The eternal king of soccer Pele passed away at the age of 82. Cristiano Ronaldo paid a heartfelt tribute to the legendary icon with an Instagram post.
Pele was in the hospital for the past month as his condition worsened. He was battling colon cancer since last year. The Brazilian legend was under treatment at the Albert Einstein hospital. He had a cancerous tumor removed from his colon last year but the cancerous cells spread too far already. Multiple reports said that his chemotherapy treatment wasn’t working and he even had decompensated heart failure.
Pele was an exceptional player who played in an unbelievable Brazilian side in the mid-1900s. He won an unbelievable 3 World Cup trophies consecutively. The late Brazilian won his first World Cup at only 17 years of age. He has a record of the highest goalscorer in the history of the sport with 1282 goals in 1366 games.
Pele played for the Brazilian club Santos and the American club New York Cosmos. Pele also holds the record for the most International goals scored by a Brazilian with 77 goals in 92 matches. However, Neymar Jr equaled this record during the Qatar World Cup.
Eterno. pic.twitter.com/N912VpCmVK
— Santos FC (@SantosFC) December 29, 2022
In honor of Pele, Santos added a small crown to their club logo, between the stars, that shows their Intercontinental Cup wins. The crown between those stars is to show Pele’s King status and thankful gestures towards him for helping them win those tournaments.
What did Cristiano Ronaldo say about Pele’s death?
Cristiano Ronaldo shared a great relationship with the Brazilian legend for years now. In early 2022, the three times World Cup winner said that he is willing to meet the Portuguese forward after he broke the goalscoring record for most international goals scored in men’s soccer through an Instagram post.
Cristiano posted an emotional tribute following the Brazilian’s demise. His Instagram post quoted, “My deepest condolences to all of Brazil, and in particular, to the family of Mr. Edson Arantes do Nascimento. A mere “goodbye” to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that currently embraces the entire world of football,” expressing his sadness.
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Cristiano’s post further quoted, “An inspiration for so many millions, a reference from yesterday, today, forever. The affection he always showed for me was reciprocal in every moment we shared, even from a distance. He will never be forgotten and his memory will live on forever in each of us football lovers. Rest in peace, King Pele,” describing Pele’s inspiration in his career.
Pele’s daughter Kely Nascimento confirmed on her social media that the legend passed away peacefully. The Brazilian soccer icon will go to Estadio urbano Caldeira in Vila Belmiro on Monday. Pele’s departure puts an end to a great era of the beautiful game.
