Brazilian Icon Pele has reportedly been ‘moved to end of life care’ as he struggles in his battle against cancer.
The former Selecao forward, who is considered one of the greatest-ever football players, has been battling colon cancer since last year, with the striker in and out of hospital since.
He was taken to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, but his daughter assured fans that it was only a routine check up. “Hello friends”, she began. “Lots of alarm in the media today concerning my dad’s health. My dad is in the hospital regulating medication.”
“I’m not jumping on a flight to run there. My brothers are in Brazil visiting and I’m going on New Year’s Eve.
“There are no surprises or emergencies. We really appreciate all the affection and love you convey.”
However, reports have since come out suggesting that the issue is more serious than first feared for the 82-year-old, with Folha de Sao Paulo claiming that ‘Pele has become unresponsive to the chemotherapy treatment he has received for months to tackle bowel cancer’, and that he has now been moved to a ward for end of life care, with his wife Marcia Aoki at his bedside.
He is also the man with the most World Cup medals (three), while he also remains the youngest ever player to both play and score in a World Cup final when he netted in 1958 for the Selecao during their victory over Sweden to lift the Jules Rimet.
The second youngest, Kylian Mbappe, took to twitter to urge those to ‘pray for the King’ following the news.
Pray for the King 👑🙏🏽🇧🇷 @Pele
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) December 3, 2022
