Brazilian soccer star: Pelé died at the age of 82

Brazilian soccer legend Pelé is dead. This was confirmed by his agent and his family. The three-time world champion had recently been treated for cancer. Pele is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time.

Brazilian soccer player Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, has died at the age of 82. His agent, Joe Fraga, and the families confirmed it.

Pelé’s family gathered at his bedside at the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo on Christmas Day. His daughter Kely Cristina Nascimento posted a family photo on Instagram Saturday night, which also includes Pele’s wife Marcia Aoki. Pelé’s son, former goalkeeper Edson Cholbi, known as Edinho, was also in the hospital.

advanced cancer

The hospital previously informed that the 82-year-old’s cancer had progressed and that he needed more intensive treatment for kidney and heart problems. Pelé had been in the hospital since November 29 to reset chemotherapy for a colon tumor.

In September last year, Pelé had a tumor removed from his colon that doctors discovered during a routine examination. After the operation, he was treated in the intensive care unit and had to stay in the hospital for around a month. After that he was repeatedly in the hospital for chemotherapy. Doctors recently said he was on the mend.

92 caps for Brazil

Pelé was considered one of the greatest footballers of all time. He played 92 international matches for Brazil and won the soccer World Cup three times. In 1958, the then 17-year-old Pelé took part in the World Championships in Sweden. At first he stayed on the bench against Austria and England, but then national coach Vicente Feola brought him in after all. With six goals in four games, Pelé was instrumental in Brazil’s title win.

Brazil defended its title at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, but Pelé was not able to play after the second group game due to injury. In 1966 in England, Brazil suffered a severe setback and were eliminated in the first round. Pelé was mercilessly chased and kicked by the opponents.

Four years later in Mexico, the striker then led the Brazilian national team as a great thinker and leader to their third title win. A year later, on July 18, 1971, Pelé retired from the national team – at the age of just 30.

businessman and politician

After his playing career, Pelé worked as a businessman. In Brazil he owned a radio station and a film production company as well as hotels in Bahia. In the 2006 World Cup, his annual income from PR and advertising appearances was estimated at around three million euros.

Pelé made headlines with socialist-tinged political slogans and the announcement that he would run for the post of Brazilian President. In November 1989 he described himself as “a socialist because of my religious background” and announced that he would found a left-wing party.

A political career finally came at the end of 1994, when the newly elected President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed him Extraordinary Sports Minister. He was the only black minister out of 23 and the first black minister in Brazil. The politician Pelé wanted to fight corruption in Brazilian football. He was also committed to children and youth projects and mass sport.

Neymar paid tribute to Pele

Brazil soccer star Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior recently paid tribute to Pelé in a video that his daughter Kely Nascimento posted on Instagram. “As you know, Pele is part of my story,” he said. The Paris Saint-Germain attacker said he had been nominated by a sponsor to honor Pele with a trophy as a “player of history”. There is only one such player. “King, our love and respect for you,” said Neymar.

For weeks, the country and the entire football world suffered with Pelé. At the beginning of December, his daughters Kely Nascimento and Flavia Arantes tried to dispel a report in the newspaper “Folha de São Paulo” that Pele was no longer responding to chemotherapy and that from now on he would be treated palliatively – i.e. to accompany his death.

During the World Cup in Qatar there were repeated messages of hope on the Instagram account of “O Rei”, the king. He followed the Brazilian national team from the hospital room. He also congratulated superstar Neymar on tying Pele’s national team goal record.

The Brazilian team also played for him in Qatar. Players and fans sent their idol get well wishes to far away São Paulo. In one of his most recent posts, Pelé congratulated Lionel Messi’s Argentina national team on winning their third World Cup title. He also paid tribute to the brilliant performance of France star striker Kylian Mbappé in the final.