By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Brazilian football legend Pele has died following a long battle with cancer, his agent Joe Fraga confirmed.
Pele 82, had been hospitalised since November with multiple ailments.
Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein hospital, where Pele was undergoing treatment, said he died at 3:27 p.m. “due to multiple organ failures resulting from the progression of colon cancer associated with his previous medical condition.”
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is widely considered one of football’s greatest ever players.
He is the only player in history to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970). In the first of those triumphs, he became the youngest ever scorer in a World Cup final, netting twice at the age of 17 years and 249 days.
He played for Brazil and club sides Santos and New York Cosmos as a striker.
Pele was the Brazilian national team’s all-time top goalscorer, with 77 goals in 92 games.
Following his playing career, Pele went on to hold a number of posts, including as a UNESCO Goodwill ambassador.
After Argentina’s World Cup win last week in Qatar, Pele posted a picture on social media of their team lifting the trophy and hailed performances from captain Lionel Messi, France’s rising star Kylian Mbappe and surprise semifinalists Morocco.
“Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way,” he said. “What a gift it was to watch this spectacle of the future of our sport.”
Brazil players and fans in Qatar also unfurled banners on and off the pitch with an image of the football great and wishes for his recovery.