The death of football legend Pelé at the age of 82 on Thursday has caused sad reactions worldwide. Daughter Kely Nascimento announced his death a photo on Instagram on which hands of relatives can be seen on Pelé’s. The caption read: “All we are is because of you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
The Brazilian football association CBF calls Pelé “much more than the greatest athlete of all time.” “Our King of Football was the highest representative of a victorious Brazil that never shied away from difficulties. A black boy, poor and born in Três Corações, showed us that there is always a new way. He promised his father a world title, but gave us three. (…) The King gave us a new Brazil and we can only thank him for his legacy. Thank you, Pele.”
“Before Pelé, football was just a sport,” writes the Brazilian star footballer Neymar on Instagram. “Pele changed everything. He turned football into art, into entertainment. He gave a voice to the poor, to black people and above all: he gave Brazil prestige.” Pelé may have passed away, but his “magic will remain,” concludes Neymar.
Number 10
Incoming Brazilian President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ Da Silva says on Twitter that he admired Pelé and that there has never been a ‘number 10’ like him, referring to the number Pelé usually played with. “I had the privilege that younger Brazilians didn’t have: I saw Pele play in Pacaembu and Morumbu. No, don’t play. I saw Pelé give a show. Because when he got the ball, he always did something special, which often resulted in a goal.”
“They called him ‘The King’ and his face is one of the most recognizable in the world of football,” FIFA writes in a statement. statement on the website, which lists the footballer’s successes. “The man in question is, of course, Pele who was once named the best player of the 20th century by FIFA.”
The Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo calls Pelé an “inspiration to millions, an example of yesterday, today, forever. (…) He will never be forgotten and his memory will live on in all of us football fans.”