Yet another year takes away with itself another legend. On Friday, the Brazilian football player Pele breathed his last at the age of 82. He was battling cancer as well as kidney and heart problems. In November of this year, Pele was hospitalised after his health deteriorated. He had been under constant hospital care since September 2021, when a tumour was removed from his colon.
Today, the world is mourning the death of this legendary footballer. Condolences poured in from every corner of the world.
Here are some things to know about Pele:
- Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is undoubtedly the greatest footballer ever. He is also possibly the best-paid athlete in the world.
- Pele played for the Brazilian national teams that won three World Cup championships (1958, 1962, and 1970). This made Pele the only player in history to have won three World Cups.
- He was a Brazilian national hero and was also sometimes called “Pérola Negra” (“Black Pearl”).
- He scored his 1,000th goal on November 19, 1969, in his 909th first-class match.
- Pelé played his first international match in 1957 at the age of 16. The year after that, he played his first game in the World Cup finals in Sweden.
- Pelé has received many awards as well. He was the recipient of the International Peace Award in 1978. He was named the Athlete of the Century by the French sports publication L’Equipe in 1980. He received the same honour in 1999 from the International Olympic Committee.
- He has published several best-selling autobiographies. Pele has also appeared in several successful documentary and semi-documentary films. For the film Pelé (1977), he also composed numerous musical pieces, including the film’s soundtrack.
His daughter, Kely Nascimento, announced the news of Pele’s death through a post on Instagram. She shared a picture of the family holding the hands of the late football giant with a caption that read, “We love you endlessly. Rest in peace.”
Pele’s official Instagram account too carried a post that read, “Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today. On his journey, Edson enchanted the world with his genius in sport, stopped a war, carried out social works all over the world and spread what he most believed to be the cure for all our problems: love. His message today becomes a legacy for future generations. Love, love and love, forever.”
