The family of Brazilian soccer legend Pele gathered at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, where the 82-year-old world star has been hospitalized since the end of November, according to the Associated Press.
On Saturday, Edison Cholbi do Nasmiento, one of Pele’s sons, known as Edino, arrived at the hospital a day after he gave a press conference denying he had visited his father.
Edinho, who works for a soccer club in southern Brazil, said at the time that only doctors could help his father.
One of Pele’s daughters, Kelly Nascimento, said in an Instagram post with a photo showing her sitting next to Edino and two of his children in the hospital: “He (Edson) is here… I’m not leaving, no one is going to take me out of here.”
Hours later, Edinho, the former Santos goalkeeper, posted a picture showing his hand holding his father’s. And he said, “Father…my strength is from your strength.”
And hospital doctors announced earlier this week that Pele’s cancer had entered an advanced stage, stressing that the three-time World Cup winner was undergoing “intensive care” for “impaired kidney and heart functions”. The hospital has not released any statements since.
Doctors removed a colon tumor from Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known worldwide as Pele, in September 2021. Neither his family nor the hospital announced whether the tumor had spread to other organs.
The hospital statement did not mention Pele’s recent respiratory infection, which was exacerbated by COVID-19.
The newspaper “Folha de Sao Paulo” reported last weekend that Pele’s chemotherapy had become useless, and that doctors had decided to put him in palliative care, but Pele’s family denied this report.
Pele’s daughter published a picture of the Brazilian football legend from his hospital bed in Sao Paulo, on Friday, embracing him with the words “another night together.”
In the photo, Kelly Cristina Nascimento is seen hugging her 82-year-old father, who only has one side of his face visible in the photo.
“Still here, in struggle and in faith. Another night together,” Nascimento wrote with the photo, which she posted on Instagram around 11:00 p.m. local time.
On Wednesday, the Albert Einstein Hospital, where the three-time World Cup winner is being treated, said his colon cancer had “worsened” and that Pele needed “more comprehensive care for kidney and heart failure”.
Minutes earlier, Nascimento and Flavia Arantes, another of Pele’s daughters, had announced on Instagram that their father would be spending Christmas in the hospital.
Last Sunday, Nascimento posted a photo of Arantes massaging their father’s left foot while he watched the World Cup final in Qatar on TV.
The two young women have published several messages on social media in recent weeks to reassure Pele fans around the world, after Brazilian media reported that his health had deteriorated.
After the match, Pele congratulated Lionel Messi on his “deserved” victory in the World Cup after Argentina beat France on penalties.
Pele led Brazil to World Cup triumphs in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and is still one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals.
Neymar was able to equalize Pele’s record during the last World Cup, which was held in Qatar.
Although Pele did not appear in public much, he was active on social networking sites, where he was regularly published during the Qatar World Cup, including a message of support and condolence to the Brazilian star Neymar after Selecao was eliminated from the tournament after losing to Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals.
The Brazilian players also paid tribute to the living icon when they carried a banner after qualifying for the World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar at the expense of South Korea (4-1), showing his name and image celebrating his famous goal in the 1970 final against Italy when he achieved his third title.
Hours before the match, he sent them a message saying that he would follow them from the hospital, “I want to inspire you… I will encourage each and every one of you.”
After the final match, Pele congratulated Argentine world champion Lionel Messi on his “deserved” coronation against France, on penalties 4-2, after they tied 3-3 in regular and extra time.
“Congratulations to Argentina! Diego (Maradona, died on November 25, 2020) is definitely smiling now,” the King wrote on his Instagram page.
Pele has received many messages of support since his admission to the hospital, especially from French striker Kylian Mbappe, the best scorer in the Qatar World Cup (8 goals), who called for “praying for the king.”
Pele appeared in public for the last time alongside the French Paris Saint-Germain striker, in April 2019 in Paris, during a promotional event with a joint sponsor.
At the end of 2014, Pele suffered from a serious urinary tract infection and was admitted to intensive care and dialysis.