Pelé – The Adidas-Puma feud had Pelé in the middle

Pelé passed away on Thursday at 82 years old, he was one of the first mainstream football stars in history. The Brazilian star’s image, widely considered the best of all time, transcended beyond the pitch, even going as far as causing a feud between two brothers without knowing it.

We’re talking about the feud between Rudolf and Adolf Dassler, who were at the time the founders and owners of Puma and Adidas, respectively. Leading up to the Mexico 1970 World Cup with Pelé as the biggest star in the world, both brands agreed that none of them would try to sign the star to a sponsorship deal. It was a cease-fire between the brothers to avoid entering a tense battle that wouldn’t lead anywhere good. But one of the brothers broke the pact.

It was Rudolph, the founder of Puma, who convinced Pelé to wear the brand’s cleats during the final against Italy. That event could have gone unnoticed, but that possibility vanished once Brazil’s number 10 asked the referee to pause the match so he could tie his shoes.

The agreement with Pelé didn’t extend just to the final, before the match, manager Hans Henningsen made Pelé an offer to sign with Stylo and iron out a deal with Puma. This was more than enough for Rudolf and Adolf to cut all ties, and the conflict has remained unresolved between the two brands for 50 years.