Pele Set To Auction Off World Cup Medals

Legendary Brazilian footballer Pele is set to auction off more than 2,000 items of personal sporting memorabilia - including all three of his World Cup winners' medals.

The 75-year-old former player, who grew up in poverty in Bauru, Sao Paulo before becoming a professional sportsman and being hailed one the "greatest football players of all time", has said he plans to donate a portion of the auction proceeds to a children's hospital in his home country.

As well as his three World Cup winners medals - from 1958 in Sweden, 1962 in Chile and 1970 in Mexico - items set to go under the hammer include his Jules Rimet Trophy, 1,000th game ball and his 2007 FIFA Presidential Award.

The footballer said he wanted to give his fans the chance to own a piece of footballing history for themselves and 'share his story' with future generations.
I have decided to allow fans and collectors to own a piece of my history as well.

I hope they treasure these artifacts and share my story with their children and generations to come.

Some items in the collection, which spans Pele's 21-year playing career and are due to be sold off during a three-day auction by Julien's Auction house in London in June, are expected to fetch as much as $600,000 (£420,429) each.