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

(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 Mello

A 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! Magnificent!” he recalled, sports commentator-style. “It was the best. People keep comparing him to others, but