Cape Town - The world’s greatest footballer Pelé has died at the age of 82 following a battle with colon cancer.
He passed on at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital on Thursday in São Paulo, the most populous city in Brazil. He died of complications from cancer. Last year he had a tumour removed from his colon. He was hospitalised at the end of November for care which was related to cancer.
Pelé, whose name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was kept in hospital over Christmas when his condition deteriorated. He also needed treatment for cardiac and renal dysfunction.
Pelé has been hailed as the greatest footballer of all time. During his career, he scored more than 1300 goals and is the only player to win the World Cup three times. His first conquest was as a teenager in 1958, and then again in 1962 and 1970.
He was the driving force in the 1970 Brazil team, which is widely regarded as one of the best sides ever to have taken to a football pitch.
He started building his legacy when scoring on his debut with the Brazilian national team at 16 years and nine months, the youngest player in history to score an international goal.
Two years later, he would become the youngest man to play, and score, in a Fifa World Cup finals tournament.
Some of football’s legends paid tribute to Pelé.
Cristiano Ronaldo was among the first to express his gratitude for what Pele brought to the game.
The Portuguese star called the Brazillian legend the ‘eternal king’ in a an Instagram post.
“Pelé is the greatest player in football history,” Ronaldo said. “And there will only be one Pelé.”
“Pelé,” said Dutch star Johan Cruyff, a legend in his own right, “was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.”
Danny Jordaan, the president of the South African Football Association, said it was a sad day for world football.
“Pelé is arguably the greatest footballer of all time,” said Jordaan. “Pelé wasn't the tallest but reached the highest heights in the game.
“He was a supporter of African progress in football, and we could always rely on his backing.
“He supported the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.
“The 2022 Fifa World Cup must have put a smile on his face as the African teams showed great promise.”
@Herman_Gibbs