A giant statue of Brazilian footballer Pelé has been installed outside a stadium in Mexico ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in tribute to the iconic player.
The nine-meter-high bronze statue of the former Brazilian sports minister has been installed in front of the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara. It was placed outside the stadium using a crane by workers.
Several spectators gathered to watch stadium teams lift and position the sculpture created by Mexican artist Alejandro Velazo.
The monument depicts Pelé celebrating Brazil’s victory at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
Estadio Jalisco will not host any matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Instead, all four World Cup matches allocated to the Guadalajara metropolitan area will be played at the new Estadio Akron.
However, the installation, officially known as La Carinha, is part of Guadalajara’s city-wide cultural celebration of the global sporting event.
Pelé wore the yellow jersey in 92 international matches and scored 77 goals, averaging an incredible 0.84 goals per game.
As a reminder, many world-class strikers aim for a goal per game ratio of between 0.5 and 0.7. At club level, Pelé is Santos’ all-time top scorer with 643 goals in 659 matches.
The legendary player led his team to victory in the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
