One of the greatest to ever play the game – Edson Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pelé, has sadly passed away at the age of 82 following his battle with colon cancer.
During his 21 year career, Pelé became known as the “King of Football” and is known for breaking a number of records, including winning the FIFA World Cup for Brazil a record 3 times, the only footballer in history to do so.
He won his first World Cup at the young age of 17, making him still to this day – the youngest player to play, score and win a World Cup final.
in the year 2000, alongside Maradona, Pelé was awarded FIFA Player of the Century and he’s been held in the highest of regards as an individual who shaped the world of football as we know today.
For a player that grew up in the streets of São Paulo, struggling with poverty, Pelé has achieved and overcome a great deal during his career.
Pelé spent his career playing 19 seasons for Brazil side Santos, two seasons in the U.S. for the New York Cosmos and setting many scoring records including a record 77 goals for Brazil, which has only recently been tied with Neymar following his last goal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
He also scored a record 643 goals for Santos, the most goals scored from a player for a single club, until that record was surpassed by Lionel Messi of Barcelona in December 2020.
However, Pelé’s 1,279 goals scored in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies and international games, is still considered as a Guinness World Record.
Some of his off-field achievements include his role as a United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment in 1992.
Pelé was in hospital since the end of November, dealing with complications from colon cancer that eventually manifested as organ failure.
Things took a turn for the worse for Pelé when during the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the beginning of December, he was taken to hospital to receive treatment. The current Brazil squad showed their support for the most famous Brazilian player of all time after their World Cup match against South Korea. Take a closer look here.
For as long as we keep playing football, Pelé will always be a legend of the game who’s spirit will live on as one of football’s most inspirational figures.
Here’s how some famous names on Twitter reacted to the sad news:
Everything you see any player doing, Pelé did it first. RIP ⚽️🤴🏿 pic.twitter.com/SeW0z1hQTm
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) December 29, 2022
Worth a couple of minutes of anyone’s time. The footballing genius that is Pele. 🙌🏻 https://t.co/ffJqzuVDQs
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) December 30, 2022
O Rei. One of the greatest of all time. You will be a legend forever. RIP Pele 👑🙏 pic.twitter.com/BU9JIw4Djr
— Luka Modrić (@lukamodric10) December 30, 2022
Brazilian legend Pelé has passed away at 82, one of the greatest of all time who changed the game.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 29, 2022
A man with a god-given talent, one of the names who will remain forever in the memory.
All thoughts with the family.
RIP, legend 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/xxndio7gmM
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