Pelé

Who is Pelé

He is one of the kings of football. With 1,283 goals , Pele is one of the legends of the international game, and for three consecutive years he led the Brazilian team to win the World Cup.

Born in Très Coraçoès in 1940, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (real name) did not attend school as a child, preferring to play with a ball. His talent did not remain in the shadows for long, and at the age of 16 he joined the Bauru team, which he played for until 1956. He left his family and followed his mentor, coach Waldemar de Brito, to Santos FC. He then became a professional player. His first official goal was scored in a friendly match with the team. Due to his dynamic and unpredictable play, the Brazilian team spotted him and played him on 7 July 1957 against the Argentine team. The next day, the Brazilian team gave him a start.

His career

His career was launched, he won his titles of honour by finishing as the best goal scorer in the state of Sao Paulo where he played for 18 years between 1956-1974 ,

In the following years, he was courted by all the clubs, so much so that Brazil declared him a 'non-exportable national treasure'. It can be understood because we won the world cup 3 times, first in Sweden in 1958, second in Chile in 1962 and the last in Mexico in 1970. But he finished his career in the New York Cosmos team where he played between 1975-1977

Unfortunately, as Pele played an impressive number of matches, injuries accumulated over the years, making the sport dangerous. He took early retirement in 1977. He then became involved in humanitarian causes.

Private life

In 1966 he married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi, who gave him three children, two daughters Kely Cristina and Jennifer and a son Edinho. He then met Assiria Lemos Seixas, he married her in April 1994. He had some twins with her, Joshua and Celeste.

Life after football

After his beautiful career he was appointed minister of Sport, he did this between 1995 and 1998,

In August 2021, doctors detected a colon tumor in the football legend. He regularly went to the hospital for chemotherapy. In November 2022, Pele was admitted to Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo for a re-evaluation of his chemotherapy treatment. On 21 December 2022, the health facility and his relatives announced that Pele's health condition required him to remain in the hospital for continued treatment. His daughters Kely Nascimento and Flavia Arantes say that their father's cancer is progressing. He also has to treat kidney and heart failure.

Pelé died of colon cancer at the age of 82 on 29 December 2022 at the Albert-Einstein Hospital in São Paulo. A wake was open to the public from 2 January to Tuesday 3 January 2023 at the Santos FC stadium. His coffin is then taken through the streets of Santos, passing through Canal 6, where his mother, Dona Celeste, lived. He was buried at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery on 3 January 2023.

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