By
Fawaz Adebisi
Brazilian Legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, popularly known as Pele, has died at the age of 82 after a cancer struggle.
Pele, hailed by many as the greatest football player ever, had been struggling with health problems lately.
At the 2018 World Cup, he was photographed using a wheelchair, and a month later, he was admitted to the hospital after passing out from exhaustion.
He had undergone surgery to remove a tumor from his colon in September 2021 and had been receiving regular medical care ever since, but he had been readmitted to the hospital around the end of 2022. Pele’s health did not get any better, and, as his family acknowledged, he remained in the hospital in Sao Paulo throughout the 2022 World Cup and then for Christmas.
Before his passing, his daughter, Kely Nascimentohad been giving the world regular updates on her father throughout the month as news of his illness spread.
In 1956, Pele made his professional debut for Santos, beginning a career that would fundamentally alter the game. Over the course of the following 21 years, the Brazilian striker would completely change the game of football with his unique style of play and prolific goal scoring, cementing his reputation as one of the most gifted players to ever step foot on a football field.
Pele made his debut in dramatic fashion at the 1958 World Cup, propelling Brazil to victory while wearing the No. 10 and showcasing a variety of hitherto unseen skills, earning the moniker O Rei (The King) for his exploits. He returned for Mexico 1962 as unquestionably the best player in the world after scoring a hat-trick against France in the semifinal and a brace against Sweden in the championship match.
At the club level, Pele won two Copa Libertadores titles and six Brazilian championships during a staggering 18-year stint with Santos of Brazil. The majority of his post-retirement years were spent working as an ambassador abroad. He then played for the New York Cosmos for his final two years in the lucrative NASL.
In addition to being the first player in history to have won three World Cups, he also retired as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals from 92 appearances.
Throughout his successful playing career, Pele reputedly scored over 1200 goals, including in international friendlies and tours, and he also inspired the next generation of footballers with his undeniable brilliance and avant-garde style.
