The Brazilian club Santos, in which he was immortalized and of which he remains the greatest idol, will use a crown emblazoned on his uniform as a tribute to former soccer player Edson Arantes do Nascimento “Pelé”, hospitalized for almost a month in Sao Paulo and whose state of health has deteriorated.
The tribute to the “rei” was announced this Saturday by the president of the Deliberative Council of the São Paulo group, Celso Jatenewho, in an interview with a radio station, announced that starting next month the shield stamped on the uniform will be accompanied by a crown.
“The crown will already be on the shirt of 2023. Santos will play in 2023 with the crown on the badge: the two stars (of their two Brazilian titles) and a crown on the top of the badge,” said the leader.
According to Jatene, this modification was approved by the Council and the partners of Santos, and included in the club statute.
The uniform with the crown on the shield was already used in a match in October 2019 by the Venezuelan attacker Yeferson Soteldo, who wears the 10 shirt at Santos, as a tribute to “Eternal Shirt 10on Pele’s anniversary that year.
Despite the fact that the tribute has been planned since that time, the new uniform for all players can only be used now, after the inclusion of the Change in the statute of the club.
The state of health of the 82-year-old three-time world champion has focused attention in Brazil since last Wednesday, when the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, where he has been admitted since November 29, reported a worsening of the colon cancer that was diagnosed in 2021 and said that the former soccer player is receiving care related to “kidney and heart dysfunction.”
After learning of the worsening health of the man considered by many to be the best footballer of all time, his daughters announced that they will spend Christmas in the hospital, where their son also arrived this Saturday edinho.
Pelé was hospitalized to evaluate a change in the treatment of chemotherapy that he had been receiving since the colon tumor was detected in September of last year.
Days later, the hospital reported that it was also treating him for a Respiratory infection who, according to his daughters, suffered as a result of a covid-19 infection.
