Rio de Janeiro, Dec 5 (IANS): Football legend Pele has signed a lifelong agreement to hand his image rights to Brazilian club Santos.

The deal allows Santos to use Pele for marketing campaigns and to help promote events, Xinhua quoted Santos as saying Thursday.

The announcement came as the three-time World Cup winner continued to recover from a urinary tract infection at a Sao Paulo hospital.

The medical staff said Pele's condition was improving but did not reveal when he would be discharged.

In a statement on Santos' official website, the former No. 10 hailed the new contract and expressed gratitude for the club's faith in him as a young player.

"Santos believed in me when I was young and turned me into the man I am and the player I was," he said.

Pele, who played in Brazil's 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cup-winning teams, is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in history.

He made 638 appearances for Santos and scored 619 goals from 1956 to 1974.