He died Thursday afternoon at a hospital in Brazil after a battle with colon cancer. He was 82. His daughter, Kely Nascimento, mourned his death on Instagram, writing, “Everything that we are, is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.” The post included a photo of Pelé in a hospital bed holding the hands of his loved ones. The star was widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time, often hailed as “O Rei do Futebol,” translated into the king of his sport. He played in a total of four World Cups, making his debut in 1958 at the age of 17, and remains the only man to ever win three of them. An idol and inspiration to many, he once famously said, “I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” per CNN. The icon and global superstar had a tumor removed in September 2021 and has since been undergoing chemotherapy, per Fox News. CNN reported that he was admitted to a hospital in São Paulo in late November for a respiratory infection along with complications related to the cancer. The hospital revealed that his health declined last week as his cancer progressed. The world knew him best by his nickname, but he was born Edson Arantes do Nascimiento in 1940. He was named after the American inventor, Thomas Edison, though his parents—including his father who was a known soccer player in Brazil—decided to remove the “I.” In 2015, he told CNN that he wanted to be a soccer player like his father, noting, “He was famous in Brazil, in Minas Gerais. He was my role model. I always wanted to be like him, but what happened, to this day, only God can explain.” He is survived by his wife, Marcia Aoki, and several children.
