A year after the death of football legend Pelé, his favorite club, FC Santos, is in second division for the first time in the club’s 111-year history.
With a 1-2 defeat in front of a home crowd on the last match day against Fortaleza EC, the two-time World Cup winners from the Brazilian port city slipped into a relegation zone and were thus relegated to Serie B.
“We will return to laughter,” wrote Neymar, who grew up at FC Santos, on social networks. The Brazilian international, who moved to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in the summer, watched the game on television as he is currently out due to a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee.
Palmeiras secures the championship
Pelé had spent his entire professional career except for the last few years with Cosmos New York at FC Santos, which was founded on April 14, 1912. The three-time world champion died of cancer on December 29th last year at the age of 82.
While Palmeiras from São Paulo secured the championship, the FC Santos fans were angry and disappointed after their first relegation. “It was a historically bad night. First of all we have to apologize with great humility,” said technical director Alexandre Gallo.