Pelé, an icon in Brazilian football, passed away on Thursday, 29th December, 2022, at age 82.
“Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace,” daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram.
He wowed everyone when he began playing professionally with Santos at the age of 15. In 1962 and 1963, he defeated Benfica and AC Milan to win back-to-back Intercontinental Cups for the team.
Pele is the only football player in history to have won the World Cup three times (1958, 1962, and 1970), earning him the title of athlete of the century from the International Olympic Committee in 1999.
Due to his mispronunciation of Bile, a goalie for Vasco de Sao Lourenco, where his footballer father previously played, he was given the nickname Pele.
The certificates for Pelé’s most career goals and most World Cup winning medals were given to him in 2013.
Pelé, who was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, scored 1,283 goals over the course of his playing career, which lasted from 7 September 1956 to 1 October 1977.
He also holds the distinction of being the only player in game history to win three World Cup championship medals.
Through UNICEF, Pelé worked hard for children’s concerns and was actively involved in leprosy eradication initiatives in Brazil. Pele began serving as an international sports ambassador after he officially retired in 1977. He uses sports to foster mutual respect and cooperation between people.
Pelé was also referred to as “O Rei” (The King). His healthe started deteriorating when he had colon cancer and kidney issues, and the latter required surgery in September 2021 and chemotherapy.
