This article covers Abedi Pele Biography, Net Worth, Date of Birth, Age, Hometown, Career, Family, Relationship, Awards, Early Life, Education, and many more.
Abedi Pele Biography
Abedi Ayew known professionally as Abedi Pele is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and who served as captain of the Ghana national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time.
He played for several European clubs and found his fame in the French Ligue 1 with Lille and Marseille, the latter where he won the UEFA Champions League in 1993, among other titles. Abedi is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation.
Abedi Pele Date of Birth
He was born on November 5, 1964 in Kibi, Eastern Region, Ghana.
Early Life and Education
Abedi Ayew was born into a family in the town of Kibi and grew up in the town of Dome at the northern outskirts of the city, Accra. He attended Ghana Senior High School in Tamale. He was given the nickname “Pelé” due to his ability in football, which evoked comparisons to the Brazilian athlete Pelé
Club Career
Abedi was among the first African players to have an impact on European football clubs. The nomadic life of Abedi Pele started with Real Tamale United in Ghana in 1978. He left Ghana following an appearance at the 1982 African Cup of Nations to join Al Sadd in Qatar for the sum of $1,000 for a transfer. After a brief stint playing for FC Zurich, he returned to Ghana however, when both Kotoko along with Hearts of Oak failed to accept him, the club he joined was AS Dragons FC de l’Oueme in Benin. Later, he returned to Ghana and be a part of Real Tamale United for one season. He started playing with Europe with French club Chamois Niort, subsequently joining Marseille before moving into Lille as a temporary loan.
On the club side, he was a pivotal player in Marseille’s dominance in their position within the French league, which led to four league championships as well as 2 European Cup finals appearances. Abedi was part in Marseil’s “Magical Trio” along with Jean-Pierre Papin and Chris Waddle, spearheading perhaps Europe’s most dominant league team in the early 1990s, and also the European Cup final defeat in 1991. Abedi was the sole player on the team at the time that Marseille lost to Milan during 1993’s Champions League final in Munich.
Then he moved to Lyon following his loan stint at Lille. Also, he played with Torino from Italy and completed the European professional career by playing for 1860 Munich. Abedi Pele later went on to sign a two-year deal with Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates and was voted as one of the top foreign players to compete within the UAE league.
International Career
Abedi Pele played 73 matches for Ghana. Until June 7, 2013, after which he was surpasedd by Asamoah Gyan as the top goalscorer of Ghana’s Black Stars with 33 goals. He played in the African Championships of the 1980s and 90s with Ghana’s national team and was part of Ghana’s winning team at the 1982 African Cup of Nations, however, he was never given the chance to participate for Ghana in the FIFA World Cup, as the Black Stars failed to qualify to play in the tournament throughout their time. But he was the most dominant player in the African football scene for more than 10 years.
His performance at the 1992 African Cup of Nations is often mentioned to be among the greatest football performances of any player in one tournament. His country Ghana made it to the finals in the Cup that year and lost to penalties in the final to the Ivory Coast after Abedi was suspended for the yellow card he was given in the semi-final game against Nigeria. Before the game, his goal with Zambia, Congo, and Nigeria were crucial in getting Ghana into their 7th appearance at the CAN final, and their first time in the finals in 10 years. The feat earned him the nickname that of “The African Maradona.” His goal on a solo run in the quarter-finals against Congo in the quarter-finals is frequently compared to the second goal scored by Maradona against England in 1986’s World Cup.
He was a captain and was among the first African footballers to achieve the top spot in the FIFA World Player of the Year polls in the years 1991 and 1992. He has been awarded with France Football African Player of the Year Award three times. Furthermore, he was the inaugural recipient of the BBC African Sports Star of the Year in 1992, as well as the Confederation of African Football award twice. Not only that, but he also won the golden ball for his performance as the most outstanding player in the 1991 African Cup of Nations, and was named the “man of the match” in Marseille’s famous UEFA Champions League final win against Milan in 1993.
Abedi is the overall record holder for the most appearances in the Nations Cup Finals. He first appeared during the 13th Nations Cup Finals in Libya in 1982. He then for the following 16 years (ending with the 21st finals which took place in Burkina Faso) continued to participate in the tournament, initially as a part of Ghana’s squad, and then becoming captain in the year 1991. Apart from his performance in the 1992 tournament, Abedi also earned much applause due to his goals in the 1996 tournament, when he helped lead Ghana into the semifinals despite the expectation of critics that he would end up in the latter stages of the course of his professional career.
Family and Relationship
Abedi is the brother of Kwame and Sola Ayew (ex-Hearts of Oak and Black Meteors). He is also the father of André, Jordan, Rahim, Imani, and is married to Maha. His sons, Ibrahim, André and Jordan, have also become internationals for Ghana. Andre and Rahim – represented Ghana in the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa, while Jordan and Andre represented Ghana in the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Andre is currently captain of the Ghana national team, Black Stars.
Abedi Pele Awards
- Ghana SWAG Best Colts (Young) Player: 1978
- BBC African Footballer of the Year: 1991
- African Footballer of the Year: 1991, 1992,[26] 1993
- African Nations Cup Golden Ball: 1992
- FIFA World Player of the Year: 9th 1992, Nomination 1991
- Ghana Footballer of the Year: 1993
- African Player of the Century by IFFHS 3rd
- FIFA All-Star Forward: 1996 (Reserve), 1997 (Reserve), 1999
- On 26 March 2004, he was appointed a “(WAFUNIF) Special Envoy 4 Peace and Development”
- FIFA 100
- Top 30 African Footballers in the last 50 years: 5th place
- Golden Foot Legends Award: 2011
- IFFHS All-time Africa Men’s Dream Team: 2021
- OOTV Civil Division: Order of the Volta: (1996)
After Retirement
Abedi has played in more FIFA organized charity matches, more than the average African player. Abedi Pele is part of FIFA’s Football Committee, and of the committees for player status for the two organizations, FIFA as well as CAF. This is the reason why that the South African FA made him the spokesperson to promote their World Cup bid in 2006.
In recognition of his devotional service to Ghana and his country, the Ghanaian government conferred him with the nation’s highest award, which is that of the Order of the Volta (civil division). Abedi became the first Ghanaian sportsperson to be honoured.
CAF-UEFA All Star
Among his international accolade, he was often featured among the FIFA “All-Star” selections and was a part of the African All-Stars team in their triumph against their European counterparts at the 1997 Meridian Cup.
On the 29th of January 1997, the inaugural UEFA CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Game in the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match between Europe as well as Africa was played at the Benfica’s Estadio da Luz in Lisbon and was broadcast in 100 countries across the globe, with 30 in Africa and a total viewership of around 60 million. Abedi Pele scored early in the first period and following the time that Vincent Guerin had equalized for Europe at the half-time break, it was the 1998 African World Player of the year, Mustapha Hadji, who scored in the 78th minute to secure the 2-1 victory.
In the year 2001, the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match format was changed slightly to allow for a Second All-Star Match to bring together players between the ages of 35 and 45 who enjoy their’veteran’ status and enjoy the game just for fun. The team triggered memories of memorable football moments at both the club and international level.
Football Ambassador
In June 2001, he was elected by the present administration of Ghana to be the new chairman of the FA which to which he later turned down in favour of a knowledgeable former coach from Ghana for whom he in his own words he stated that it was the chance to gain knowledge from predecessors.
He currently owns a first division team named Nania which has the hope of nurturing the new talents to boost the developing national league. He is also involved in various charitable activities all over the African continent.
Abedi Pele Net Worth
Abedi Pele net worth is estimated at $50 million.
Abedi Pele recently revealed that he owns the biggest microfinance company in the country.
“I have done so many things, but my character is very calm, I am always in the dark and I believe in that,” he said.
“I have been in the country working very hard, I have a microfinance company which is very huge and number one in the country called Izwe Loans.” He added.
Speaking to the French ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie, he said his decision to set up a microfinance business was to lessen the burden on the ordinary Ghanaian.
“We give loans to teachers, military, police to support them in their daily lives. They have to send their children to school, and so we give them these loans to manage and buy things for their children,” he stated.
Source: Kingaziz.com