Pele's family face a possible legal battle against having the football legend's body exhumed after a woman claiming to be the Brazilian icon's daughter demanded another DNA test.
Brazilian press reports Maria do Socorro Azevedo, 60, is claiming to be Pele's eighth child.
The late football great, who married three times in his life, is said to have acknowledged in his will the possibility that he fathered an eighth child.
He reportedly agreed to a paternity test, but died before it was done.
Pele's mausoleum is located on the second floor of a high-rise cemetery
GETTY
Maria is said to have first sought tests five years ago, but Pele's health as well as the Covid-19 pandemic stopped it from happening.
But a test was reportedly done when two of Pele's biological children, Edinho Nascimento and Flavia Christina, agreed to take DNA tests immediately after reading their father's will.
Edinho, who is also tasked with overseeing Pele's inheritance, stated previously that the DNA tests came back negative.
"We have already carried out the tests and it has been confirmed that she is not our sister," he said.
"We and she did it in the laboratory and it was confirmed that there is no relationship."
Reports quoting Maria's lawyer claim a new DNA test has returned 'high possibilities' of a blood link with Pele.
Mr dos Santos Sousa now believes there is 'no option' but to exhume Pele's body to 'resolve the situation'.
“We have no other alternative," he told Record TV.
Maria do Socorro Azevedo claims to be Pele's eighth child
RecordTV
"The exhumation request will be filed in the coming days.
"We dealt almost personally with his children and his representatives, but in our results there was a great possibility of kinship and in their analysis it was completely negative. We just want to resolve the situation."
Flavia Christina is said to have stated that Pele's family "have nothing to declare" in regards to Maria's fresh claims.
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Pele's son, Edinho Nascimento, pictured waving at the football icon's funeral
GETTY
Pele is said to have split his estate into three separate parts for his family with 30 per cent going to his widow Marica Aoki.
Another 60 per cent was to be split between his seven children, including his stepdaughter, and 10 per cent to his two grandchildren.
Reports claim that Pele's net worth at the time of his death was put at around £78million.
