Pele offers to pay up and end charity cash row

Pele is to offer payment for a charity game which never took place after starting legal action against one of his former business partners.

$700,000 from a television contract to show a 1995 charity event was found in Pele's bank account earlier this month and the former Brazil star has offered to pay the money back to UNICEF from his own considerable savings.

"Everybody knows how much I love children and now I will have to listen to all these absurd accusations directed against me. But I'm ready to pay UNICEF the money."

The 'Folha de Sao Paulo' newspaper claimed last week revealed that the company Pele, Sports & Marketing had been paid $700,000 by American company Sports Vision for benevolent action. a game which never took place in Buenos Aires six years ago.

Pele has now started a legal action against his former business partner Helio Vianna who claims the former three-time World Cup winner kept the money to pay to Brazil midfielder Giovanni to become his agent.

Pele is due in Pusan in South Korea today ahead of the 2002 World Cup draw which he is expected to take part in.