'Thank you Brazil'; football legend Pele still laughing as he turns 80

Brazil's Pele scores past Venezuela's goal keeper Fabrizio Fasano in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in this Aug. 1969 file photo. On Oct. 23, 2020, the three-time World Cup winner Pelé turns 80 without a proper celebration amid the COVID-19 pandemic as he quarantines in his mansion in the beachfront city of Guarujá, where he has lived since the start of the pandemic.

His long-time spokesman, Pepito Fornos, said Pele will likely spend his birthday at his mansion in the beachfront city of Guaruja, on the coast of Sao Paulo state, where he has been since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also has residences in Santos and Sao Paulo.

Pele is Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 77 goals, although Neymar is closing in on that record with 64. But the Paris Saint-Germain striker trails far behind when it comes to World Cup titles, which Pele won in 1958, 1962 and 1970. No other player has accomplished that feat. Pele plans to celebrate his birthday quietly - as he does almost every year, he says, coronavirus pandemic or not. But several tributes are planned in Brazil, from an exhibit in his honor at the Sao Paulo Football Museum to a mural designed by renowned street artist Kobra in Santos, the city where Pele started his professional career as a 15-year-old prodigy in 1955.

Brazil's former soccer player Pele attends the inauguration of an exhibit about his life, coined King's Marks, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brazil's World Cup win in 1958, in Brasilia, Brazil in this June 25, 2008 file photo.

Brazil's Pele jumps for joy after scoring his team's first goal against Italy in the first half of a World Cup final at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, before winning 4 - 1 in this June 21, 1970 file photo.

Pele embraces U.S. boxer Muhammad Ali during a ceremony honoring the Brazilian soccer star who plays for the New York Cosmos at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., before Cosmos' 2-1 victory over Brazil's Santos, the final game of Pele's career, in which he played on both sides, one each half in this Oct. 1, 1977 file photo.

In this March 18, 1987 file photo, Pope John Paul II shakes hands with Brazil's former soccer player Pele during a private audience at the Vatican.

A 1979 file picture shows Brazil's soccer player Pele waving to fans after being crowned "King of Soccerdom," a gift from America Club of Mexico, made of gold and silver and worth $13,000.

Brazil's Pele kicks the ball during a friendly soccer game against Belgium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in this Sept. 1968 file photo.

Brazil's King Pele has a big smile as he holds the Jules Rimet Trophy, following Brazil?s victory over Italy in the World Cup final on June 21, 1970 at the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City. Brazil won 4-1.

File picture from 1958 shows Brazil's 17-year-old Pele, left, weeps on the shoulder of goalkeeper Gylmar Dos Santos Neves, as Didi stands right, after Brazil's 5-2 victory over Sweden in the final of the soccer World Cup in Stockholm, Sweden.

People take a selfie near a mural depicting Brazilian soccer legend Pele in Santos, Brazil.

Brazil's soccer player Pele pretends to ballet dance during a calisthenics routine as he works out with his new teammates, the New York Cosmos, in Uniondale New York in this 1975 file photo.

Brazil's soccer player Pele flashes victory signs as he rides down the Champs Elysees on his way to a reception at the Town Hall in Paris in this March 30, 1971 file photo.