"Everything we are is thanks to you
we love you infinitely
Rest in peace”
- Pele’s daughter Kelly do Nascimento upon his death
The message might as well be from football. The sport owes everything it is today to him.
Pele, the king and global face of football for decades, the man who was declared Brazil’s national treasure, died on Thursday in Sao Paulo after a battle with colon cancer.
“Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pele, who peacefully passed away today. Love, love and love, forever,” said the announcement posted in the social media pages of the man who is being remembered as the greatest player of all time.
“The best of all time,” posted Santos FC, the only first division Brazilian team for whom Pele played.
“These moments are hard to explain. Sometimes a lot of sadness is despair, other times we laugh and talk about fun memories,” posted daughter Flavia on her social media. “And what else we learn from all of this is that we have to reach out to each other and hold each other close. That's the only way it's all worth it.”
The king of football and former athlete of the century was receiving treatment at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in São Paulo since November 29 for treatment of colon cancer diagnosed in 2021. On December 21, his condition worsened, a medical bulletin from the hospital indicated the cancer had progressed, requiring additional care for his kidney and heart function.
Football, Brazil, and fans worldwide are in mourning.
“We lost the eternal Pele today,” former Fluminense player Cleitinho Moraes in Sao Paulo told THE WEEK.
“Pele was simply the best and greatest sportsman in history,” wrote the famed Correio Braziliense newspaper in its headline. “Recognized for his more than a thousand goals and winner of all important titles as a protagonist.”
Neymar Jr, posted a poem in honour of the dead king: “Before Pele, "10" was just a number/ I have that phrase in some place, in some moment of my life/ But that sentence, my dear, is incomplete/ I would say that before Pele, football was just a sport/ Pele changed everything/ He transformed football into art, into entertainment/
He gave voice to the poor, to the blacks, and mainly/ Pele gave visibility to Brazil / Football and Brazil owe their status thanks to The King! / He is gone, but his magic will remain. / Pele is ETERNAL!!!”
The English national teams wrote on Twitter, “One of the greatest to have graced the beautiful game. Farewell, Pele. You will never be forgotten.”
“Everyone who loves football, loves Pele.” wrote England’s governing body, the Football Association, announcing that the Wembley Arch will be lit up in the yellow and green of Brazil in honour of Pele. “His unique talent lit up the game, and inspired football. Our thoughts are with his family, the Brazil Football Confederation and the Brazilian people."
From Italy, Napoli, Maradona’s team, ran a picture of both Pele and Maradona holding hands heading toward the word ETERNAL, along with the touching note. “Diego Maradona passed away two years ago, and Pele has now died at the age of 82. Both men have a claim for being the greatest ever footballer, but Napoli, Maradona's former club, are not up for debates right now.”
Lionel Messi, simply posted a picture of himself and Pele on Instagram with the note, “Rest in peace.”
Twenty-four-year-old superstar Kylian Mbappé, posted a black and white picture of Pele and himself side-by-side, faces touching, with the note, “The king of football has left us, but his legacy will never be forgotten. RIP KING.”
In 2020, when Diego Maradona died, Pele’s message said, “One day, I hope we can play football together in the sky.” That day may be today.
Preliminary information is that funeral arrangements will be at the facilities of the Santos stadium in the city where Pele played his entire career in Brazil.
Pele would be laid to rest at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumenica, an architecturally beautiful cemetery located in the Marapé neighbourhood of Santos in São Paulo state. The cemetery’s structure is one of the largest vertical cemeteries in the world. Because of its imponent structure and beauty, the burial ground is a tourist must-see, and point of interest promoted by the city and the state.
Buried there are his brother Jair Arantes do Nascimento, Zoca, who died in 2020; his daughter, Sandra Arantes do Nascimento in 2006. Also, there are Pele’s physical trainer Júlio Mazzei and Antonio Wilson Honório, Coutinho, who died in 2019 and was Pele’s teammate in the mythical Santos twice world champion of ‘62 and ‘63, among notable Brazilians from music, entertainment, and literature.
As a measure of where Pele stood among the notable figures of our time, former US president Barack Obama also tweeted a picture of himself with the football god, along with the note, “Pele was one of the greatest to ever play the beautiful game. And as one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together. Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him.”
In France on Thursday, fans held a minute's applause across Europe.
In Brazil, people cried with the emotion of the moment. “He was the king for the length of the lives of most Brazilians, now he is gone and there is a big hole in our hearts and we can only fill it with memories and pride,” said 60-year-old Bruno da Silva Pereira in Brazil’s capital, his words stuck in the knot in his throat as tears wet his eyes.
He was not alone. An entire nation and fans around the world mourned with him.