Brazilian football legend Pele has died at the age of 82

The three-time World Cup winner had been in hospital in Sao Paulo since late November.

Pele’s daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram: “We are thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”

Nascimento, who had posted before Christmas that members of Pele’s family would spend the holiday period in the hospital with him, added three heartbroken emojis.

A message on Pele’s official social media accounts read: “Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pele, who peacefully passed away today.

“Love, love and love, forever.”

Teen sensation who changed the game

Pele burst on to the global scene as a 17-year-old at the 1958 World Cup, helping Brazil to the first of their record five successes in the competition.

Injury affected his contribution to the finals in 1962, when Brazil retained their title, and 1966, but he returned to lead his country to glory for a third time in Mexico in 1970, as part of what is widely regarded as the greatest line-up of all time.

He has endured a number of health issues in recent years, and in September 2021 underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his colon.

This year, he was admitted to the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo on November 29 with a respiratory infection and remained there until his death.

The hospital said in a statement Pele died at 3.27pm local time (6.27pm GMT) on Thursday “due to the failure of multiple organs as a result of the progression of colon cancer”.

As tributes poured in from across the world, a tweet from the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) read simply “King Pele”, accompanied by three crown emojis.

The president of the federation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, said in a statement: “The CBF will pay all possible tributes to the greatest athlete of all time. Pele is eternal and we will always work to preserve his history and continue his legacy.”

Pele was a prodigious scorer of goals, and is credited with 1,281 of them across the length of his career by the official FIFA website.

There was so much more to his game though, and his outrageous talent and willingness to try – and often pull off – the seemingly impossible have prompted many observers to describe him as the greatest player of all time.

Others can also justifiably stake a claim for that title – not least Diego Maradona and his fellow Argentinian Lionel Messi – but it is inconceivable not to mention Pele in any shortlist.

Pele's career in numbers

3 – the record number of World Cups won by Pele, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

17 – Pele’s age in the 1958 tournament – he remains the youngest man to play in a World Cup final and to score a World Cup hat-trick.

3 – goals in World Cup finals – two against Sweden in 1958 and one against Italy in 1970.

77 – goals for Brazil, a record that was recently matched by Neymar.

1,281 – Pele’s career goal tally, according to FIFA’s official website. The disputed total includes friendly games.

767 – his goals in official matches, as tracked by the Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. Those goals came in 831 games.

1,089 – goals for his long-time Brazilian club Santos – though again, friendlies are included. The RSSSF lists his competitive record as 643 in 659 games, the most by a player for any one club until surpassed by Lionel Messi’s 672 for Barcelona.

2 – clubs represented in his career – Santos and the New York Cosmos.

6 – Brazilian league titles won with Santos – every year from 1961 to 1965, plus 1968. He added the 1977 North American Soccer League title with the Cosmos.