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Hailed as the greatest footballer of all time, he has served his country as Sports Minister and roving ambassador at large. Yet in 2001, Brazil watched with dismay as the reputation of its favourite son was tarnished by allegations that his sports company had stolen $700,000 (£450,000) of charity money. The money from Unicef, paid in 1995 for a benefit match, was not returned after the game was cancelled. Promising a full investigation, the man christened Edson Arantes do Nascimento revealed he was closing down his sports & marketing company whilst voicing suspicions about his commerciqal partner of the previous twenty years.

The soccer world had been blessed by Pele’s sublime ball skills, yet the man appeared incapable of intuitively judging business associates in the same way as he had opponents on the playing field. Perhaps it’s a fault in all of us, namely, that we expect individuals who have excelled in one profession, to be equally adept in others.