Pele, the Brazil footballing legend and three-time World Cup winner, has died at the age of 82.
Born in Brazil as Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele was widely considered to be football’s first global superstar .
He was treated for colon cancer, following surgery to remove a tumor in September 2021, and had required regular medical treatment.
After being admitted back into hospital at the end of November to re-evaluate his cancer treatment, he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection before being moved to palliative care when his body became unresponsive to chemotherapy.
Doctors and nurses at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo made him as comfortable as possible, while his wife, Marcia Aoki, remained by his bedside.
He died at 3:27 pm Brazilian time on Thursday due to multiple organ failure resulting from his colon cancer, the hospital said in a statement.
Her daughter Kely Nascimento has kept fans updated on her father’s condition with regular social media updates from hospital.
On Thursday she posted a picture of what appeared to be Pele’s family’s hands on his body from him in hospital and wrote: “Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
Pele – originally named Edson Arantes do Nascimento – began playing for Santos at the age of 15 and the Brazilian national team a year later, bursting onto the world football scene as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup.
During his international career , he won three World Cups – in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – the only player to achieve this.
His role in Brazil’s third victory, in Mexico in 1970, has gone down as one of the greatest performances ever, as he played a key role in arguably the sport’s greatest ever international team.
His glittering 20-year career from 1957 to 1977 saw him score 757 goals in 831 games, although Santos claimed his tally was closer to 1,000.
England World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst tweeted that Pele was the “greatest ever”.
He wrote: “I have so many memories of Pele, without doubt the best footballer I ever played against (with Bobby Moore being the best footballer I ever played alongside). For me Pele remains the greatest of all time and I was proud to be on the pitch with him. RIP Pele and thank you.”
Gary Lineker tweeted: “Pele has died. The most divine of footballers and joyous of men. He played a game only a few chosen ones have come close to 3 times he lifted the most coveted gold trophy in that beautiful yellow shirt. He may have left us but he’ll always have footballing immortality. R.I.P. Pele.”
Pele’s Twitter account posted: “Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pele, who peacefully passed away today. Love, love and love, forever.”