RIP Pele: Football legend passes away at 82, Brazil declares 3-day mourning

Sao Paolo (Brazil), December 30: Brazil's three-time World-cup winning legendary footballer Pele passed away. He was 82. The Brazillian footballer passed away following a cancer battle, Al Jazeera reported on Friday citing his agent Joe Fraga who confirmed the news of his demise.

Pele, widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, had been in poor health in recent months and had several hospitalisations. The three-time World Cup champion, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was reportedly suffering from kidney and heart problems and had been hospitalised since November.

Brazil declared three days of mourning following his death, news portal G1 reported citing a decree signed by outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

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According to G1, the decree signed by Bolsonaro states that "Official mourning is declared throughout the country, for a period of three days, counted from the date of publication of this Decree, as a sign of regret for the death of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele, a former football player."

Earlier, Jair Bolsonaro took to Twitter and said, "With regret the passing of a man, who through football, took the name of Brazil to the world. He turned football into art and joy. May God comfort your family and welcome you into his infinite mercy."

Pele had a colon tumour removed in September 2021, but on November 29, he was admitted to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, according to Al Jazeera.

Pele, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, led Brazil to three World Cup victories in 1958, 1962, and 1970. He is still Brazil's leading goal scorer, with 77 goals in 92 games.

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