Pele, perhaps the greatest player ever in the world's most popular sport, is still trying to scratch out a living at the age of 68.
貝利(Pele)也許是足球這一世界上最熱門的體育運動史上最偉大的球員，但已經68歲的他仍在辛苦謀生。
He's just signed a merchandising deal with Nomis, a little-known Swiss cleat manufacturer, in a move that could become a runaway success -- or yet another example in a lengthy list of business deals whose history is as spotty as his goals were sublime.
他剛剛和瑞士一家不知名的足球鞋生產商Nomis公司簽了一筆商業合同，這可能讓這產品一炮而紅，或者也有可能是又一個他與公司合作的失敗案例，而他與其他公司在商業合作上成功和失敗兼備的歷史和他的偉大進球一樣聞名。
On the soccer field, Pele's legacy is virtually unrivaled in the modern history of international sports. A member of three World Cup champions, he scored nearly 1,300 goals in a career that spanned three decades and two continents. But during the 32 years since his retirement, Pele, once one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, has failed to leverage his fame into the vast fortune that other sports superstars like Michael Jordan enjoy today.
在足球場上，貝利創造的奇跡在現代國際體育史上幾乎是無人匹敵的。作為三次獲得世界杯的冠軍隊的隊員，他的體育生涯歷經三十年，足跡跨越兩大洲，他共踢進了近1300個球。但在他退役后的32年間，這位世界上曾經最有名的運動員，卻未能象邁克爾?喬丹(Michael Jordan)那樣的體育明星一樣利用個人名聲，享受著日進斗金的快樂。
In some ways Pele himself is accountable for not capitalizing on his superstar status. Despite several overtures, he has never served as coach or a top team executive, or as a major television commentator in the spirit of ex-NFL great John Madden or golf's Johnny Miller.
在某些方面，貝利自己對未能好好利用其巨星的地位負有責任。盡管造過一些聲勢，但他從未當上過教練或是任何頂級球隊的主管，或是有像美國國家美式足球聯盟(NFL)前明星球員約翰?麥登(John Madden)或高爾夫球員強尼?米勒(Johnny Miller)那樣的勁頭，當上大電視臺的體育評論員。
But Pele's circumstances can also be blamed on the year of his birth, since his career ended just before the emergence of the modern sports-marketing behemoths that, over time, have spawned a race between basketball's LeBron James and golf's Tiger Woods to become the first billionaire athlete. David Beckham, currently the world's top-earning soccer player, collected about million last year in salary and endorsements. Pele's big payday, by contrast, came in 1975, when the New York Cosmos signed him for .5 million -- the top salary for a professional-team athlete in the US at the time but about a third as much as the Kansas City Royals pay mediocre outfielder Jose Guillen.
但是貝利的處境也可以歸咎于他的生不逢時，因為他的足球生涯恰恰結束在現代體育營銷巨頭出現之前。這些年來，這些巨頭打造出了第一代體育界的億萬富翁，包括籃球明星勒布朗?詹姆斯(LeBron James)和高爾夫明星老虎?伍茲(TIGER WOODS)。當今世界收入最高的足球運動員大衛?貝克漢姆去年將4500萬美元收入囊中，其中包括薪水和廣告代言收入。而比較之下，貝利的輝煌日子卻僅僅是1975年以450萬美元的身價，加盟紐約宇宙隊(New York Cosmos)，那是當年美國職業運動員最高的薪水了，但這僅相當于現在的美國堪薩斯市皇家棒球隊(Kansas City Royals)付給他們的平庸外場手荷塞?吉恩(Jose Guillen)薪水的三分之一。
（來源：網絡 英語點津Jennifer編輯）
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