THREE-TIME WORLD CUP winner PELE “transformed football into an art,” said current Brazil forward Neymar as he led the tributes to his country’s greatest sporting icon, who passed away on Thursday aged 82.
“Before Pele, ’10′ was just a number,” wrote Neymar, who also played for Santos and equalled Pele’s national goalscoring record for Brazil — 77 (albeit Pele did it in 32 fewer caps) — at the recent World Cup in Qatar.
“But that beautiful sentence is incomplete,” added the PSG attacker.
I would say that before Pele, football was just a sport. He transformed football into an art, into entertainment… Football and Brazil gained status thanks to the King. He has gone, but his magic will remain. Pele is ETERNAL!
Neymar’s PSG teammate Kylian Mbappé, the French forward who scored a hat-trick in this year’s World Cup final, said that Pele’s legacy “will never be forgotten”.
Mbappé, who received a message of congratulations from Pele when he played in his first World Cup, France’s 2018 triumph in Russia, said:
The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten. RIP KING.
Posting pictures of himself together with the Brazilian icon, Argentina’s World Cup winner Lionel Messi wrote a shorter message, “Rest in peace, Pele” on his Instagram page.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo explained that “a mere goodbye” to “the eternal King Pele” would not suffice due to the gratitude owed by football to the great Brazilian.
“My deep condolences to all of Brazil, and in particular to the family of Edson Arantes do Nascimento,” Ronaldo said. “A mere ‘goodbye’ to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that the entire football world is currently embracing.
An inspiration to so many millions, a reference yesterday, today and forever. The love you always showed me was reciprocated in every moment we shared even from distance.
“He will never be forgotten and his memory will live forever in each and every one of us football lovers. Rest in peace King Pelé.”
Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland tweeted simply: “Everything you see any player doing, Pelé did it first. RIP.”
Everything you see any player doing, Pelé did it first. RIP ⚽️🤴🏿 pic.twitter.com/SeW0z1hQTm
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) December 29, 2022
The Republic of Ireland’s all-time leading goalscorer Robbie Keane posted several videos and images of his encounters with Pele to Instagram, writing:
‘The King’ — you inspired a generation and when I think of Brazilian football I think of you.. Not only were you the greatest, you were more importantly a total gentleman.. I feel very lucky to have got to know and spend time with you through the years. You will forever be in the hearts, minds and history books as one of the biggest legends of the game..
Former England World Cup winner Geoff Hurst hailed Pele as the “greatest of all time”.
Hurst played against Pele in the 1970 World Cup, a group game in which Brazil beat England 1-0 before going on to lift the World Cup in Mexico as Pele got his hands on the trophy for a third and final time.
“I have so many memories of Pele, without doubt the best footballer I ever played against (with Bobby Moore being the best footballer I ever played alongside),” Hurst tweeted.
“For me Pele remains the greatest of all time and I was proud to be on the pitch with him. RIP Pele and thank you.”
Wembley Stadium in London, meanwhile, was this evening lit up in Brazilian colours in honour of the three-time World Cup winner.
German great Franz Beckenbauer, who won a World Cup with West Germany four years after Pele’s third, said: “Football lost the greatest in its history today – and I lost a unique friend. Football will be yours forever.”
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter also called Pele the “greatest footballer in history” and described him as a man who “celebrated the game like no other”.
Blatter, who led world football’s governing body between 1998 to 2015, tweeted: “Very sad news: Pele has left us.
“The world mourns the greatest footballer in history and a wonderful personality. He celebrated the game like no other.
“Dear Pele, I am immensely sad and honour you and your life’s work. My sincere condolences to your family and friends.”
The International Olympic Committee, who named Pele its athlete of the century in 1999, said the world had bid farewell to one of its all-time sporting greats.
“With Pele’s passing, the world has lost a great sporting icon,” IOC president Thomas Bach said on Twitter.
“As I could experience myself, he was a true believer in the Olympic values and a proud carrier of the Olympic flame. It was a privilege to present the Olympic Order to him.”
In the world of politics, Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid tribute to one of his country’s national treasures, saying, “there was never another number 10 like him.”
Lula, who is due to take office Sunday, said that “few Brazilians have taken our country’s name as far as he did… He didn’t just play. He put on an all-out show.
“Thank you, Pele,” he added.
The office of outgoing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro also paid its respects to the footballing superstar, describing Pele as “one of the greatest athletes of all time,” in a statement also calling him a “great citizen and patriot.”
Bolsonaro’s office said that the outgoing president had asked God to “receive Pele in his arms” and to give strength to the three-time World Cup winner’s grieving family.
President of neighbouring Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, a football fan who recently celebrated his country’s own third World Cup triumph, said: “One of the best footballers in history has left us.
“We will always remember those years when Pele dazzled the world with his skills. A big hug to his family and the people of Brazil who will carry him in their hearts.”
Closer to home, President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins wrote a tribute to the Brazilian footballing icon whom he met on several occasions over four decades.
“It is particularly poignant that Pele should have died so soon after the World Cup, that greatest stage which he graced like no other,” President Higgins wrote in a statement. “From his goals seen in black and white as a 17-year-old in Sweden in 1958 to his technicolour triumph with arguably the greatest ever Brazilian team in Mexico twelve years later in 1970, Pele’s name will always be synonymous with the World Cup as its only three time winner.
“Indeed his name will forever be synonymous with football itself, as perhaps the greatest player ever to play the game. In addition to his remarkable talent and record breaking goal scoring feats, the sheer joy with which he embraced the game will continue to inspire and bring people to the sport for generations to come.
“That was a spirit which he brought beyond the pitch and reflected in his life after retirement, where he lent support to many humanitarian causes.
I had the pleasure of meeting Pelé on a number of occasions in the 1980s and 1990s and our last meeting was on a working visit to Mexico in 2013 in Guadalajara. In each of our meetings I was struck by that same sense of joy with which he graced the football pitch.
“May I express my sympathies to his wife Marcia Aoki, to his children, to his wider family and to all his many friends and admirers throughout the world.”
Pelé was one of the greatest to ever play the beautiful game. And as one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together. Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him. pic.twitter.com/urGRDePaPv
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2022
Former US president Barack Obama described Pelé as “one of the greatest to ever play the beautiful game”.
“And as one of the most recognisable athletes in the world”, Obama added, “he understood the power of sports to bring people together.
“Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him.”
