Could 'O Rei' have been culé? The story behind Pelé's failed signing for Barça

Speak of 'Or Rei' Peeled is synonymous of good football all over the world. The Brazilian, the one who lamentably died does exactly a year owing to a cancer of colon, had the fortune to plough a spectacular career that culminated with 757 goals and 389 assistances in 821 official meetings, writing his name in the history of the balompié by, between other things, be member of the 'top 5' of the goleadores historical of the world and proclaim champion in three opportunities of the Glass of the World with Brazil.

Although the native of Três Coraçõis had a brilliant career and is practically impossible to put in cloth of trial his quality contrasted in the football, is innegable the fact that in his dilated career remained a pending subject: carry his talent and his magic to the European football. The alone forward played in two clubs, the Saints of Brazil, where turned into legend and played the majority of his career and the New York Cosmos of United States, combined where marked his sportive withdrawal in 1977.

Nevertheless, I Peeled it was near to give the jump to the balompié of the Old Continent. Between so many names that wanted to a star of the hierarchy of the Brazilian, erigió the Barcelona, square that was extremely interested in doing of his services. However, as it explained in 'SPORT', the traspaso would not arrive to good port because of his price prohibitivo.

Why the Barça no fichó to Peeled?

As it recognised Enric Llaudet, president of the Barça in the period 1961-1968, in an interview to the media 'Mark' on 17 December 1966, the Barcelona cast negotiated the traspaso of Peeled. "We go in to negotiate with the man that had in scoop an available option of Peeled, the Italian Gerardo Sannella", exposed the exmandatario culé.

However, this last stood out the reasons by which, in spite of having good intentions to carry out the traspaso, this did not arrive to good port. "On 14 November of the 1965 initiated the management and on 23 February of the 1966 the fellow Sannella manifested us that fichar to Peeled would cost one million dollars of traspaso for the Saints and two hundred one thousand dollars for him. It remained very clear that Peeled could not be bought and that the Saints, simply, put him in the market to a price prohibitivo", concluded.

The culés finished fichando to another 'crack' Brazilian

This year, finally, the Barcelona would finish doing of the services of a Brazilian that did not go precisely Peeled, being Walter Machado Gives Silva, known like Silva Baton, pertinent of the Flamengo. Voucher recalcar that this could not play official meetings with the Catalan club, because of the prohibition of the francoist diet to inscribe foreign players. In this sense, the Barcelona picture invested 65.000 euros by his incorporation. This was distant totally of the cost of a Peeled that it was around the 1,3 million euros.