Farewell Rei Pele, the Legend of Football.

In a game of football today, whatever you see, Pele has already done it. The 82-year old legend of the most beautiful sport in the world and a three-time world cup winner departed from the world on Thursday while fighting a long battle with cancer.

The world expressed its sorrow and condolences at his death, while FIFA, the governing body of world football lowered all the flags as sign of respect for the Brazilian hero. Many footballers posted their thoughts to pay tribute as well, which include Lionel Messi the GOAT, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Neymar Jr, etc. Many football leagues around the world also indicated to show respect for Pele and pay their tribute by either the players wearing black armbands, a moment of silence before the game or holding a minute of applause before kick-off.

Other sportsperson also expressed their feelings on Pele’s death. The great Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulker said that Pele’s death was a great loss to the whole world of sports, not just football.

Pele’s birthname was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but he got his nickname (Pele) in school. He started his career by playing for a minor league club in Sao Paulo, and was not accepted by the major clubs in the city of Sao Paulo. He later joined the Santos FC as a left forward and won nine league championships. He also won the Libertadores Cup and the International Club Cup. Pele’s international career started in 1957, when he made his debut at the age of 16. He scored in his both debuts, international and club. After Pele won his first world cup in 1958, Pele was announced as a national treasure by the Brazilian government. As he became a national hero, people started calling him “Perola Negra” which means “Black Pearl”.

Apart from his greatest contributions for the world’s greatest sport, Pele also influenced in stopping a civil war. His team was touring Nigeria while it was in the middle of a catastrophic civil war. The war stopped for 48 hours so that both sides in the conflict could witness a game of football and the great player, Pele. The match was drawn 2-2, Pele scoring both goals for his side. There are although many versions of this story, where some people say the fighting only stopped for the game, some claim that fighting had been paused for one night before, and some say that gunshots could be heard outside the stadium during the game.

In 1969, the fans paid Pele a tribute after his 1000^th professional goal was recognized. Pele was not even 30 years old when he achieved this milestone. There is still a debate going on about the total number of goals netted by the Brazilian, whereas Pele himself claimes the number of his goals to be 1283.

Pele also held office as a minister of sports for Brazil in 1995, but later in 1998 he resigned. Pele was also criticized for his conservative views.

Pele was being treated at the Albert Einstein Hospital, where he died fighting cancer at the age of 82, due to multiple organ failure. Farewell, legend.