SAO PAULO (AP) — Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died Thursday. He was 82.
The standard-bearer of “the beautiful game” had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical center where he had been hospitalized for the last month said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer.
“Pelé changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment,” Neymar, a fellow Brazilian soccer star, said on Instagram. “Football and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure. Pelé is eternal!”
A funeral was planned for Monday and Tuesday, with his casket to be carried through the streets of Santos, the coastal city where his storied career began, before burial.
Widely regarded as one of soccer’s greatest players, Pelé spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team.
His grace, athleticism and mesmerizing moves transfixed players and fans. He orchestrated a fast, fluid style that revolutionized the sport — a samba-like flair that personified his country’s elegance on the field.
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He carried Brazil to soccer’s heights and became a global ambassador for his sport in a journey that began on the streets of Sao Paulo state, where he would kick a sock stuffed with newspapers or rags.
In the conversation about soccer’s greatest players, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside Pelé.
Different sources, counting different sets of games, list Pelé’s goal totals anywhere between 650 (league matches) and 1,281 (all senior matches, some against low-level competition.)
The player who would be dubbed “The King” was introduced to the world at 17 at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the youngest player ever at the tournament. He was carried off the field on teammates’ shoulders after scoring two goals in Brazil’s 5-2 victory over the host country in the final.
Injury limited him to just two games when Brazil retained the world title in 1962, but Pelé was the emblem of his country’s World Cup triumph of 1970 in Mexico. He scored in the final and set up Carlos Alberto with a nonchalant pass for the last goal in a 4-1 victory over Italy.
The image of Pelé in a bright, yellow Brazil jersey, with the No. 10 stamped on the back, remains alive with soccer fans everywhere. As does his trademark goal celebration — a leap with a right fist thrust high above his head.
Pelé’s fame was such that in 1967 factions of a civil war in Nigeria agreed to a brief cease-fire so he could play an exhibition match in the country. He was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. When he visited Washington to help popularize the game in North America, it was the U.S. president who stuck out his hand first.
“My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the president of the United States of America,” the host said to his visitor. “But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is.”
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Pelé was Brazil’s first modern Black national hero but rarely spoke about racism in a country where the rich and powerful tend to hail from the white minority.
Opposing fans taunted Pelé with monkey chants at home and all over the world.
“He said that he would never play if he had to stop every time he heard those chants,” said Angelica Basthi, one of Pelé’s biographers. “He is key for Black people’s pride in Brazil, but never wanted to be a flagbearer.”
Pelé’s life after soccer took many forms. He was a politician -- Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport -- a wealthy businessman, and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations.
He had roles in movies, soap operas and even composed songs and recorded CDs of popular Brazilian music.
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As his health deteriorated, his travels and appearances became less frequent. He was often seen in a wheelchair during his final years and did not attend a ceremony to unveil a statue of him representing Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team. Pelé spent his 80th birthday isolated with a few family members at a beach home.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, in the small city of Tres Coracoes in the interior of Minas Gerais state on Oct. 23, 1940, Pelé grew up shining shoes to buy his modest soccer gear.
Pelé’s talent drew attention when he was 11, and a local professional player brought him to Santos’ youth squads. It didn’t take long for him to make it to the senior squad.
Despite his youth and 5-foot-8 frame, he scored against grown men with the same ease he displayed against friends back home. He debuted with the Brazilian club at 16 in 1956, and the club quickly gained worldwide recognition.
The name Pelé came from him mispronouncing the name of a player called Bilé.
He went to the 1958 World Cup as a reserve but became a key player for his country’s championship team. His first goal, in which he flicked the ball over the head of a defender and raced around him to volley it home, was voted as one of the best in World Cup history.
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The 1966 World Cup in England — won by the hosts — was a bitter one for Pelé, by then already considered the world’s top player. Brazil was knocked out in the group stage and Pelé, angry at the rough treatment, swore it was his last World Cup.
He changed his mind and was rejuvenated in the 1970 World Cup. In a game against England, he struck a header for a certain score, but the great goalkeeper Gordon Banks flipped the ball over the bar in an astonishing move. Pelé likened the save — one of the best in World Cup history — to a “salmon climbing up a waterfall.” Later, he scored the opening goal in the final against Italy, his last World Cup match.
In all, Pelé played 114 matches with Brazil, scoring a record 95 goals, including 77 in official matches.
His run with Santos stretched over three decades until he went into semi-retirement after the 1972 season. Wealthy European clubs tried to sign him, but the Brazilian government intervened to keep him from being sold, declaring him a national treasure.
On the field, Pelé’s energy, vision and imagination drove a gifted Brazilian national team with a fast, fluid style of play that exemplified “O Jogo Bonito” -- Portuguese for “The Beautiful Game.” His 1977 autobiography, “My Life and the Beautiful Game,” made the phrase part of soccer’s lexicon.
PELÉ
Pelé buried at cemetery in Brazilian city he made famous
Brazilians mourn Pelé at the stadium where he got his start
Pelé brought renown to Santos, Brazilian port city and team
Brazil mourns Pelé, who made every part of the country proud
In 1975, he joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. Although 34 and past his prime, Pelé gave soccer a higher profile in North America. He led the Cosmos to the 1977 league title and scored 64 goals in three seasons.
Pelé ended his career on Oct. 1, 1977, in an exhibition between the Cosmos and Santos before a crowd in New Jersey of some 77,000. He played half the game with each club. Among the dignitaries on hand was perhaps the only other athlete whose renown spanned the globe — Muhammad Ali.
Pelé would endure difficult times in his personal life, especially when his son Edinho was arrested on drug-related charges. Pelé had two daughters out of wedlock and five children from his first two marriages, to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi and Assiria Seixas Lemos. He later married businesswoman Marcia Cibele Aoki.
Thousands of mourners lined the streets as Brazilian football icon Pele was laid to rest in Santos, the city of his former club.
Pele had been lying in state for 24 hours in the centre of the pitch at the club's Urbano Caldeira stadium for the public to pay their respects.
People crowded the streets on Tuesday as his coffin was carried on a fire truck to a private family funeral.
Pele - a three-time World Cup winner - died at the age of 82 on 29 December.
Arguably the world's greatest ever footballer, he had been receiving treatment for colon cancer since 2021.
Brazil's government declared three days of national mourning after his death, and the country's new president - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - travelled to Santos to pay his respects.
Covered with a Brazilian flag, Pele's coffin was carried on a fire truck through the packed roads of fans.
The procession also passed by the house where his 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, still lives.
Santos FC said more than 230,000 people had attended his 24-hour wake in the Vila Belmiro stadium, where a steady stream of mourners continued through the night.
The funeral cortege will end at the port city's Memorial Cemetery, where a Catholic funeral service will be held before Pele is interred in a 10-storey mausoleum that holds the Guinness World Record as the tallest cemetery on Earth.
Read: Brazil legend Pele dies aged 82
Obituary: 'The best player in the history of football'
Watch: Seven great Pele moments
Pele's coffin is escorted on a fire truck through Santos where fans are lining the streets
Thousands of fans gathered to see Pele's coffin, which was placed on a fire truck and carried through the streets of Santos
'He joined all of us' - fans pay tribute
BBC South America correspondent Katy Watson in Santos
Pele's coffin was paraded through Santos on a fire truck - as is the Brazilian tradition - while fans accompanied the cortege chanting "Pele, 1,000 goals".
Hundreds of people waved huge banners and were wearing the number 10 shirt he made so famous.
This was a day of mourning for the man Brazilians call their King, but it was clearly a moment to celebrate him too.
There was joy and happiness on the streets that Pele was - and will always be - Brazil's biggest source of pride.
Deofilo de Freitas was first in the queue at the stadium on Monday, but wanted another chance to see his idol before he was laid to rest.
Pele fan Deofilo de Freitas wearing a Brazilian shirt
Deofilo de Freitas queued on Monday to see Pele, and saw the procession on Tuesday to say his final goodbye
"Pele was the Pele of the people, he joined all of us," he said. "It'll be hard to find someone else like him.
"In addition to being the best player in the world, he was a marvellous human being."
Santos FC, where Pele spent the majority of his club career, tweeted: "Our eternal King Pele says goodbye in Vila Belmiro, his home, with his people."
100 greatest players per FourFourTwo: Lionel Messi Diego Maradona Cristiano Ronaldo Pele Zinedine Zidane Johan Cruyff George Best Franz Beckenbauer Ferenc Puskas Ronaldo Gerd Muller Alfredo di Stefano Michel Platini Zico Garrincha Bobby Charlton Paolo Maldini Romario Giuseppe Meazza Andres Iniesta Franco Baresi Marco van Basten Eusebio Xavi Carlos Alberto Ronaldinho Ruud Gullit Manuel Neuer Socrates Raymond Kopa Lev Yashin Lothar Matthaus Stanley Matthews Valentino Mazzola Matthias Sindelar Luis Suarez (born 1935) Francisco Gento Bobby Moore Michael Laudrup Roberto Baggio Kenny Dalglish Paolo Rossi Nandor Hidegkuti Gunter Netzer Gianluigi Buffon Didi Rivellino Kevin Keegan Thierry Henry Nilton Santos Jose Manuel Moreno Oleg Blokhin Jairzinho Gaetano Scirea Dino Zoff Juan Alberto Schiaffino Fritz Walter Daniel Passarella Gordon Banks Gianni Rivera Karl-Heinz Rummenigge John Charles Dixie Dean Gunnar Nordahl Johan Neeskens Denis Law Sandro Mazzola Dennis Bergkamp Jimmy Johnstone Ronald Koeman Omar Sivori Teofilo Cubillas Dani Alves Eric Cantona Jose Andrade Cafu Frank Rijkaard Florian Albert Luka Modric Just Fontaine Josef Masopust Jimmy Greaves Hugo Sanchez Wayne Rooney Philipp Lahm Alan Shearer Allan Simonsen Sergio Busquets Hristo Stoichkov Roberto Carlos Giacinto Facchetti Peter Schmeichel Sandor Kocsis Luis Figo Djalma Santos Javier Zanetti George Weah Kaka Mario Kempes Gheorghe Hagi Read more: https://sportsbrief.com/football/25647-top-100-greatest-players-time-named-ronaldo-messi-headine-list/
No. Athlete (1st place) points
1. Babe Ruth (5) 1551
2. Michael Jordan (4) 1524
3. Jim Thorpe (3) 1471
4. Muhammad Ali (2) 1462
5. Wayne Gretzky 1368
6. Jim Brown 1333
7. Joe Louis (1) 1327
8. Jesse Owens 1307
9. Babe Didrikson-Zaharias (1) 1254
10. Wilt Chamberlain 1235
11. Willie Mays 1182
12. Jack Nicklaus 1167
13. Ted Williams 1124
14. Ty Cobb 1115
15. Pele 1095
16. Bill Russell 1071
17. Lou Gehrig 1064
18. Hank Aaron 1044
19. Joe DiMaggio 1031
20. Martina Navratilova 1026
21. Carl Lewis 1009
22. Gordie Howe 988
23. Sugar Ray Robinson 949
24. Larry Bird 945
25. Ben Hogan 937
26. Oscar Robertson 929
27. Red Grange 905
28. Walter Payton 882
29. Jackie Robinson 875
30. Rod Laver 863
31. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 837
32. Magic Johnson 835
33. Arnold Palmer 814
34. Sandy Koufax 792
=35. Mickey Mantle (tie) 785
=35. Mark Spitz 785
37. Joe Montana 772
38. Jack Dempsey 765
39. Bobby Orr 729
40. Jackie Joyner-Kersee 685
41. Billie Jean King 683
42. Walter Johnson 671
43. Sammy Baugh 621
44. Rocky Marciano (tie) 596
44. Johnny Unitas 596
46. Stan Musial 589
47. Bobby Jones 572
48. Rogers Hornsby 567
49. Honus Wagner 560
50. Jerry Rice 552
51. Pete Sampras 550
52. Nadia Comaneci 547
53. Bill Tilden 537
54. Don Hutson 533
55. Chris Evert 509
56. Cy Young 508
57. Julius Erving 488
58. Tiger Woods 483
59. Roger Bannister 471
60. Jerry West 451
61. Rafer Johnson 447
62. Maurice Richard 440
63. Eric Heiden 437
64. Lawrence Taylor 418
65. Jean-Claude Killy 416
66. Edwin Moses 415
67. Nolan Ryan 403
68. Steffi Graf 392
69. Paavo Nurmi 386
70. Bobby Hull 378
71. Bob Mathias 376
=72. Christy Mathewson (tie) 371
=72. Bronco Nagurski 371
74. Elgin Baylor 353
75. Sam Snead 345
76. Sonja Henie (tie) 344
76. Wilma Rudolph 344
78. Dick Butkus 340
79. Bob Cousy 326
80. Willlie Shoemaker 325
81. Secretariat 311
82. Cal Ripken Jr. 308
83. Althea Gibson 302
84. Mark McGwire 301
85. John McEnroe 300
86. Otto Graham 298
87. O.J. Simpson 294
88. Pete Rose 290
89. Roger Staubach 289
90. Don Budge 266
=91. Eddie Arcaro (tie) 262
=91. Juan Manuel Fangio 262
93. Henry Armstrong 259
94. Mario Lemieux 250
95. Sugar Ray Leonard 246
96. Mario Andretti 233
97. Emil Zatopek 232
98. Josh Gibson 223
99. Warren Spahn 220
=100. Roberto Clemente (tie) 215
=100. Bob Gibson 215