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Pele: Tributes pour in for the man who ‘enchanted the world’ with his genius in sport

Mohit Mohanan Mohit Mohanan Follow on X Send an email December 31, 2022
466 4 minutes read
Pele
Pele

Brazilian football icon Pele dies at the age of 82

An iconic football star Pele from Brazil has died at the age of 82 due to multiple organ failure resulting from his colon cancer, according to the statement the hospital. 

“The king has passed,” Pelé’s agent, Joe Fraga, also said in a statement at the time.

Pele, the former Santos FC star who was widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time originally named Edson Arantes do Nascimento. He had been at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo since 29 November. 

Just before Christmas, a medical report revealed that he needed care for cardiac and renal dysfunction, and has been battling colon cancer since September 2021.

Pele had been battling cancer, as well as kidney and heart problems. He was hospitalised on November 29 and had been regularly receiving hospital care since September 2021, when a tumor was removed from his colon. 

Pele’s daughter Kely Nascimento confirmed the news and paid tribute to her father in an Instagram post. “All that we are is thanks to you,” she captioned a photo of her and others holding Pelé’s hand.

“We love you endlessly. Rest in peace.”

Pele’s official Instagram account also shared a statement that read that Pele “enchanted the world with his genius in sport” and helped to spread a message of love.

“His message today becomes a legacy for future generations. 

Love, love, and love, forever,” the post reads. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Pelé (@pele)

INTERNATIONAL CAREER 

At the age of 15, Pele started playing for Santos and the Brazilian national team a year later, bursting onto the world football scene as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup.

The Brazilian king of football is said to be the only player in history to have won 3 World Cups (1958, 1962, and 1970). He was the Brazilian national team’s all-time top goalscorer, with 77 goals in 92 games.

He not only became one of the most commanding sports figures of the past century but also the youngest-ever scorer in a World Cup final in the first of those triumphs.

Following his career, Pele went on to hold multiple posts, including as a UNESCO Goodwill ambassador.

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Also, in the conversation about legends of football, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo are the ones mentioned alongside Pele.

LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL

Pele’s life took many forms after his football career. He became a politician — Brazil’s extraordinary minister for sport, a wealthy businessman, and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations.

He has also done a few roles in movies, and soap operas, and even composed songs and recorded CDs of popular Brazilian music.

His travels and appearances became less frequent after his health deteriorated and he was often seen in a wheelchair during his final years. He was so unwell that he didn’t attend a ceremony to unveil a statue of him representing Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team.

ABOUT HIS MARRIGE AND FAMILY 

Sources say that Pele spent his 80th birthday isolated with a few family members at a beach home.

Pele would endure difficult times in his personal life, especially when his son Edinho was arrested on drug-related charges.

Pele
Pele

Pele had reportedly two daughters out of wedlock and five kids from his first two marriages, to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi and Assiria Seixas Lemos. He later married businesswoman Marcia Cibele Aoki.

TRIBUTES POUR IN FROM AROUND THE WORLD FOR THE SPORTING LEGEND ‘KING PELE’

Pele’s unexpected death sparked a wave of condolences from around the world, with the Brazilian government declaring three days of mourning for the shining star.

He was an inspiration to athletes across the globe, with legends such as Ronaldo and Neymar idolizing him as well.

Football clubs around the world including New York City Football Club, Chelsea FC, Manchester United Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Wales Football Association, and England’s national football team, the German Football Association (DFB) as well as Croatia’s football federation also reacted to Pele’s passing.

World leaders French president Emmanuel Macron, the United States President Joe Biden, the former US President Barack Obama, also posted their condolences. 

Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan too shared a special post dedicated to the legendary footballer. , Bachchan, who is a big fan of the sport, posted a couple of pictures featuring Pele and attached a heartfelt note alongside.

 

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A post shared by Abhishek Bachchan (@bachchan)

Oscar-winning Indian composer AR Rahman also paid tribute to football legend Pele by sharing a music video tribute, ‘Ginga’, that he had composed for the biographical film ‘Pele: Birth of a legend’ back in 2016.

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Actor Sylvester Stallone, Pele’s co-star in ‘Escape To Victory’ and to other sports legends Cristiano Ronaldo who was a former Brazil striker, Lewis Hamilton, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, including other superstars also paid tribute. 

The UN education and culture organisation which champions the power of sport across the world, UNESCO, tweeted that it was “deeply saddened” at his passing, and extended condolences to the Brazilian people, and the wider “football family”. 

FUNERAL 

A funeral is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, with his casket to be carried through the streets of Santos, the coastal city where his storied career began, before burial.

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Mohit Mohanan Mohit Mohanan Follow on X Send an email December 31, 2022
466 4 minutes read
Mohit Mohanan

Mohit Mohanan

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