Football icon Pelé has passed away.
His daughter Kely Nascimento made the announcement on Thursday, and his agent Joe Fraga confirmed it.
The illustrious Brazilian football player Pele, who rose from barefoot squalor to become one of the greatest and most well-known athletes in modern history, passed away at the age of 82.
Pele passed away at 3:27pm (18:27 GMT) on Thursday “due to multiple organ failures resulting from the progression of colon cancer associated with his prior medical condition,” according to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, where he was receiving treatment.
With the Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team, Pelé, widely regarded as one of football’s greatest players, spent nearly two decades thrilling fans and stunning rivals as the sport’s most prolific scorer.
Various sources claim that the Brazilian football king won a record three World Cups and scored between 650 and 1,281 goals in his career.
As the first Black national hero of modern Brazil, Pelé emerged from squalor on the streets of Minas Gerais.
