Brazilian icon Pele, widely regarded as one of football’s greatest players, has died aged 82.
The three-time World Cup winner had been in hospital in Sao Paulo for over a month and had been undergoing treatment for colon cancer since 2021.
Pele’s daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram: “Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
Nascimento, who had posted before Christmas that members of Pele’s family would spend the holiday period in the hospital with him, added three heartbroken emojis.
Pele burst on to the global scene as a 17-year-old at the 1958 World Cup, helping Brazil to the first of their record five successes in the competition.
Injury affected his contribution to the finals in 1962, when Brazil retained their title, and 1966, but he returned to lead his country to glory for a third time in Mexico in 1970, as part of what is widely regarded as the greatest line-up of all time.
He has endured a number of health issues in recent years, and in September 2021 underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his colon.
Pele was a prodigious scorer of goals, and is credited with 1,281 of them across the length of his career by the official Fifa website.
Pelé, the only man to win the #FIFAWorldCup three times.
A legend of our game.
Rest in peace, the Eternal King. pic.twitter.com/1MS3DPxPDF
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) December 29, 2022
He was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. His father, Dondinho, was a professional footballer.
He first had trials at Santos in June 1956 and his scoring exploits for the club in the Sao Paulo state championship propelled him into the Brazil squad for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
Alongside other stars like Garrincha, Mario Zagallo and Didi, Brazil laid to rest the disappointment of losing the 1950 World Cup final on home soil to Uruguay, and became the first team to win the tournament outside their home continent.
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. pic.twitter.com/CP9syIdL3i
— Pelé (@Pele) December 29, 2022
He quickly became a superstar in his home country of what was at the time a forward-looking nation, and became hugely marketable.
