The Brazilian team he played in, Santos, was not really a great team when Pele arrived... but once Pele showed up, that team became a win-everything team, 23 titles including two world championships, for over 10 years. Some claim Pele's Santos was one of the greatest teams to ever have played football. Wherever they went, it was a full house, and they did tour outside Brazil, but not very often, sure. In any case, Pele's fame is in no way exagerated. He won 3 world cups, something nearly unheard of even after all these years, won every championship Santos tried (his teammates were also amazing [1], of course - but Pele's prominency has never been questioned by anyone, specially his teammates) for a really long time... and he just made the game beautiful with every touch... watching his works in situations that did not even end up with a goal has always been as popular as watching his most amazing goals as I grew up.
[1] Pele & the immortal Santos of 1960-1969 https://imortaisdofutebol.com/esquadrao-imortal-santos-1960-...