National Registry of Identification and Civil Status.

An emotional Brazil began paying its final respects Monday to football legend Pele with a wake at the stadium where he first took the world's breath away with his dazzling skill.

FIFA will ask all the world's countries to name a stadium for Brazilian football legend Pele, the head of the sport's governing body, Gianni Infantino, said Monday at the late icon's wake.

An emotional Brazil began paying its final respects Monday to football legend Pele with a wake at the stadium where he first took the world's breath away with his dazzling skill.

Brazilians bid a final farewell this week to football giant Pele, starting Monday with a 24-hour public wake at the stadium of his long-time team, Santos.

The Brazilian barber who cut Pele's hair for more than 60 years is lamenting the loss of both a customer and a close friend.

The world is grieving for Pelé, one of its most gifted sons, who won the universe with his football skills.

It’s impossible to talk about football without mentioning Pele.

All of Pelé's biographers agree that he wrote more than 100 songs and sold more than 100,000 copies of one of his albums.

Pele's life off the field was as eventful as his record-breaking career on it, with three marriages and a range of trailblazing sponsorship deals which helped modern-day players fill their pockets with corporate cash.

As soon as they got the news, Antonio Pereira and his son started running: Pele, the man widely considered the greatest footballer of all time, had died, and they wanted to be there to mourn him.

Before Pele made his debut for Brazil, the South American nation had never won the World Cup. By the time he retired, they had won three - more than any other team.