Throughout Sandra Regina’s life, football icon Pele denied that she was his child, but it has since come to light that he bequeathed her a portion of his vast fortune in his will.
Sandra, who was born in 1964, passed away 17 years ago, devastated by the fact that her father still disregarded her. She was named in his will, including all of his seven children.
Sandra’s share of his estate will pass to her two sons, who met their grandfather for the first time as he lay dying in hospital.
Pele’s final wish was to meet Octavio Felinto Neto and Gabriel Arantes do Nascimento and they visited him on December 28, the day before he died at the age of 82.
Gabriel said: “I thank God for providing this moment, it was what my mother dreamed of most. I spoke to my aunts, and they said that our grandfather wanted to see us.
“We were very excited, it was an opportunity we had been waiting for. Every family has fights and rows, ours is no different, but there are moments when union and love are more important than anything else. We are extremely happy.”
Sandra Regina died of cancer in 2006. She was born after Pele had an affair with his cleaner, Anisia Machado. Anisia also fought for years to get Pele to admit he was the father but he refused to do so, even after a DNA test proved he was. However, Sandra was given the right to use Pele’s surname, Nascimento, in 1996 after a five-year legal battle.
