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Brazil and the world of football tremble for Pelé, whose state of health worries

Brazil holds its breath. As the Seleção prepare to meet South Korea on Monday evening in the round of 16 of the World Cup (8 p.m.), the biggest star in auriverde history may be playing his last match… According to the media Brazilians, King Pelé, 82, was placed on Saturday in the palliative care unit of the Albert-Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, where he had been admitted earlier this week to treat a respiratory infection.

The triple world champion (1958, 1962 and 1970) would no longer respond to the chemotherapy he had been following since the appearance of his colon cancer in 2021. Which means that he is no longer subject to heavy treatments but only comfort measures to relieve pain or shortness of breath. A common practice when one is at the end of life.

According to a press release from the establishment published on Friday, Edson Arantes do Nascimento’s state of health seemed to have improved. The medical report indicated that he was responding well to antibiotic treatment. Thursday, the former midfielder, striker, UN ambassador or Minister of Sports had given reassuring news to the more than 10 million followers who are worried about him.

“Friends, I am in the hospital for my monthly visit, he had written. It’s always nice to receive positive messages. Thank you to Qatar for this tribute and to all those who send me good vibes. The tribute in question is illuminations to the glory of the legend of Santos or recovery flags in the stands. And the almost premonitory ballet of drones that take off in the night of Doha, forming a jersey crossed out with the number 10…

Kylian Mbappé prays for one of his role models

There are 12,000 km between Sao Paulo and Doha. Far from the eyes, but close to the hearts of his distant heirs who, too, want to win the star. “Strength to the King”, launched Vinicius Jr, the Brazilian striker of Real Madrid, in an Instagram story. “Pray for the King” posted Kylian Mbappé, who has a real relationship with the icon. The two men, who have already met, have a mutual respect and mutual admiration.

“I kept touching to see if it was true, smiled Mbappé when approaching Pelé in the spring of 2019. For me, he was the absolute legend and I told myself that seeing him on tape was already good but to meet him, it’s a nameless pride. “Pelé, he had evoked” the gift of God “received by the striker of the PSG.

“He can be my successor, it’s not a joke. I see myself in his ability to play fast, he added in the Italian weekly Sportweek. He is a striker who thinks quickly. When the ball comes to him, he already knows where to go and how to direct the game. These are also important characteristics in today’s football. And then Kylian is also fast in running and dribbling, like me…”

Between his first appearance in 1956 and his retirement at Cosmos New York in 1977, Pelé simply revolutionized the game and piled up goals and records. Four letters that are transmitted from generation to generation, from the largely graying temples of those who have seen him in action to the fascinated gaze of the youngest, who play with his avatar in football simulations. Whatever happens, the myth is not about to die out.

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