Since November 29, Pelé had been hospitalized, as he required intensive care after a diagnosis of advanced colon cancer that had led to kidney and heart problems.
A month later his death was known, and Soccer fans regret the departure of the one who was champion in the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups with Brazil.
On December 24, his family sent an emotional message through social networks, after accompanying the former soccer player at the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo.
“Merry Christmas. Gratitude, love, togetherness, family. The essence of Christmas. We thank you all for all the love and light you send us,” Pele’s daughter Kelly Cristina Nascimento wrote alongside a family photo of her.
But it should be remembered that the soccer star, Not only Brazilian, but worldwide, he was married three times, being Marcia Cibele, his last wife and the one who accompanied him until the end of his days.
On marriage to Cybele
In 2016, at the age of 75, Pelé married Marcia Cibele Aoki, a 42-year-old (at the time) Brazilian businesswoman of Japanese descent, whom he had met in New York in the 1980s. and then they met again in an elevator of a building in São Paulo in 2010. For the soccer player, his relationship with Cibele was a “definitive love”.
However, the soccer star pointed out that in the 80s he had met her through mutual friends. However, the businesswoman was married, but after her divorce, she began her love story.
their marriages
In 1966 he married Rosemeri Cholbi with whom he had three children: Kely Cristina (1967), Jennifer (1978) and Edinho (1970).
It is then that in 1968 Pelé had another daughter, Flavia, the result of an extramarital relationship with the journalist Lenita Kurtz.
Then, in 1975, the “official” family settled in New York due to the transfer of Pelé from Santos de São Paulo to the Cosmos; five years later, in the early 1980s, the couple divorced.
It should be noted that Pelé was an absent father to the three children from his first marriage, as confirmed by Edinho in 2020 in an interview with Canal Football Club: “When I lived in the United States, I had almost no contact with my father.”
Pelé’s second marriage took place in 1994 with the psychologist and gospel singer, Assiria Lemos Seixas. Two years later they became parents of twins Joshua and Celeste, but after 13 years, the couple separated.
Pele’s farewell
It is worth remembering the emotional message that is published on Pelé’s Instagram profile, which has more than 14 million followers.
“Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who passed away peacefully today. On his journey, Edson charmed everyone with his brilliance in the sport.stopped a war, did social work around the world, and spread what he most believed was the cure for all our problems: love”, can be read on the social network.
“On his journey, Edson charmed the world with his genius in sport, stopped a war, carried out social work around the world, and spread what he most believed to be the cure for all our problems: love. Today’s message from him becomes a legacy for future generations. Love, love and love, forever”, he concludes.
*With information from AFP