Following the recent trend for lavish documentaries on the lives of sporting legends, the next to get the treatment will be one of the biggest names of all: Edson Arantes Do Nascimento.
The company that controls the rights to Pelé, as he is better known, has signed a deal with an arm of the television production giant behind Pop Idol to produce the first official documentary on the life of the Brazilian footballer.
At the Cannes film festival last month plans were unveiled for big-screen documentaries about boxer Mike Tyson and footballer Diego Maradona, who regularly vies with Pelé for the title of the greatest player of all time.
As one of the first footballers to recognise the commercial value of his fame, Pelé has frequently lent his name to endorsements and has collaborated with several biographers. He also had cameo movie roles in Escape to Victory and 2001 British comedy Mike Bassett: England Manager. But this will be the first film to tell his life story with his full collaboration and that of his family.
David Ellender, chief executive of Fremantle Enterprises, said he was originally approached to look into a ”Soccer Idol” show with Pelé as a presenter.
But it became clear that persuading Pelé to collaborate in a big-budget documentary would prove more fruitful. Ellender said it would ”use the kaleidoscope of a particular event or moment to look at Pelé’s life and career”.
He said he was now looking for the right director and producer for the project, which will be sold to broadcasters around the world and will also get a limited theatrical release.
Emerging from a poor background to sign for Santos at the age of 15, Pel̩ was part of three World Cup-winning squads and was declared a national treasure by the Brazilian government. Рguardian.co.uk