Brazilian football icon Pele has passed away at the age of 82, his agent has confirmed.
The ex Santos FC striker, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, had been battling for his life at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo since admitted in November, 29.
A medical report which was released just before Christmas showed that Pele needed care for cardiac and renal dysfunction, having been fighting colon cancer since September 2021.
His daughter Kely Nascimento took to her Instagram to pay tribute to her dad: “We are thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
Pele – originally named Edson Arantes do Nascimento – started playing professional football for Santos at the age of 15 and the Brazilian national team a year later, bursting onto the world football scene as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup.
During his international career, Pele won three World Cups – in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – the only player to achieve this.
He died at 3.27pm Brazilian time due to multiple organ failure resulting from his colon cancer, the hospital said in a statement.
