Pele wants CBF accounts frozen

Pele’s lawyers Franco Oliveira and Salles Nobre told the press on Wednesday that they would scrutinise the accounts of the CBF to know where the money is so they could then have the assets frozen.

He is sueing over what he says is the unauthorised use of his image for the album “Heroes del Tri” (Heroes of the three World Cup wins) published by the CBF and Editora Abril publishing in April 1988.

The book told the story of Brazil’s three World Cup wins in Sweden 1958, Chile 1962 and Mexico 1970.

Pele played a leading role in the 1958 and 1970 triumphs although injury limited his contribution to the 1962 campaign. Brazil have since won a fourth World Cup in the United States in 1994 without the help of Pele.

His lawyers want gate receipts for Brazil’s 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign to be frozen pending a payment of the royalties Pele believes are owed to him.

“The freezing (of the assets) would be provisional until the figure sought by the triple World Champion (Pele) is put in a public holding account until the end of the legal case,” said Nobre.

Some leading Brazilian players have already been paid for the use of their photographs in the album, notably Carlos Alberto, Hercules Brito Ruas, Jairzinho, Paulo Cesar as well as the estate of the late Manuel dos Santos (Garrincha), perhaps Brazil’s second greatest player after Pele.

They received a total of 350,000 dollars with Garrincha getting the biggest individual sum of 126,000 dollars, according to Pele’s lawyers.

Another group including such famous names as Djalma Santos, Nilton Santos, Vava, Rivelino and Gerson have received a total of $382,000.

Other players and former members of the coaching staff are also in litigation over the issue.

“Even if the album was edited some years ago, the current CBF directors can not avoid paying what is owed,” said Nobre.