The football world is worried regarding Pele. As his cancer progresses, the Brazilian legend’s condition worsens.
Pelé’s daughters did a lot to ease concerns regarding Brazil’s critically ill football icon. “Our Christmas at home has been postponed”the two sisters announced via Instagram, they smiled confidently and even announced caipirinhas in the hospital room for the holidays.
However, the news, which followed a few minutes later from the doctors at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paolo, revealed a different perspective: the 82-year-old’s state of health has apparently deteriorated drastically.
“Kidney and Cardiac Disorders”
The treating doctors announced on Wednesday evening that the cancer was progressing. The doctors also spoke of “kidney and heart dysfunctions” and that Pelé needed “more intensive care”, although he was “still in a normal room”.
“Hold on, king!”, wrote the Brazilian sports newspaper “Lance” when the news broke, and it spoke to the soul of an entire nation. For weeks, the country and the entire football world have been suffering with Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé’s real name.
hospitalized at the end of November
On November 29, the three-time world champion was brought in for a re-evaluation of his chemotherapy following a tumor was found in his colon in September 2021. During his stay, Pelé was initially treated for a respiratory infection, which the hospital said was quickly resolved. Only two weeks ago, the doctors had reported an “improvement in his clinical condition”.
At the beginning of December, his daughters Kely Nascimento and Flavia Arantes tried to dispel a report in the newspaper “Folha de Sao Paulo” that Pele was no longer responding to chemotherapy and was being treated palliatively from then on. Palliative medicine is dedicated to the treatment of people with advanced disease whose life expectancy is estimated to be low. The hospital did not address this in its statements.
Team played for Pelé in Qatar
During the World Cup there were constant messages of hope on the Instagram account of “O Rei”, the king. He followed the Brazilian national team from the hospital room and congratulated superstar Neymar on setting his own goal record in the “Selecao”. The team also played for him in Qatar. Players and fans sent their idol get well wishes to faraway Sao Paolo.
In one of his most recent posts to date, Pelé congratulated Lionel Messi’s Argentina national team on winning their third World Cup title and acknowledged the brilliant performance of France’s star striker Kylian Mbappé in last Sunday’s final.
The support of the people is “a great consolation”, his daughters now wrote, “because we know we are not alone”. They want to announce news in the coming week.
