The three-time world cup-winning football icon from Brazil was battling colon cancer

Sao Paulo: Pele, the iconic Brazilian footballer widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the only player to have won the FIFA World Cup thrice, died late last night at Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo. He was 82.

Pele breathed his last following colon cancer, for which he was undergoing chemotherapy. However, he stopped responding to chemotherapy and was shifted to palliative care. Pele had a tumour removed from his colon in 2021 and was taking chemotherapy ever since. He cheered for the Brazilian team during the recently concluded FIFA World Cup in Qatar from the hospital bed.  

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, popularly known as Pele, was born on Oct. 23, 1940, at Tres Coracoes, in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais. He gained global superstardom after playing an important part in Brazil’s maiden FIFA World Cup triumph in 1958. Still a teenager, Pele fired in a hat-trick in the semi-final against France and followed it up with a brace in the final against Sweden to help the Selecaowin the first of their record five world titles.

He was part of the team again that defended the title in 1962, before adding a third World Cup to his name in 1970, when Brazil famously defeated Italy in the final in what was the first football World Cup to be televised in colour. He scored 12 goals in his World Cup career that included a total of four tournaments.

 Pele remained the highest goal-scorer for Brazil, with 77 goals in 95 games, during his lifetime. His record was tied by current Brazil sensation Neymar, during the team’s quarter-final loss in the World Cup earlier this month.

Pelé’s fame was such that in 1967 factions of a civil war, 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. He was a politician — Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport — a wealthy businessman and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations. The Brazilian football player, also termed ‘The Greatest’ by FIFA, had been married thrice. He had a total of 7 children. Three of this generation’s footballers – Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazilian Neymar – paid their tributes.