ForewordBy Sir Geoff HurstI am often asked who was the best player I ever played against. The answer has been the same for more than fifty years. It was Pelé, the greatest player of my generation or any other generation.

He won three World Cups, scored over 1,000 goals and he had everything. He was small, but great in the air, he was so strong and so precise with a superb ability to time his runs and his passes perfectly. He was daring, quick and had a great shot. In short, he was the perfect footballer.

We played against the greatest international team of all time in 1970 and came close but ultimately could not beat them. Even with Gordon Banks’ miracle save from Pelé, they proved too much for us on the day and went on to win the greatest World Cup Final of all time. The iconic moment when Pelé swaps shirts with Bobby Moore, the greatest player I played with, will live in my heart and my memory for all time. They were a great, great team and he was the shining star in that side. I have a photograph from the 70s of Bobby and I with Pelé at an event in London and it is amongst my most treasured possessions.

It is absolutely appropriate and fitting for Pelé to have a prestigious Opus to celebrate his extraordinary life and times and to glory in his wonderful achievements both on and off the pitch.

It is my great honour to have been asked to write this foreword and I will finish by saying, I played against some magnificent players in my long career and standing out way above them all was one man. Edson Arantes do Nascimento or just Pelé as he is known to the world.