“Pele is ETERNAL!! “. Brazilian star Neymar pays tribute this Thursday evening to his eldest, Edson Arantes do Nascimento known as Pelé, whose death was announced this Thursday at the age of 82.
On Instagram, the Paris Saint-Germain playmaker publishes a series of photos. On the first, in black and white, the triple winner of the World Cup with Brazil is wearing a crown. The next two show the two players side by side.
“Before Pelé “10” was just a number, writes Neymar. (…) I read this sentence somewhere, at some point in my life. But this sentence, beautiful, is incomplete. I would say that before Pelé, football was just a sport. Pelé changed everything. He turned football into art, into entertainment.”
Neymar also evokes the unifying role of the former Santos player. “He gave voice to the poor, to blacks and above all: gave visibility to Brazil. Football and Brazil have risen thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will remain, ”he concludes.
In 2019, Neymar visited King Pelé, then hospitalized in the Paris region. In a snapshot shared on Instagram, Neymar was sitting next to his glorious elder’s bed. The two men are smiling, hand in hand.