29/12/2022–|Last update: 12/29/202210:48 AM (Makkah)
On a visit to the Pele Museum in the Brazilian coastal city of Santos, Sergio Murillo Jr. says he is sad to see the football legend’s health deteriorate, stressing at the same time that he is “proud of the legacy he left us.”
For the 53-year-old lawyer, he sees Pele above all as “an example of perseverance and resilience for all generations”.
The museum in Santos is filled with memorabilia of the man dubbed “The King”, such as shirts, badges and balls from important matches, as well as numerous awards including an honorary FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2014.
“An example of perseverance and resilience, for all generations.”
At Pele museum, fans proud of ailing football icon’s legacyhttps://t.co/2VO6BMp7Xn pic.twitter.com/51diC1KaKS
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) December 29, 2022
Pele, 82, is battling advanced cancer, as well as kidney and heart problems, in a hospital in Sao Paulo.
Flores Araugo Hermes (82-year-old Peruvian tourist) said he remembers watching the Brazilian legend play in Lima as if it was yesterday.
He is remembered as “Dame, Shot and Goal! Awesome!”
“He was the best. People keep comparing him to others, but no one has yet surpassed him,” Hermes added.
While Pele is universally known as the only player in history who led his country to win the World Cup 3 times (1958, 1962 and 1970), he also achieved great success with the Santos team, such as winning the Intercontinental Cup in 1962 and 1963.
Pele was born in the state of Minas Gerais and spent most of his footballing life at Santos, before playing his last seasons in the seventies with the American New York Cosmos.
Santos’ shirts this season will feature the golden crown above the club’s crest, in honor of Pele’s eternal number 10 shirt.
“Pele will always be our king, the great king of football,” said Murillo Jr.