Brazilian football legend Pele has died at the age of 82.
Pele is widely regarded as the greatest of all time football player. He is the only player to have won the World Cup three times, lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
“He is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 92 matches for his country” reports the BBC.
In 2000, FIFA named him Player of the Century. He has a grand following in Malawi and several other countries – beyond his home country.
Originally named Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is often compared to Argentinean, Maradonna. The pair is hardly named separately in a sentence.
Pele began playing for Santos at the age of 15 and the Brazilian national team a year later, bursting onto the world football scene as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup.
“His role in Brazil’s third victory, in Mexico in 1970, has gone down in football folklore, as he played a key role in arguably the sport’s greatest ever international team” reports Sky News.
He had been suffering with kidney and prostate problems in recent years. A medical report just before Christmas showed that he needed care for cardiac and renal dysfunction, having been battling colon cancer since September 2021.
He was admitted to the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo on 29 November.
Several players are sharing their condolences on social media. Among those players are Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Kanu just to mention a few.
Football clubs and national team have also shared messages of condolences. They have been joined by world leaders, business gurus and other celebrities.
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