Pele opens his self - titled autobiography with those words .
While they are true about all athletes , indeed all people , they seem rather more appropriate when spoken by Edison Arantes do Nascimento -- the Brazilian icon commonly regarded as the greatest footballer of all time .
Pele opens his self - titled autobiography with those words , and while they are true about all athletes , indeed all people , they seem rather more appropriate when spoken by Edison Arantes do Nascimento -- the Brazilian icon commonly regarded as the greatest footballer of all time .