Hat trick: Pele marries for third time

By Senabri Silvestre

SANTO DOMINGO, Dom. Rep. (AA) – Legendary football player Pele was married in a private ceremony, local media reported.

The Brazilian star, 75, married Marcia Cibele Aoki, 50, at a resort near Sao Paulo on Saturday night, according to the Quem Acontece newspaper.

Pele and Aoki met in New York in 1980 but their relationship didn’t begin until 2010.

Since 2012, Aoki, who is of Japanese origin, has accompanied Pele to all of his meetings and was by his side during hospitalizations and medical treatments in recent years, the La Razon newspaper said.

Only 100 guests attended the ceremony, including Pele’s mother Dona Celeste, cousins, nephews and other relatives.

Pele booked an entire hotel and offered private beauty services for guests to avoid prying form the media.

Pele, whose name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, has five children from two previous marriages.

He was named Best Athlete of the Twentieth Century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999 and a year later FIFA, the sport’s governing body, proclaimed him footballer of the 20th century.