On this day exactly half a century ago Pele signed a contract with the New York Cosmos

It is difficult for young and middle-aged football fans to imagine how disappointing it was for Pele's fans when he moved to play for the American club New York Cosmos in 1975 - they say, "the great footballer sold out for money."

In fact, one could say so - from the moment he signed the contract on June 3, 1975, Pele became the highest paid not only footballer, but also athlete in the world. However, there are two important circumstances here. Firstly, by this time he had already stopped playing for the Brazilian national team and Santos. Secondly, his financial affairs were in poor condition due to the fault of his manager.

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The shock quickly passed, and the next great footballer, Franz Beckenbauer, moved to the same New York Cosmos in 1977 after receiving the Golden Ball in 1976. That is, not at the end of his sports career, like Pele, but in its prime.

Today, no one is surprised that two great strikers of modern football, Messi and Ronaldo, are ending (or continuing, choose the word yourself) their careers in clubs such as Inter Miami and Saudi Arabia's Al-Nasr, and Ronaldo, whose contract ends this year, is going to move to Moroccan Wydad.

This "great exodus" began with the "king of football" Pele.