Will he go, won’t he go? Doubt is allowed. According to information from L’Équipe, Neymar was to be present at the ceremony paying tribute to Pelé, the greatest player of all time, who died on Thursday December 29 at the age of 82. The correspondent of the sports daily on the spot announced Sunday evening that Neymar had arrived in Brazil.
Only, this Monday noon, PSG published a photo of Neymar participating in midday training at the Camps des Loges. The Brazilian was suspended for the match against Lens on Sunday evening (3-1). From a source close to the club, it was announced last week that PSG had no intention of releasing its star.
Pelé’s funeral begins on Monday in Santos. From 10 a.m. local time (2 p.m. in France), fans will be able to pray at the coffin of King Pelé, which will be displayed in the center of the lawn at the Vila Belmiro de Santos stadium. Anonymous and celebrities should take turns during the 24 hours when the body will be presented. Among the personalities expected, in addition to Neymar, the Brazilian president, Lula, who was officially invested on Sunday evening, as well as Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa will be present. Security has been tightened at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo, in anticipation of the arrival of sportsmen, politicians and other personalities planning to attend the funeral wake, according to the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
Thursday evening, the Brazilian number 10 had made a point of paying a vibrant tribute to his elder through a message posted on Instagram. “Before Pelé, 10 was just a number. 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. He gave a voice to the poor, to blacks and above all: he gave visibility to Brazil. Football and Brazil have raised their status thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will remain. Pelé is ETERNAL! »
Burial Tuesday in the strictest family privacy
On Tuesday, the funeral procession will leave Santos Stadium and pass the home of Dona Celeste, Pele’s 100-year-old mother, who is unaware of her son’s death, according to her daughter, Maria Lucia do Nascimento. . “She doesn’t know, we talked, but she doesn’t know,” Pelé’s sister told ESPN. She’s fine, but she’s in her own world. »
Finally, within the strict framework of family intimacy, Pelé will be buried in the Memorial Necropolis Eucumênica, a huge white vertical cemetery where Pelé will rest on the 9th floor. A location he himself had chosen several years ago to have an eternal view of the Santos stadium.