Brazilian football legend Pelé gets according to the newspaper Folha no more chemotherapy, but palliative care. The newspaper from São Paulo reports today that 82-year-old Pelé is dealing with metastases of cancer in his body. The football legend himself remains hopeful.
Earlier on Saturday, the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo reported that Pelé is still receiving treatment and is in stable condition. The announcement came after a newspaper report Fola, who reported that Pelé’s chemotherapy has stopped. He would only receive palliative care, so that the former top football player has as little pain as possible. The icon himself responded to his health situation on social media: “I want everyone to stay positive and calm. I follow my normal treatments.” Despite the hospitalization, Pelé feels ‘strong and very hopeful’.
He was diagnosed with colon cancer last year. The Brazilian, who became world champion three times with his country, underwent surgery in September 2021 to remove a tumor and was then hospitalized for some time. Pelé has since returned to the hospital regularly for treatment. Earlier this week he was also admitted again, in São Paulo.
Pelé, who is seen as one of the best football players ever, himself announced via Instagram that it was a regular, monthly check. According to the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo However, he is struggling with metastases in his intestines, lungs and liver, among other things, and the chemotherapy is not working. The hospital and Pelé’s family do not want to say anything about that.
His daughter did share messages of support for Pelé via Instagram. For example, before the kick-off of the last group match at the World Cup in Qatar against Cameroon, Brazilian football fans unfurled a large banner with the text ‘Pelé, get well soon’ (get well soon). That text was also projected on a large building in Doha. Pelé posted a photo of it on his Instagram account and thanked for the support.
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The footballer, who was named player of the century by the world football association FIFA together with Diego Maradona in 2000, has been struggling with his health for about ten years. For example, Pelé underwent various operations on his hip. In 2016 he was supposed to light the Olympic flame at the opening of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but then he had to miss out at the last minute due to physical discomfort. The increasingly scarce public appearances were usually done in a wheelchair. According to his son Edinho, his father suffered from depression, partly because of this.
With 77 goals, Pelé is still the all-time top scorer for the Brazilian national team. Neymar, now active with Brazil at the World Cup, is about to take over that record. He scored 75 times for the ‘Seleção’.
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