Pelé has passed away – one of the greatest footballers of all time

Brazilian football legend Pelé has passed away. He died aged 82 in a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Pelé is known as one of the greatest soccer players in world history. He helped win three World Cups with Brazil, and is still one of the most legendary names in football history. As a player, goal-scoring Pelé was known for his technique, athletic ability and creative play sense.

In 1999 he was chosen as the athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee, and in 2000 he was crowned by Fifa as the footballer of the century.

Pelé, whose full name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was born in 1940 in Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil.

He grew up in a poor home in São Paulo, and as a child did not have access to either soccer shoes or a ball. Even so, he played already as a youngster on the city streets, often with a homemade ball made of newspaper, or a grapefruit.

As a 15-year-old, Pelé made his professional debut for the football team Santos in the Brazilian league. At the age of 16, he won the shooting league for the first time.

Despite many offers from Europe’s biggest clubs after the successes in the World Cup, Pelé chose to stay in Brazil. He played for Santos until 1974. In 1975 he moved to the United States where he played for the club New York Cosmos until 1977.

Pelé was one of the first black global sports stars, and has thus been an inspiration to many around the world.

After his career as a soccer player ended, Pelé continued as an ambassador for soccer, among other things by inaugurating tournaments and giving public speeches. He was also active as an actor, including in the film The last match with Sylvester Stallone.

Outside the world of football, Pelé worked during the 90s as a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment, as well as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador. In the 1990s, he was also Brazil’s minister of sports, and during that time tried, among other things, to fight corruption within the country’s football world.

In 2018, Péle founded the charity organization the Pelé Foundation. It supports various projects around the world, with the aim of fighting poverty and working for access to education.

During his last years, Pelé suffered from colon cancer. He was also treated for heart and kidney failure. At the end of November, Pelé was admitted to the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein to continue his chemotherapy. Pretty soon it was obvious that the end was near.

During his last days on earth, Pelé was surrounded by family and friends, who celebrated Christmas with him in the hospital. He has a total of seven surviving children, as well as several grandchildren.

Pelé’s name will always have a special place in football history. But perhaps even more important is that he served as a role model for many with his humanitarian work and his active role in charity.

Pelé’s Instagram account has drew attention to the death sentence, also in English.

The article is updated.