Former legendary footballer Pelé, 80, was released from the hospital where he was admitted a month ago on Thursday and had a “suspicious” tumor removed, but will have to undergo chemotherapy.
• Read also: Brazil: Pelé released from intensive care
• Read also: Brazil: Pelé operated on for a “suspicious” colon tumor
“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, ”the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo said 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, ”Le Roi 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 examinations 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.
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.
Messi congratulated
One of his daughters, Kely Nascimento, then decided to reassure the supporters with photos and videos showing his father, still smiling and full of humor despite an apparent fatigue.
We have seen him ride a stationary bike, play cards, or sing the anthem of Santos, the club where he shone from 1956 to 1974, before joining the New York Cosmos at the end of his career.
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 scored, against 77 for the Brazilian.
“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.
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.
Marchette
In a documentary about his life launched in February by Netflix, he is seen struggling to move around with 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, Pelé had already suffered from a serious urinary tract infection and was 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 in 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 in the past, even if they did not play at the same time.
“One day, in heaven, we will play together on the same team. And it 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, ”he said.
