The football world is worried about Pele. His cancer is progressing, the whole family gathered in the hospital on Sunday night.
At Christmas, the family of Brazilian football legend Pelé gathered at his sickbed in the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo. Daughter Kely Cristina Nascimento posted a family photo on her Instagram page on Saturday evening, which also includes Pelé’s wife Marcia Aoki.
“Merry Christmas. Gratitude, love, togetherness, family. The essence of Christmas. Thank you all for all the love and light you send. In this crazy and amazing life I would be nothing without you”wrote the 55-year-old to the picture. “Today and forever: Merry Christmas and all the best.”
Also son Edinho at the bedside
Pelé’s son Edson “Edinho” Cholbi do Nascimento (52) was also hospitalized. The former goalkeeper posted a picture on Instagram holding the football legend’s hand. Below the photo is a flaming heart. To this he wrote: “Father… my strength is yours.”
The Albert Einstein Hospital announced on Wednesday that Pele’s cancer was progressing and that he needed more intensive care due to kidney and heart problems. The three-time world champion has been in the hospital since November 29 to reset chemotherapy for a colon tumor. According to media reports, Pelé’s chemotherapy has recently failed.
Neymar pays tribute to Pele
Brazil soccer star Neymar paid tribute to Pelé in a video that Kely Nascimento posted on Instagram. “As you know, Pelé is part of my story”, said Neymar among other things. The offensive player of Paris Saint Germain announced that he had been nominated by a sponsor to honor Pele with a trophy as a “player in history”. There is only one such player. “King, Our Love and Respect for You”said Neymar.
“Hold on, king!”
“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.
At the beginning of December, his daughters Kely Nascimento and Flavia Arantes had already received a report from the newspaper “Folha de Sao Paulo” tried to dispel the fact that Pelé no longer responds to chemotherapy and will henceforth be treated palliatively. 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.