Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to the world as Pelé, has died. The Brazilian, who was one of the greatest soccer players in history, was 82 years old.
Breaking the news on his Instagram profile was his daughter Kely Nascimento: “Everything we are is because of you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
He had been hospitalized since Nov. 29 at Albert Einstein Hospital, São Paulo, for a respiratory infection after contracting Covid-19 and re-evaluation of colon cancer treatment.
Pelé was born in Très Coracoes, a town in Minas Gerais halfway between Belo Horizonte and São Paulo, the son of Fluminense footballer Dondinho (born João Ramos do Nascimento) and Celeste Aranteshe. He moved as a child with his family to Bauru, a town of more than 300,000 inhabitants just a stone’s throw from the metropolis of São Paulo.
In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.
Pelé is the only man to have won the World Cup on three occasions, as he helped Brazil to success at the 1958, 1962 and 1970 tournaments, also winning the Golden Ball for best player at the latter. At the first of those, the then-17-year-old became the youngest player to appear at a men’s World Cup although his record was subsequently broken by Northern Ireland’s Norman Whiteside.
