Russian artwork celebrates Pele's 80th, but with World Cup trophy he never won
- 4 years ago
A Moscow Autograph Gallery-commissioned artwork intended to celebrate the 80th birthday of football legend Pele sparked intrigue on Wednesday when it appeared to show the 3-time World Cup winner with a trophy that he never actually won.
The Stargift Gallery in the Russian capital brought in artist Ruslan Kuashev, who created a work on a signed Pele shirt with the figure 'eighty' made up from one thousand, two hundred and eighty-nine stars, symbolising every goal that Pele is said to have scored over his glittering career.
It also depicted Pele holding three World Cup trophies - the modern incarnation, not the Jules Rimet trophy that he won in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
However, in fact Kuashev used as his inspiration a real image of Pele holding three replicas of the FIFA World Cup trophy in recognition of his status as the only player to have won the World Cup three times.
The Stargift Gallery in the Russian capital brought in artist Ruslan Kuashev, who created a work on a signed Pele shirt with the figure 'eighty' made up from one thousand, two hundred and eighty-nine stars, symbolising every goal that Pele is said to have scored over his glittering career.
It also depicted Pele holding three World Cup trophies - the modern incarnation, not the Jules Rimet trophy that he won in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
However, in fact Kuashev used as his inspiration a real image of Pele holding three replicas of the FIFA World Cup trophy in recognition of his status as the only player to have won the World Cup three times.