The death of Pelé, O Rei, the most eternal and international of all Brazilian idols, this Thursday left his compatriots dejected and nostalgic for the times when Brazil was synonymous with triumph. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the consummate footballer of world fame, has died at the age of 82 at the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, where he had been hospitalized for a month due to complications from colon cancer. He spent Christmas there with his wife and surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
The news, as feared as expected during the footballer’s harrowing demise, broke in just after four o’clock local time. His eldest daughter Kely Nascimento, who has been in charge of covering Pelé’s development over the past few weeks, announced it with a sensitive message on Instagram. “We owe everything we are to you. we love you endlessly Rest in peace,” he says, along with three hearts (that’s the name of the city where the footballer was born) and a photo with his hands folded.
Immediately, the front pages of Brazilian newspapers forgot about the news of the day – the new ministers who will accompany Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in government from Sunday – to pay tribute with his art to the man who brought so much joy to Brazil and its three world championships. Pelé symbolized promising and triumphant Brazil. The nickname of the man who played football in 66 countries became synonymous with excellence.
“Before Pelé, 10 was just a number,” recalled Neymar, the current 10 of the Brazilian team, on Instagram. A number that brought Pelé to the top. Nobody but him estimates three World Cups, and no country but Brazil has won five World Cups. He also recalled that Pelé transformed football into art and entertainment, claiming that “he gave a voice to the poor, to black people and, above all, he made Brazil visible”.
With the 10 in the back, the Argentinian Messi conquered the World Cup in Qatar with his teammates a few days ago, which Pelé watched on TV from his bed, as his family announced. “Rest in peace,” the head of the Albiceleste fired at him, along with a photo of both of them. La Canarinha aspired to give him sixth.
The president of neighboring Argentina, Alberto Fernández, said goodbye to him with a diplomatic tweet: “One of the best footballers in history has left us,” he said with a wink to Maradona and the rest of his compatriots.
While President Fernández or his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron released messages paying tribute to the Brazilian who made football a cause of global fame, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro remained silent. Bolsonaro practically retired from public view two months ago when he lost the election.
President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recalled on Twitter that he knew the king’s magic firsthand. “I had the privilege that the younger Brazilians didn’t have, I saw Pelé play live. I saw how he was on the show. Because when he caught the ball, he always did something special and often ended up scoring.”
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