The Aberdeen fan who revealed late Brazilian football icon Pele was a Dons shareholder has explained how the player came to hold the stake – and how he came to own the proof of this remarkable, and timely, piece of Reds trivia.
Dons Twitter was ablaze on Thursday evening after well-known supporter Ally Begg shared an image, sent to him by friend Nick Archibald, which showed a certificate for one £1 share in the Pittodrie club made out to Edson Arantes do Nascimento, a.k.a. Pele.
News of the three-time World Cup winner’s death from cancer, aged 82, had been confirmed in the hours before Begg’s viral post.
Pele’s Aberdeen share certificate was issued on September 5, 2000, with Kintore-based Nick, 52, paying £60 for it after discovering the unique piece of memorabilia on an online auction site in 2016.
This is fantastic https://t.co/Zil6sstLes
— Ewan Watt (@ewancwatt) December 30, 2022
Nick said: “Basically, I go to auctions all the time and buy myself stuff from auctions constantly.
“When I go on to auction sites, I’ll always type in the likes of ‘Aberdeen’ and stuff like that. A lot of the time items will come which aren’t necessarily Aberdeen FC memorabilia but are about the city and stuff like that
“It (the Pele share certificate) came up on an auction site called Catawiki – which is European-based, in Holland.
“It was someone in Germany who had it. I bid on it, and purchased it from there.
“It was an online auction, so I did it all from Kintore.”
How Pele came to be Dons shareholder – with Der Kaiser also holding stake in Reds
How the share certificate made its way to Germany in the near-16 years after being issued remains unclear, but, after securing the surprising and unique piece of Aberdeen history, offshore chef Nick – a lifelong fan who has followed the Dons around Europe in years gone by – immediately donated it to the Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust.
He said: “It was better the club having that back than it sitting in my house.”
Nick added the club were delighted when he returned the proof of Pele’s stake, giving him some of the background to the great man’s unlikely shareholding.
They also told him Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, a.k.a. Der Kaiser, received a share in the Pittodrie outfit, too, although it is understood both players’ shares are thought to have been the work of the Aberdeen FC Shareholders’ Association or an individual, rather than club chiefs.
Nick explained: “I’ve bought several things before and donated a pennant from the European Cup Winners’ Cup (final) as well.
“I ended up giving it (the Pele share certificate) to the club and they were over the moon to get it back.
“I got given a guided tour of the club and all that stuff, and they also told me Franz Beckenbauer had one (a share in the club) as well.
“It was to do with when the club was floated (on the stock exchange) in 2000 or 1999. They gave away a few shares to celebrity football players – if I remember correctly, I think there were 20 in total – but I can’t remember who the other players were.”
News of Pele’s Aberdeen share is the latest tie between the departed football icon and the Dons.
As Paul Third detailed in a piece for The Press and Journal on Thursday evening, Pele also took to the Pittodrie pitch in 1989, as part of Scotland hosting the Under-16 World Cup – where he treated pupils from Mintlaw Academy to a demonstration of his much-lauded footballing skills.
All SPFL teams will pay tribute to Pele ahead of matches taking place over the weekend and on Monday.
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