A woman claiming to be football legend Pelé’s secret daughter has demanded the exhumation of his body to prove whether he is her father.
Maria do Socorro Azevedo, 60, instructed a lawyer to make the move nearly five years after first launching a paternity lawsuit.
Reports overnight, quoting lawyer Marcos Fernando dos Santos Sousa, said initial tests had come back negative but a DNA test had returned ‘high possibilities’ of a blood link with the Brazilian centre-forward.
Mr dos Santos Sousa said they now had ‘no option’ but to request the exhumation of Pele’s body to ‘resolve the situation.’
Pelé, who died aged 82 on December 29 2022 in a Sao Paulo hospital after having a tumour removed from his colon, recognised the possibility he could have another child in his will. He reportedly agreed to a DNA test but died before it could take place.
Pelé married three times and officially has seven children, including a stepdaughter. Last year, it was reported the footballing icon had left £13mn to a secret daughter in his will after spending his life denying he was her father.
Pele celebrates the victory after winnings the 1970 World Cup in Mexico match against Italy
Maria claims she is the daughter of Pelé and says she is not interested in money
Pele and wife third wife Márcia Aoki, who received 30 per cent of his estate
Maria do Socorro Azevedo spoke publicly about her claims she is Pele’s daughter on a Brazilian TV programme on Sunday and insisted she was not interested in his money.
Pele’s life off the field was JUST as colourful as his famous Brazil kit – he had seven children, many affairs, mixed with Presidents, acted in films, and even smashed the taboo around Viagra
She said her late mother had never told the former Brazil and Santos forward she was pregnant with their child after a fling in Sao Luis in the Brazilian state of Maranhao.
Maria, who hails from the state of Piaui in north-east Brazil, said she had first decided to do a DNA test in 2019 when she was working as a maid in Sao Paulo.
Pele left 30 per cent of his estate to his widow, third wife Marica Aoki, with another 60 per cent to be split between his children and 10 per cent to two grandchildren.
His net worth at the time of his death has been put at around £78 million.
Two of his children, Edinho Nascimento and Flavia Christina, agreed to DNA tests after the reading of their father’s will.
If Maria do Socorro Azevedo ends up being recognised as his eighth child, she would be able to claim her share of the estate awarded to her siblings.
A lawyer acting for Pele’s family, Augusto Miglioli, said his family would contest any exhumation demand on the basis that the DNA tests already carried out had shown Maria was not the footballer’s daughter.
Pelé was ordered to take a DNA test to prove Maria’s paternity in 2022, before his death.
The test was not carried out for health reasons, but Pelé left in his will the need to prove paternity, according to local reports.
Grandson Arthur Spies (right) shared a picture with the footballing legend before his death
Brazil’s Pele celebrates after scoring the opening goal of the 1970 World Cup Final against Italy
Pele, the only player to win the World Cup three times, was laid to rest in January last year in a mausoleum he bought 19 years earlier inside the Memorial Ecumenical Cemetery.
It is a high-rise building in Santos, the Brazilian port city where ‘The King’ played most of his career, that holds the Guinness world record as the tallest cemetery in the world.