After the 1970 World Cup, The Brazilian football legend retired after winning four world cups, but Pele had a habit of making predictions, and most often times, his predictions were wrong.
Let's check out some of Pele's legendary predictions that didn't come to pass
1. First, he predicted that Zico would be his successor and lead Brazil to World Cup victory. Zico played in three World Cups (1978, 1982, and 1986), but Brazil lost all of them.
2. Pelé then predicted that Colombia would win the 1994 World Cup and that Brazil wouldn’t win because of Romário's arrogance. Colombia got knocked out in the group stage, while Brazil ended up winning. Romário famously responded, "Pelé is a poet when he keeps his mouth shut."
3. He predicted Spain would win the 1998 World Cup, but they were eliminated in the group stage.
4. In 2002, he said the final would be between France and Argentina and that Brazil would exit in the Round of 16 because it had the weakest team in its history, thanks to Ronaldo's womanizing and Ronaldinho's love for nightclubs. France and Argentina got knocked out in the group stage, while Brazil won. Coach Scolari said, "I gathered Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and the team and told them: 'Pelé is always wrong. If you want to win the title, just do the opposite of what he says.'"
5. Pelé thought Brazil would win the 2010 World Cup because it had the best squad since 1970, but the team ended up being one of the worst in Brazil's history.
6. In 2014, he predicted Brazil would win on home soil and that the worst night in Brazil's history (losing the 1950 World Cup at home) would not be repeated. Instead, Brazil experienced an even darker night with a 7-1 defeat.
The only time Pelé's prediction came true was in fiction. In the movie Escape to Victory, he told Sylvester Stallone at halftime, "Let's not escape; we can turn this around." Stallone agreed, and they managed to tie the game in the second half.
As for Sylvester Stallone, one of the most famous actors in history whose films have been box office hits for over four decades, Pelé once predicted he’d win an Oscar for Best Actor.
Well, your guess is as good as my mine. That hasn’t happened... yet, and Stallone is still waiting to win his first Oscar for best actor as predicted by Pele.