Sandra was born in 1964 after her mother, Anisio Machado, who was Pele’s cleaner had an affair with him, he, however, refused to recognise her while alive
By Kehinde Okeowo
Two grandsons of late Brazilian soccer icon, Edson Arantes do Nascimento better known as Pele have expressed delight that they eventually met him before he died
Gabriel Arantes do Nascimento and Octavio Felinto Neto, who are sons of Pele’s daughter, Sandra Regina, also said they were happy that their grandfather listed them in his will, despite rejecting their mother as his daughter.
Pele, while alive, always denied being Sandra Regina’s father, even after a DNA test ruling from the court proved that she was indeed his daughter, refusing to acknowledge her still.
She was born in 1964 after her mother, Anisio Machado, had an affair with Pele while she was his cleaner.
She died 17 years ago, without knowing that his father would one day consider her as one of his children.
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However, with his death, his will has been opened and he left his estate to all seven of his children, including her.
One of Pele’s last wishes was to meet Sandra Regina’s two sons, his grandsons, Gabriel and Octavio.
He finally met them on December 28, a day before his death. Gabriel, reacting to the opportunity to meet his grandfather, Pele, said he was grateful for the moment, which was one of his mother’s biggest dreams.
He went on to explain how he felt when his aunts told them their grandfather wanted to see them.
“We were very excited, it was an opportunity we had been waiting for. Every family has fights and rows, ours is no different, but there are moments when union and love are more important than anything else. We are extremely happy.” Gabriel said.
