UPDATE - Three-Time Brazilian World Football Champion Pele Dies At Age Of 82 - Family

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2022) Three-time Brazilian world football champion Pele died at the age of 82 on Thursday, according to his daughter Kely Nascimento.

"Everything we have is thanks to you. We love you endlessly. Rest in peace," Kely Nascimento said on social media.

The G1 news portal reported, citing a hospital where Pele received medical treatment, that the cause of the football star's death was multiple organ failure due to advanced cancer.

Pele will be buried on January 3, according to Brazilian football club Santos' website. His body will be taken from the hospital to Vila Belmiro stadium in the city of Santos on January 2 for a farewell ceremony.

The 24-hour farewell ceremony will start at 10 a.m. local time on January 2 and will be open to the public. G1 reported that the ceremony will be attended by Brazil's high-ranked officials. Afterward, there will be a procession through the streets of Santos that will head to the cemetery, where the football player will be buried.

According to G1's report, Pele will be buried at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica - the world's tallest cemetery, celebrated in the Guinness Book of World Records since 1991. Only family members and friends will be allowed at the funeral.

Pele bought a spot at the cemetery 19 years ago. He then said that this place seemed to him not like a cemetery; it conveyed a sense of peace and tranquility. The cemetery has been built by Pepe Altstut, an Argentine national and Pele's friend.

Argentine President Alberto Angel Fernandez said Pele was one of the best football players in history.

"One of the best soccer players in history has left us. We will always remember those years when Pele dazzled the world with his skills. A big hug to his family and the people of Brazil who will carry him in their hearts," Fernandez said on Twitter.

FIFA said in a tribute statement that "the world of football has lost its king," but he has achieved immortality a long time ago.

"Today, we all mourn the loss of the physical presence of our dear Pele, but he achieved immortality a long time ago and therefore he will be with us for eternity," FIFA said on the website, adding: "Immortal - forever with us."

Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Twitter that "The King" used to put on a show every time he played football.

"I had the privilege that the younger Brazilians did not have: I saw Pele play... Not play. I saw Pele put on a show. Because when he took the ball, he always did something special, which often ended up in a goal," Lula said on Twitter.

In September 2021, Pele was diagnosed with a colon tumor. In 2022, he was hospitalized twice for treatment of three malignant tumors and a urinary tract infection. On November 30, 2022, Pele had to undergo non-elective hospitalization with general swelling of the body, including heart failure. Later it was reported that Pele's body stopped responding to chemotherapy, and therefore palliative care was provided to him.