The legend of Brazilian and world football, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as “Pelé”, three-time world champion with the Brazilian national team, died Thursday, at the age of 82, in São Paulo, where he was hospitalized for a month to treat colon cancer.
The death of the “king”, voted footballer of the last century by FIFA, has been confirmed by his family. “We love you to infinity, rest in peace,” wrote on her Instagram one of her daughters, Kely Nascimento, who was at her bedside at Albert-Einstein Hospital in São Paulo.
The athlete, absolute icon of world football with Maradona, who also died in November 2020, had been hospitalized since November 29. The hospitalization took place due to a respiratory infection following contracting Covid-19 and for the reassessment of colon cancer treatment.
In his last Instagram post on the 18th, Pelé praised Morocco for their “incredible” performance at the World Cup, saying the Atlas Lions “made all of Africa shine” in Qatar. O rei” (the king) also congratulated Argentina on winning the world title once morest France.
Pelé is also known for his great admiration for Moroccan striker Larbi Ben Mbarek (1917-1992). On December 21, medical staff at the hospital released a medical bulletin saying that Pele had “oncological disease progression” and needed more care related to kidney and heart dysfunction. Therefore, the former player was not allowed to spend Christmas at home, as the family wanted.
Kely and Edinho Nascimento, the children of Pelé, have published photos in recent days with their father in the room where he was hospitalized. Other children and grandchildren were also there for Christmas.
Despite the complicated situation, Pelé spent a few days stable and with a slight improvement. This Thursday, however, the king’s health deteriorated further and passed away.
Due to his advanced age and treatment, the football king’s public appearances have become less and less frequent in recent years. On social media, he said he was optimistic regarding the recovery.
Pelé received several tributes during the 2022 World Cup, played while hospitalized in the capital of São Paulo. Players like Neymar, Richarlison and Mbappé wanted the footballing genius back, whose career marked aspects of Brazilian life far beyond football, such as the issue of racial discrimination.
The player made his debut for the national team in 1957, in a Copa Rocca game once morest Argentina, when he also scored his first goal in the yellow and green jersey. With the Brazil team, at only 17 years old, he won the World Cup in Sweden in 1958.
Four years later, he was injured in the second round of the World Cup in Chile, also won by Brazil. At the 1966 World Cup in England, he led the legendary Brazilian team to the second title and then a third in 1970, in Mexico.
With his club Santos, Pelé has an impressive record: he has won the Campeonato Paulista ten times, a regional tournament in which he was the top scorer for nine consecutive seasons. He was also twice champion of the Libertadores and Clubs, in 1962 and 1963. It was also with the Santos shirt that he scored his thousandth goal, once morest Vasco, at the Maracanã, on November 19, 1969.
According to Santos figures, Pele scored 1,091 goals for the club in 1,116 games.
Wearing the Selecao jersey, Pelé played 113 games and scored 95 goals, according to figures from the Brazilian FA. In the accounts of Fifa, which only considers matches between national teams, he is credited with 77 goals in 91 games.
In his entire career, Pele has scored 1,282 goals in 1,364 games in Santos’ tally. On social networks, the King claimed to have made one more, 1,283.
