Getty Displaced Syrian children wearing the colours of the Brazilian and Croatian football teams, pay tribute to Brazilian football legend Pele, before a match as part of the "Camps World Cup" at the Hazano stadium in northern Idlib, on December 9, 2022.
Pelé, the Brazilian soccer legend who won three World Cups as a dominant figure in the sport, has died, his daughter announced on December 29, 2022, in an Instagram post.
“Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today,” a statement on Pelé’s official Twitter page read on December 29, 2022. “Love, love and love, forever.”
According to the Associated Press, Pelé was receiving treatment for colon cancer since 2021. Pele’s cause of death was “multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer,” AP reported.
The New York Times memorialized Pelé as the “global face of soccer.”
On November 30, 2022, his daughter wrote on Instagram, “Hi my friends. Lots of alarm in the media today concerning my dad’s health. He is in the hospital regulating medication.” However, over Christmas, she wrote a series of posts on Instagram indicating that her father was in the hospital, with his health worsening, as family gathered around him.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. ‘We Love You Infinitely,’ Pelé’s Daughter Wrote
A inspiração e o amor marcaram a jornada de Rei Pelé, que faleceu no dia de hoje.
Amor, amor e amor, para sempre.
.
Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today.
Love, love and love, forever.
Pele’s daughter Kely Nascimento shared a photo on her Instagram page on December 29, 2022, in which she wrote, according to Google Translate, “Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.” Nascimento’s Instagram photo shows a group of people holding the hands of a man in a hospital bed.
The location of the post was listed as Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein.
On December 28, 2022, Nascimento shared a photo on Instagram and wrote:
These moments are hard to explain. Sometimes a lot of sadness is despair, other times we laugh and talk about fun memories. And what else we learn from all of this is that we have to reach out to each other, and hold each other close. That’s the only way it’s all worth it. With everyone together.
Three days before his death, she wrote in another Instagram post that she spent Christmas in the hospital:
We always have a lot to be thankful for, even spending Christmas in the hospital we are aware of the privilege it is to be in a hospital like @hosp_einstein. To see our dad being treated by these professionals, super competent and extremely caring. Not a moment goes by that we forget this privilege.
Even in sadness we can only be thankful. Thank you for being together, thank you for all your affection, thank you that I can be here now with him.
Merry Christmas. Lots of health, lots of love, lots of joy, lots of laughter and lots of passion, today and always, for all of you.
Another night with him
Another Instagram post by Pelé’s daughter showed Pele in his hospital bed.
2. Pelé Suffered ‘Renal & Cardiac Dysfunction’ in His Final Days
GettyPelé poses during an AXA photocall at Wembley in London.
The Guardian reported on December 21, 2022, that Pelé’s cancer had “advanced,” and he required care “related to renal and cardiac dysfunction.”
At that point, Pelé was not in “palliative care,” but fans were holding a vigil for him outside the Sao Paulo, Brazil, hospital, The Guardian reported.
Pelé was hospitalized “in a common room, under the necessary care of the medical team,” https://www.einstein.br/Pages/Home.aspx” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>the hospital said in a statement before Pele died, according to the December 21, 2022, Guardian report.
According to The New York Times, Pelé also was battling a respiratory infection in recent weeks.
3. Pelé Was Remembered as ‘One of the Most Commanding Sports Figures of the Last Century’
GettyFormer Argentinian football international Diego Maradona (L) and former Brazilian footballer Pele pose after a football match organised by Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot at the Jardin du Palais Royal in Paris on June 9, 2016, on the eve of the Euro 2016 European football championships.
The Associated Press, which also confirmed Pelé’s death, reported that he was 82 years old when he died. The AP called Pelé “one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century” who won “a record three World Cups.”
According to The New York Times, Pelé was called a “national treasure” in Brazil, where he was from.
Pelé’s death was also confirmed by his agent, Joe Fraga, who said, “The king has passed,” The Associated Press reported.
4. Pelé Grew Up in Poverty in Brazil, Where He Practiced Soccer With a ‘Sock Stuffed With Rags’
GettyBrazilian soccer legend Pelé.
According to Biography.com, Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil, “the first child of João Ramos and Dona Celeste.”
He was named after the inventor Thomas Edison and given the nickname “Dico,” according to Biography.com, which reported that his father was a soccer player who “struggled to earn a living,” so Pelé grew up poor.
Growing up, he played soccer with a “rolled-up sock stuffed with rags,” Biography.com reported, adding that the future soccer legend eventually joined a youth squad helmed by a former Brazilian national soccer team member.
5. Tributes Flowed for Pelé After His Death Was Announced
Gracias por el Fútbol. QEPD @Pele
Meu acompanhamento neste triste momento à família. Brasileira nascida em São Paulo manda condolências da Argentina. Abraços da minha alma. 🇧🇷♥️🇦🇷🙏✝️
Fans offered tributes to the soccer great on Twitter. “Rest easy though pele, legend of the game,” tweeted @Guineastaa.
The Twitter page @MarkBen27161634 tweeted, “He was the best in all of us. A good man, a kind man, a generous man.”
Pele got to see his last Christmas with his whole family at the age of 82. Beautiful way to go if you’re going to do it.
@JdMinks tweeted, “Pele got to see his last Christmas with his whole family at the age of 82. Beautiful way to go if you’re going to do it.”
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