Legendary soccer icon Pelé is in ailing health, and unfortunately, his condition hasn’t improved anytime recently.
According to both the New York Post and El Gráfico, a Salvadoran sports news publication, the legend’s health has not gotten better since he entered hospice care earlier this month. He has undergone chemotherapy for bowel cancer and his outlook does not look promising.
El Gráfico tweeted on the situation, saying, “LA SITUACIÓN DE PELÉ: “SON MOMENTOS DE TRISTEZA Y DESESPERACIÓN.” This can be closely translated to, “PELÉ’S SITUATION: “THESE ARE MOMENTS OF SADNESS AND DESPAIR.”
The New York Post provided further context. The NY Post reported, “The three-time World Cup winner’s cancer has advanced and doctors at Albert Einstein hospital recently said he’s under ‘elevated care’ related to ‘kidney and cardiac dysfunctions.'”
The Post continued, citing the quote above from El Gráfico, which came from Pelé’s sister, Kely Nasciemento. She wrote on her Instagram, via The Post, “These moments are hard to explain. Sometimes it is a lot of sadness and despair, in other moments we laugh and speak about fun memories.”
Pelé is one of the greatest soccer players of all time. He won the FIFA World Cup three times with his native country of Brazil in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Still, to this day, he’s the only male player who can say he’s won three World Cups. Pelé is also a seven-time recipient of the coveted Ballon d’Or trophy.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022