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Pelé, the Brazilian football legend who won three World Cups and established himself as the sport’s first global icon, died at the age of 82.
“Everything that we are, is thanks to you,” his daughter Kely Nascimento wrote in a post on Instagram, under an image of family members holding Pele’s hands. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
Pelé was admitted to a hospital in So Paulo in late November for a respiratory infection and colon cancer complications. The hospital announced last week that his health had deteriorated as his cancer progressed. According to a statement from Albert Einstein Hospital, he died on Thursday from multiple organ failure caused by the progression of colon cancer.
Pelé’s name has been synonymous with soccer for over 60 years. He participated in four World Cups and is the only player in history to have won three of them, but his legacy extended far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goal-scoring record.
“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé famously said.
Tributes have been pouring in for the soccer legend. Pelé’s first club, Santos FC, responded to the news on Twitter with the words “eternal” shared next to an image of a crown.
Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi simply wrote: “Rest in peace.”
Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tweeted: “Thank you, Pele.”
Brazilian footballer Neymar said Pelé “changed everything.” In a post on Instagram, he wrote: “He turned football into art, into entertainment. He gave a voice to the poor, to black people and especially: He gave visibility to Brazil. Football and Brazil have raised their status thanks to the King!” he added.
Portuguese star forward Cristiano Ronaldo sent his condolences to Brazil in a post on Instagram, saying “a mere “goodbye” to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that currently engulfs the entire football world.”
Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain said of Pelé’s death: “The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten.”
According to a Thursday statement from Santos FC, a public wake for Pelé will be held on Monday at the Urbano Caldeira stadium, popularly known as Vila Belmiro and home to Santos football club, in Brazil’s So Paulo state.
The city also declared seven days of official mourning, as fans flocked to the team’s stadium to leave flowers.
Pele’s body will be transferred from Albert Einstein Hospital to the stadium at dawn on Monday. The coffin of the soccer legend will be placed in the center of the field.
The wake will be held at Vila Belmiro until Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), when a funeral procession will carry Pelé’s coffin through the streets of Santos, including the street where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.
The procession will then proceed to Pelé’s final resting place, the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery in Santos, where a private funeral, reserved for family members, will be held.
Source:CNN
