Fans visit Pele museum, proud of ailing footballer’s legacy

30.12.2022 - 06:59 guardian.ng

(FILES) This file photo taken on July 22, 2016 shows a handout picture released by the Rio 2016 Olympic Committee of former football player Pele holding the Olympic flame at the Pele Museum in Santos, Sao Paulo State, on July 22, 2016.<br />Brazil football legend Pele wants to light the Rio Olympic flame at the opening ceremony on Friday, but poor health may prevent him from accepting the honor, his spokesman said on August 4, 2016.

Doubts over whether Pele, 75, would be free to carry the torch to the cauldron in the Maracana stadium have been cleared up, spokesman, Jose Fornos Rodrigues, told AFP.

The new question mark is over his health.<br />/ AFP PHOTO / Rio 2016 / Andre Luiz Mello / Rio 2016 / Andre Luiz MelloA visit to the Pele Museum in Brazil’s seaside city of Santos, Sergio Murillo Junior said he was sad to see the football legend’s health deteriorate, but added, “I am proud of the legacy he left us”.For the 53-year-old lawyer, Pele is above all “an example of perseverance and resilience, for all generations”.The museum in Santos is full of memorabilia from the man dubbed “The King” – jerseys and boots he wore, balls from key matches, and numerous trophies, including the honorary Fifa Golden Ball he received in 2014.Pele, 82, is battling worsening cancer as well as kidney and heart problems at a Sao Paulo hospital 80km inland.Family members spent Christmas last Sunday with him in the hospital, according to social media posts by his children.Flores Araujo Hermes, an 82-year-old Peruvian tourist, told AFP he remembered seeing the football legend play in Lima like it was yesterday. “Chest, shot and goal!

Football Brazil Santos Sao Paulo Peru Lima

BOGOTA: Colombia is the first Latin American country to meet FIFA president Gianni Infantino's request to name a stadium after Pele.

Pele buried on ninth floor of world’s tallest vertical cemetery

The coffin of the late Brazilian football star Pele is transported to the Santos’ Memorial Cemetery after the funeral procession in Santos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil on January 3, 2023. – Brazilian football legend Pele’s remains arrived Tuesday at the cemetery where he will be interred in a mausoleum, after three days of national mourning, a 24-hour wake and a massive funeral procession. Pele’s casket, draped in the Brazilian flag and that of his longtime club, Santos FC, arrived atop a red firetruck at the Santos Memorial Cemetery, near the stadium where “The King” began his rise to become what many consider the greatest footballer of all time. (Photo by CAIO GUATELLI / AFP)

FIFA to ask all countries to name a stadium for Pele: Infantino

Infantino was in the city of Santos, Brazil, to pay his final respects to the player widely considered the greatest of all time, who died Thursday at the age of 82.

Brazil says final farewell to 'King' Pele

A flood of fans, politicians and football dignitaries have flocked to pay their respects to the player known as "The King" in the southeastern city of Santos, home to the club where he spent most of his storied career.