BREAKING: Brazil football legend PELE passes away aged 82

PELE, the Brazilian football legend passed away at the age of 82.

Brazil football legend Pele passed away today, Thursday, December 82, at the age of 82. The footballer had been in hospital for the last four weeks battling cancer but his body had reportedly stopped responding to treatment. His death was confirmed today in his homeland by the country’s government.

Pelé. Champion of champions, living legend of our lifetime. Football perfection; the King was almost synonymous with his homeland. Generations to come will remember him as a gentleman off the field, and a magician on it; the epic number 10 shirt, immortalized by his genius. pic.twitter.com/eXBiyvEsy8

— Government of Brazil (@govbrazil) December 29, 2022

Pelé has been called to the good Lord's team to play in heaven's green fields. Rest in peace, our mighty Brazilian hero. God bless your family and close friends in their grief as the world mourns with them. Legends live forever. Long live Pelé, the greatest of all time. pic.twitter.com/PNqGkIdEdV

— Government of Brazil (@govbrazil) December 29, 2022

Edson Arantes do Nascimento was arguably the greatest footballer to have graced the game. During a glittering career, the No10 became the only player to even win the World Cup three times. His nation landed the trophy in 1958, 1962, and again in 1970.

At the age of 15, Pele made his debut for Santos FC, and broke into the national side when he was just 16. In Sweden on June 29, 1958, Pele became the youngest player to appear in the final of a World Cup tournament aged 17 years and 249 days.

Such was the demand for this incredible footballer that in 1961, Janio Quadros, the President of Brazil, declared Pele an ‘official national treasure’ to prevent him from being transferred to any team abroad.

During his career, he racked up an astonishing 1,279 goals in 1,363 games. This total though included friendly matches but is still recognised as an official Guinness World Record. His record of 77 international goals was only this month broken by Neymar at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

___________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.