Football has lost a legend. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, died on Thursday, December 29 at the age of 82, his family announced to AFP. The Brazilian had been battling colon cancer for over a year. He had been placed in palliative care on Saturday December 24, the day before Christmas, according to the Brazilian press. Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest player in football history. He is the only one to have won three World Cups with his national team (1958, 1962, 1970). It was during the first of his three victories, at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, that he revealed himself to the world by scoring, at only 17, six goals in the competition, including two in the final.
As soon as the announcement of his death was announced, the reactions of football personalities exploded on social networks. “The king of football has left us, but his legacy will never be forgotten, rest in peace, King”, wrote in English on Twitter the superstar of PSG and the France team Kylian Mbappé, often compared to Pelé for his earliness.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and Santos, his lifelong club, also paid tribute to him. “He made football an art,” wrote Paris striker SG Neymar, his heir in the Brazilian selection, on Instagram. “Few Brazilians have carried the name of our country as far as he does,” responded Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who will be enthroned on Sunday.
Pelé’s wake will be held at the Santos FC stadium on Monday, and his remains will be buried the following day, the club announced.