Global icons have continued to send glowing tributes as Brazilian soccer legend, Pele dies at 82.
He passed away on Thursday, December 29, 2022 after a prolonged battle with colon cancer.
Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein hospital, where Pele was undergoing treatment, said that he died at 3:27 p.m. on Thursday due to multiple organ failures.
The hospital said that the organ failure was as a result of elongated colon cancer associated with his previous medical condition.
Pele's daughter, Kely Nascimento confirmed her father's death on Thursday in a heartfelt Instagram post.
"Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pele, who peacefully passed away today. He had 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", she said.
Global icons praised Pele for his outstanding performances in sport.
French President, Emmanuel Macron via his Twitter handle, @EmmanuelMacron wrote: "The game. The king. Eternity'.
Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano tweeted: "Brazilian legend Pelé has passed away at 82, one of the greatest of all time who changed the game. A man with a god-given talent, one of the names who will remain forever in the memory. All thoughts with the family. RIP, legend 🕊".
Pastor Paul Adefarasin @pauladefarasin of the House on the Rock Church Lagos tweeted: "An irreplaceable icon…Rest in perfect peace Pele, your legacy lives on 👑⚽️🕊". ️
In a tribute to the football legend, President Muhammadu Buhari on behalf of Nigerians said that Pele had an enormous generous spirit and humility despite his greatness as a footballer and sportsman.
”He also built bridges across nations, races and even religions. He was a UN Ambassador of goodwill. Pele is gone but the world will never forget him. RIP", he said.
While praying for Pele's soul to rest in peace, he noted that the legendary soccer champion lived a good life and made huge contributions to the development of global football in particular and world sport in general.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in mourning Pele said that they were deeply saddened at his passing, just as they extended condolences to the Brazilian people, and the wider football family.
The UN agency said that Pele worked relentlessly to promote sport as a tool for peace, adding that he would be greatly missed.
In a tweet, the head of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, wrote: “We are all with the people of Brazil”.
He noted that the world is celebrating a man that made millions of kids dream across continents and generations.
Briefly
Born on 23 October 1940 as Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele joined Santos in 1956 and turned the small coastal club into one of the most famous names in football.
In his 21-year career, Pele was captured in the 'Guiness Book of Record' for scoring 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances.
A three-time World Cup winner, Pele grabbed the first medal in Sweden as a 17-year-old in 1958 followed by the second in Chile in 1962 and the third in Mexico in 1970.
He retired from Santos in 1974 but a year later, he made a surprise comeback by signing a lucrative deal to join the New York Cosmos in the then nascent North American Soccer League.
Pele also had difficulty walking unaided since an unsuccessful hip operation in 2012.
But in February 2020, on the eve of the coronavirus pandemic, his son, Edinho said that Pele's ailment had left him depressed.
The legendary soccer star had been undergoing chemotherapy since a tumor was removed from his colon in September 2021.
Pele won two Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, and two Intercontinental Cups, the annual tournament held between the best teams in Europe and South America.
This was in addition to several regional and national titles.
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