King Pelé, the world’s first football star, died Thursday at the age of 82. It was one of his daughters, Kely Nascimento, who announced the sad news.
‘We love you to infinity, rest in peace,’ wrote Kely Nascimento on Instagram, a post illustrated with a photo of the joined hands of his family members resting on that of the former footballer at Albert Hospital -Einstein from Sao Paulo, where he had been admitted a month ago. The hospital said in a statement that the death was caused by “multiple organ failure”.
The only player to have won the World Cup three times (1958, 1962 and 1970), Pelé, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was elected athlete of the century by the IOC in 1999. The announcement of his death is a shock for all football fans, eleven days after the end of the World Cup in Qatar, and just over two years after the death of Diego Maradona.
He congratulated Messi
Throughout the tournament, the ‘King’ had published from the room of the Albert-Einstein hospital where he had admitted on November 29 messages on social networks, encouraging Brazil or congratulating Messi on his ‘deserved’ coronation with the Argentina against France.
At Christmas time, his daughters posted photos of the almost-entire family gathered around the footballing legend on Instagram, expressing their gratitude as messages of support poured in from around the world.
Last Friday, Kely Nascimento released a moving photo of her tenderly hugging her father lying in his hospital bed. We only saw part of Pelé’s face in this photo, which was wearing nasal cannulas for respiratory assistance.
national treasure
The disappearance of Pelé is a huge loss for Brazil, where he is considered a ‘national treasure’. No player has shaken the nets so much: 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches for Santos (1956-74), his club in Brazil, the national ‘Seleçao’ and Cosmos New York (1975-77).
But beyond the numbers, Pelé will be remembered as the ‘King’ who revolutionized his sport, with his eternal number 10 on his back. This genius dribbler was the forerunner of modern football, with exceptional technical quality combined with extraordinary athletic abilities despite his modest height (1m72).
/ATS