On the eve of his 80th birthday, Brazilian football great Pele told his fans he was happy and healthy and pleased to be reaching the landmark with his lucid mental state.

Pele has been safe at home in Brazil for most of the pandemic, but in a jovial recorded message ahead of his landmark birthday on Friday, he looked ahead, not back.

“Now that I am 80, I need to thank God for giving me the health to get this far, and lucidly, although not always intelligently,” he said with a laugh.

“Wherever I go the world over I am well received, doors are always open to me. I hope that when I get to heaven God welcomes me the same way that everyone welcomes me today thanks to our beloved football.”

He remains the only player to have won the World Cup three times.