Rio de Janeiro (AFP)

Handicapped by hip problems, the Brazilian football legend Pelé "lives reclusive" and "suffers from a form of depression", his son revealed on Monday.

"He is quite fragile in terms of mobility (...), which means that he suffers from a form of depression," Edinho told Globoesporte.com about his father.

Pelé celebrated his 79th birthday in October and has increased hospital stays in recent years.

"He cannot walk normally. Only with a walker. He is a little better compared to a recent period in which he was in a wheelchair, but he finds it difficult to move," added the son of the triple champion of the world.

"You imagine, he is the King, he has always been such an imposing figure and today he can no longer walk normally (...) He is ashamed, he does not want to go out, go to the street. He is withdrawn, lives reclusive, "he continued.

Public appearances of Pelé, considered by many to be the greatest footballer in history, are increasingly rare.

In April 2019, he went to Paris to participate in a promotional operation with the French prodigy Kylian Mbappé, but had to be hospitalized due to kidney problems.

Pelé has only had one kidney since the days when he was still a player. A broken rib during a match damaged his right kidney, which was eventually removed.

But he also suffers a lot from the hips, in particular because of the installation of an enameled prosthesis according to his entourage of a "medical error".

Aside from the mobility problems and their consequences on his morale, Pelé "is doing well" on the physical level, underlined Edinho in the interview at the site.

The Pelé staff did not respond to AFP's requests on Monday. His health has preoccupied his fans for several years.

At the end of 2014, he had already been the victim of a serious urinary tract infection and placed in intensive care and on dialysis.

Former goalkeeper of Santos, his father's historic club, Edinho, 49, had many problems with the law, making several trips back and forth in prison after being sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment for money laundering from smuggling drug.

© 2020 AFP