The American agency “Bloomberg” reported the death of Brazilian soccer legend Pele at the age of 82, which was confirmed by his daughter on Instagram.
The world soccer legend was taken to hospital in Sao Paulo on November 29, due to what his medical team described as a re-evaluation of his chemotherapy treatment he had been receiving since he underwent surgery to remove a colon tumor in September 2021.
Pele - the scorer of a thousand goals and the star who led Brazil to crown the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970 - suffered from health problems for years before they worsened in 2017, when he appeared at the World Cup draw ceremony "Russia 2018" while he was in a wheelchair, due to his inability to walk. Before he underwent surgery in September 2021 after it was confirmed that he had colon cancer.
Although Pele did not appear in public much, he was active on social media, as he was regularly published during the World Cup in Qatar, including a message of support and condolence to his compatriot, star Neymar, after the "Seleção" team was eliminated from the tournament after losing to Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Pele was born in the state of Minas Gerais and spent most of his football life at Santos, before playing his last seasons in the seventies with the American New York Cosmos.
The deceased is known worldwide as the only player in history who led his country to win the World Cup 3 times and also achieved remarkable success with Santos, such as winning the Intercontinental Cup in 1962 and 1963.