FOOTBALL legend Pele

(right) is embarking on a search to find a youthful version of himself. He wants a 15-year-old who can replicate his teenage soccer skills for a big-screen movie about his life. ‘It’s not the Pele who scored goals or the Pele who was a champion. This is a young Pele,’ the sporting giant told me. ‘He has to know good ball control and I have to travel to find him.’ He thinks it will be difficult to track down such a player because young sportsmen are so influenced by what Pele termed ‘communications’. He explained: ‘The young people in Brazil and South America have TV and the internet,’ and these influence the way they play today. But he and producers Brian Grazer and Guy East are confident there is a player out there who can portray a teenage Pele (real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento), who first played for his country at the 1958 World Cup at the age of 17. It’s hoped that filming will start this summer with directors Michael and Jeff Zimbalist shooting in Brazilian locations. Pele was scathing about the current state of the game and said few play simply for the love of football. ‘It’s all business now,’ he told me. He cited Argentinian Lionel Messi as the player he most admires, but asked: ‘Where are the Franz Beckenbauers and players such as George Best?’ As he made his way from the suite at the Carlton Hotel, he beckoned me closer and whispered: ‘Brazil for the final of the World Cup.’ That would be perfect, as he wants the film to have its world premiere during the World Cup next year.