Pele to spend Christmas in hospital as cancer worsens

Brazilian football legend, Pele, will spend Christmas in hospital as he receives treatment for worsening cancer as well as kidney and heart problems.

The 82-year-old former player “requires greater care related to renal and cardiac dysfunctions,” Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil said on Wednesday.

It also reported a “progression” of his cancer, but said Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was not in intensive care.

Considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, Pele was hospitalised in Sao Paulo on November 29 for what his medical team called a re-evaluation of his chemotherapy treatments, which he has been receiving since having surgery to remove a colon tumor in September 2021.

Doctors have also diagnosed Pele with a respiratory infection.

Earlier this month, Pele’s daughters, Kely Nascimento and Flavia Arantes, sought to reassure fans about his health, denying reports that Pele had been placed in end-of-life care as supporters held a vigil outside the hospital.

They said on Instagram on Wednesday that they would be spending Christmas with their father at the hospital.

“Our Christmas at home has been suspended.

“We decided with the doctors that, for various reasons, it would be better for us to stay here with all the care that this new family at Einstein gives us!!” they wrote.

Accompanied by a picture of them smiling, the sisters thanked Pele’s fans for their support and wished them a happy festive season.

“We are going to turn this room into a Sambodrome (just kidding), we will even make caipirinhas (not kidding!!),” they joked, referencing Brazil’s famous cocktail.

The siblings, however, promised an update next week.

Pele dazzled from an early age and took the 1958 World Cup by storm when he was 17 years old, netting a hat trick in the semifinals and two more goals in the final, catapulting his own career and launching the soccer dynasty of the Brazilian national team.

Pele scored more than 1,000 goals in one of the most storied careers in sport.

He is the only player in history to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962, and 1970).

In recent years, the man dubbed ‘The King’ has faced deteriorating health and his public appearances have grown rare.

He has dealt with his ailments with trademark good humor, remaining active on social media.

Pele posted regularly during the Qatar World Cup, including a message of congratulations to Lionel Messi after Argentina took the top prize.

“Congratulations to Argentina! Diego (Maradona, who died on November 25, 2020) is probably smiling now,” he wrote.

Pele also watched from hospital as star player Neymar equalled his goal record of 77 with Brazil.

Pele has received messages from well-wishers all over the world, also recently from French striker, Kylian Mbappe, who called on fans earlier this month to “pray for the King”.

It was with Mbappe that Pele made one of his last public appearances, in April 2019, in Paris, for a promotional event.

World Cup host nation, Qatar, also showed its support for Pele, lighting up buildings with a “Get well soon” message.

The Star

Segun Ojo