Pele dies at 82: Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe lead football world's tributes to Brazilian legend

Pele, Brazil's all-time top scorer, passed away from cancer at the age of 82 on Thursday in Sao Paulo. In September of 2021, he had a tumour removed from his colon and has been receiving regular therapy ever since. Many of the world's best footballers, like Argentina's Lionel Messi, Portugal's Christiano Ronaldo, and France's Kylian Mbappe, have paid respect to Pele by posting about him on internet. With Brazil, Pale won the World Cup in football three times (1958, 1962, and 1970).

Pale’s family shared this sad news from his official Twitter account with a message, “Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today. Love, love and love, forever.”

Christiano Ronaldo on his instagram shared this picture of him and Pele with a message, “ My deepest condolences to all of Brazil, and in particular to the family of Mr. Edson Arantes do Nascimento. A mere “goodbye” to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that currently embraces the entire world of football. An inspiration for so many millions, a reference from yesterday, today, forever. The affection he always showed for me was reciprocal in every moment we shared, even from a distance. He will never be forgotten and his memory will live on forever in each of us football lovers. Rest in peace, King Pele.” 

Lional Messi also shared a photo of him and Pele on his Instagram account and paid his respect to the legendary footballer.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

French footballer Kylian Mbappe also paid his respect by sharing two pictures of him and Pele on his Instagram account with a short message, “The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten, RIP KING.” 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Kylian Mbappé (@k.mbappe)

Pele, or Edson Arantes do Nascimento, scored 1,281 goals in his professional career and became the first player to win the World Cup more than once.

Throughout his career as a player and champion for the sport, his superb abilities and winning grin helped make soccer the most popular sport in the world.