Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died

Pelé, the Brazilian soccer legend who won three World Cups and became the sport's first global icon, has died at the age of 82, according to a statement from his daughter Kely Nascimento on Instagram. CNN's Don Riddell looks back on his life and career.

A funeral was planned for Monday and Tuesday, with his casket to be carried through the streets of Santos, the coastal city where his storied career began, before burial.

Widely regarded as one of soccer’s greatest players, Pelé spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team.

His grace, athleticism and mesmerizing moves transfixed players and fans. He orchestrated a fast, fluid style that revolutionized the sport — a samba-like flair that personified his country’s elegance on the field.

He carried Brazil to soccer’s heights and became a global ambassador for his sport in a journey that began on the streets of Sao Paulo state, where he would kick a sock stuffed with newspapers or rags.

In the conversation about soccer’s greatest players, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside Pelé.

Different sources, counting different sets of games, list Pelé’s goal totals anywhere between 650 (league matches) and 1,281 (all senior matches, some against low-level competition.)

The player who would be dubbed “The King” was introduced to the world at 17 at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the youngest player ever at the tournament. He was carried off the field on teammates’ shoulders after scoring two goals in Brazil’s 5-2 victory over the host country in the final.

Injury limited him to just two games when Brazil retained the world title in 1962, but Pelé was the emblem of his country’s World Cup triumph of 1970 in Mexico. He scored in the final and set up Carlos Alberto with a nonchalant pass for the last goal in a 4-1 victory over Italy.

Brazil has planned 48 hours of national mourning. Pelé, whose full name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is expected to be buried in Santos, southeast of Sao Paulo, where he played for the city's club from 1956 to 1974.

The club said in a statement the public will be able to pay their final respects at Vila Belmiro Stadium, according to the Associated Press.

Santos said the coffin carrying the star will leave Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo early Monday morning and will be placed in the center circle of the field. Visitation will start Monday at 10 a.m. and finish the next morning, the AP reported. A private funeral will follow attended by his family.

Pelé had been in and out of the hospital over the past year as he fought colon cancer. In November, Albert Einstein Hospital announced that his cancer had advanced and that he was in palliative care.

The hospital confirmed Pelé died at 3:27 p.m. local time from multiple organ failure as a result of colon cancer.

razilian striker Pele before playing a friendly soccer match with his club against the French club of "Racing", June 13, 1961 in Colombes, France.

The soccer star was hospitalized in December 2021 shortly after undergoing chemotherapy to treat a reported colon tumor. He had posted on Instagram that he was recovering.

Over the past year, Pelé had dismissed fears over his health and continued to thank fans for their support.

"Dear friends, it's been a while since we talked about this. I want to let you know that I'm fine. I feel better every day. I don't think even the mask for my protection can hide my happiness. Thank you very much to all of you who send me good energy daily," he wrote in a November 2021 post on Instagram.

Named FIFA co-Player of the Century in 1999 along with Diego Maradona of Argentina, Pelé spent his retirement as a global ambassador for the sport and devoted to other humanitarian causes. In 2020, when Maradona died, Pelé remarked, "One day, I hope we can play football together in the sky."

"Pelé had a magnetic presence and, when you were with him, the rest of the world stopped," Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, said in a statement Thursday. "His life is about more than football. He changed perceptions for the better in Brazil, in South America and across the world."

Pelé was born on Oct. 23, 1940, in the town of Tres Coracoes in the southern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. His parents named him after U.S. inventor Thomas Edison. Pelé's father, João Ramos do Nascimento, nicknamed Dondinho, was also a professional soccer player.