Pele’s cancer is “progressing” and the Brazilian football legend needs “greater care” due to “kidney and heart failure,” the Sao Paulo hospital, where his daughters are preparing for Christmas, said at his side on Wednesday.
• Also read: Pelé was hospitalized, but no worries, his daughter assures
“King” Pelé, 82, was admitted to Albert Einstein Hospital on November 29 to have his chemotherapy reevaluated following the discovery of a colon tumor in September 2021.
“The patient has disease progression and requires more extensive treatment to treat renal and heart failure,” the doctors explain in their health bulletin.
The Brazilian will remain “in a normal room where he will receive the necessary care” in the hospital, the facility said.
A few minutes before this press release was published, two of Pelé’s daughters, Kely Nascimento and Flavia Arantes, had announced on their Instagram accounts that their father would be spending Christmas in the hospital.
“Our Christmas party at home fell through. We have decided with the doctors that for various reasons it is better to stay here, with all the care from our new family (the Albert Einstein Hospital),” we can read in this message, illustrated with a photo of the two very smiling sisters.
They wanted to be optimistic and promised a festive atmosphere in the sickroom.
“We’re going to turn this space into a sambadrome (that’s a joke) and we’re even going to make caipirinhas (that’s not a joke),” they continued, citing the famous Brazilian cocktail made with lemon and sugarcane alcohol.
“Pray for the King”
The two young women have published several messages on social networks in recent weeks to reassure fans of Pelé around the world after reports in Brazil that his health had deteriorated.
“As always, we thank you for the affection you send us from all over Brazil and around the world,” they added.
On Sunday, Kely Nascimento posted a picture of his sister Flavia massaging her father’s left foot as he watches the World Cup final on TV. Pelé’s face is not visible in the photo.
After the match, the three-time world champion congratulated Argentinian Lionel Messi on his “deserved” crowning achievement against France.
“Congratulations to Argentina! Diego (Maradona, died November 25, 2020, ed.) is certainly smiling at the moment,” Pelé wrote on Instagram.
During this World Cup, he has seen Neymar equal his goalscoring record with the Seleçao (77).
The man many consider the greatest footballer of all time has received many messages of support since his hospitalization, most notably from French crack Kylian Mbappé, who shouted “pray for the king”.
Alongside Mbappé, Pelé made one of his last public appearances for a joint sponsor promotional event in Paris in April 2019.
He had to be admitted to the American Hospital in Neuilly (western suburb of Paris) for a severe urinary tract infection before returning directly to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo.
Pelé had already suffered a severe urinary tract infection at the end of 2014 and required intensive care and dialysis.