Brazilian football star Pele, who died at the age of 82, will be buried in his hometown of Santos.

The former Santos FC star, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, had been at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo since 29 November.

A medical report just before Christmas showed that he needed care for cardiac and renal dysfunction, having been battling colon cancer since September 2021.

Burial

The remains of football legend, Pele, will be laid to rest on Tuesday January 3rd, 2023 at his home town, Santos.

The 82-year-old who was widely regarded as the greatest player of all time and a three-time World Cup winner died on Thursday (Dec. 29) at the Albert Einstein hospital (Sao Paulo) after a long battle with cancer.

Already, Brazil has entered three days of mourning following the death of football superstar.

His funeral will hold at the  Vila Belmiro Stadium, outside Sao Paulo(the stadium where Pelé played some of the best matches of his career) on Monday and Tuesday.

The coffin carrying the three-time World Cup champion will leave Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo early Monday morning and will be placed in the center circle of the field.

Visitation will start Monday at 10 a.m. and finish the next day at the same time.

Pelé’s casket will be carried through the streets of Santos and will pass in front of the home of his 100-year-old mother, Celeste. Recent reports in Brazilian media say Pelé’s mother cannot leave her bed and is not lucid.

The burial will take place at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica, a vertical cemetery in Santos. Only family will attend.

The Man Pele

Pele – originally named Edson Arantes do Nascimento – began playing for Santos at the age of 15 and the Brazilian national team a year later, bursting onto the world football scene as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup.

During his international career, he won three World Cups – in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – the only player to achieve this.

His role in Brazil’s third victory, in Mexico in 1970, has gone down in football folklore, as he played a key role in arguably the sport’s greatest ever international team.

His glittering 20-year career from 1957 to 1977 saw him score 757 goals in 831 games, although Santos claim his tally was closer to 1,000.