Pelé passes away

Brazilian great passes away following cancer battle

After a prolonged fight with cancer, Brazilian footballing legend Pelé has passed away at the age of 82. The hospital stated that Pelé died due to failure of multiple organs as a result of the progression of his colon cancer. He passed away at the Albert Einstein hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. 

Pelé was admitted to hospital on November 29, 2022 to ‘re-evaluate his cancer treatment and was later even diagnosed with a respiratory infection. Since December 3, the Brazilian was getting palliative care after he was unresponsive to the chemotherapy he was receiving for his bowel cancer treatment. He had previously had a tumour removed from his colon in September 2021. On December 21, the hospital had released a statement which said the footballing legend ‘requires further care related to renal and cardiac dysfunctions” after the “progression of the cancer. 

Regarded as the finest footballer to have played the game, Pelé made his national team debut for Brazil at the age of 16 in 1957. The Brazilian forward won three World Cups with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and to date is the only player in the history of the game to do so. He currently is Brazil’s joint all-time leading goalscorer with Neymar, having scored 77 goals. Pelé also enjoyed a decorated club career, spending most of it with Santos, for whom he made his debut in 1956 at the age of 15. With Santos, Pelé helped his team lift the 1962 and  1963 Copa Libertadores and also won the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup. He remains Santos’ leading goalscorer to date with an astounding 643 goals in 659 games. He finished his career with the New York Cosmos and retired in 1977. The Brazilian, who was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento finished his career with a stunning 1,283 goals in a total of 1,367 professional matches. 

Nicknamed “the Black Pearl”, Pelé was voted as the Player of the Century in a poll of Ballon d’Or winners in 1999. Ever since his retirement, Pelé has been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and also an ambassador for the game worldwide. 

During the recently concluded FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Brazilian fans had held up signs of solidarity and support for Pelé, during their final Group Stage match against Cameroon.