Toye, the New York Cosmos and the NASL all needed Pele.
A former Daily Express sports writer, Toye had first met the Santos forward in 1971, fresh from his third World Cup win with Brazil the previous summer. Three years later, and with Pele having hung up his boots, he sensed an opportunity.
Juventus and Real Madrid were attempting to lure the superstar out of retirement, but the Englishman's unique sales pitch piqued Pele's interest.
"I said 'OK, if you go there you can win a championship. If you come with us you can win a country'," he recalled.
Toye chased Pele via Jamaica, Frankfurt, Brussels and Rome. They lunched in Guaruja and held more meetings in Rio and Sao Paulo. Finally the 34-year-old football legend passed a medical and signed up to a three-year package that included marketing, PR rights and a music contract worth a reported total of $4m (roughly $20m in today's terms).
The deal was nudged over the line by US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who sent a telegram saying the striker's arrival would "substantially contribute to closer ties between Brazil and the United States in the field of sports", with a similar call coming from Brazil's foreign minister.
On 10 June 1975, Pele was unveiled as a Cosmos player at Manhattan's iconic 21 Club.
Football, or soccer, barely got a mention in the media at the time. The Cosmos' first title in 1972 had hardly made a splash. Now there were hundreds of reporters bundled into the news conference for a glimpse of a star.
"You can spread the news around the world that soccer arrived finally in the USA," proclaimed 'the King', two hours late for his own unveiling.
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