Brazilian football legend Pele, arguably the greatest player ever, has died at the age of 82, his agent has confirmed.
The former Santos FC star had been at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo since 29 November.
A medical report just before Christmas showed that he needed care for cardiac and renal dysfunction, having been battling colon cancer since September 2021.
Pele - originally named Edson Arantes do Nascimento - began playing for Santos at the age of 15 and the Brazilian national team a year later, bursting onto the world football scene as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup.
During his international career, he won three World Cups - in 1958, 1962 and 1970 - the only player to achieve this.
His role in Brazil's third victory, in Mexico in 1970, has gone down in football folklore, as he played a key role in arguably the sport's greatest ever international team.
His glittering 20-year career from 1957 to 1977 saw him score 757 goals in 831 games, although Santos claim his tally was closer to 1,000.
walex2
817
Sometime when I see elderly people I will quickly have in mind that a day is coming that I will be like him and won't be able to run around again. in 100yrs times all of us commenting will be under the grave . another young people will come out and be doing what we are doing today. there was a time when Pele and Maradona was still agile they can run as they like but today they are no more . I want everyone of us here to always remember and always spent our day as our last day on earth we should do good always. Happy new years in advance