Pele, a legendary former Brazilian footballer who is now 80, was released from hospital on Thursday. He was admitted there a month ago to have a “suspicious” tumor removed. He will now have to undergo chemotherapy.
“Edson Arantes do Nascimento was released from the hospital this Thursday morning. His state of health is stable and he will undergo chemotherapy after his operation to remove a tumor in the colon, on September 4, ”said Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo in a statement. Although this medical bulletin does not mention the word “cancer”, chemotherapy is usually used to treat this disease.
“When the road is difficult, celebrate every step of the way. Focus on your happiness. It’s true that I can’t jump anymore, but lately I’ve been throwing my fist in the air more often than usual. I am very happy to be coming home, ”Pele wrote on his Facebook and Instagram accounts after being released from the hospital.
The three-time Brazilian world champion was admitted to hospital on August 31 for routine check-ups where a “suspicious” colon tumor was detected. He was operated on four days later. The result of the tumor biopsy has still not been made public. The “King” of football then spent ten days in an intensive care unit, where he returned briefly a few days later due to breathing difficulties.
“His tumor probably has aggressiveness factors. The good thing is that colon cancer, even with metastases, can be treated, ”said oncologist Marco Saramago, who works in several medical centers in Rio de Janeiro.
The hospital has issued very few official bulletins and there have been many rumors about the state of health of the one many consider to be the greatest footballer of all time. One of his daughters, Kely Nascimento, then decided to reassure fans with photos and videos showing his father, still smiling and full of humor despite an apparent fatigue. She has shown him riding a stationary bike, playing cards, or singing the anthem of Santos, the club where he shone from 1956 to 1974, before joining the New York Cosmos, in the United States, in end of career.
Pelé himself posted some information on his Instagram account, which has more than 7 million subscribers. In one of these publications, he congratulated the Argentinian Lionel Messi, who on September 9 broke his record for the number of goals scored in the selection by a South American player, with 79 goals against 77 for the Brazilian himself. “When life challenges us, it’s easier to face with a smile,” Pele wrote on Wednesday morning. “He is getting stronger and will continue his convalescence at home,” said his daughter an hour later.
Already several health problems and one missing kidney
The only footballer in history to have won the World Cup three times (1958, 1962, 1970), Pelé has made very few public appearances in recent years. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed nearly 600,000 lives in Brazil, he has remained confined to his residence in Guaruja, a seaside resort near Sao Paulo. In a documentary on his life released in February by Netflix, we see him moving with difficulty using a walker.
The former Seleçao number 10, who will be 81 on October 23, has worried his fans on several occasions due to his fragile health. In April 2019, he was hospitalized in Paris due to a severe urinary tract infection. Back in Brazil, he had a kidney stone removed. At the end of 2014, he had already been the victim of a serious urinary tract infection and placed in intensive care and on dialysis. He has only one kidney since the days when he was still a player. A broken rib during a match damaged his right kidney which was eventually removed.
The Brazilian is one of the last sacred monsters of football, after the deaths of Johan Cruyff, in 2016, and especially Diego Maradona, in November 2020. Pelé had paid a vibrant tribute to the Argentine genius, with whom he had maintained a certain rivalry by the past, even if they haven’t played at the same time. “One day, in heaven, we will play together on the same team. And this will be the first time that I will raise my fist to the sky not to celebrate a goal, but because I can give you the hug. “
