Brazilian football icon Pele has died at the age of 82 as a legend of his sport. He also broke barriers through his life like iconic boxer Muhammad Ali, whom he had a close bond with.
Pele’s daughter, Kely Nascimento, announced the forward’s death on Thursday, December 29 on her Instagram. He passed away ‘due to the failure of multiple organs, a result of the progression of colon cancer associated with his previous clinical condition’, per BBC Sport.
He will be remembered forevermore as one of the greatest footballers to grace the sport. Even though Pele never played his club football outside of the Americas with careers with Santos and New York Cosmos. His 21-year career started aged just 15 with Santos in 1956.
Brazil gave Pele his senior debut just a year later in 1956 and he was a World Cup winner not long after. The forward’s graceful skill, which saw him dubbed ‘The King of Football’, helped the Selecao win their first World Cup in 1958 and further titles in 1962 and 1970.
His career ran to 1977 after two years at New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League. But Pele continued to have a huge influence around the world with his work as a global spokesman. He also devoted considerable time working with the United Nations.
Pele and Muhammad Ali developed a close bond and huge amounts of respect
Pele worked extensively with the UN as a goodwill ambassador from 1992 for its Children’s Fund UNICEF. It also named the Brazil icon as a UNESCO Champion for Sport in 1994. His work with UNICEF saw Pele develop a close bond with boxing icon Ali before his death.
The pair already had a huge amount of respect for each other from their first meeting back in 1977. Pele and Ali first met following the forward’s final match at the old Giants Stadium as New York Cosmos played Santos in a friendly. Ali went to congratulate Pele after the tie.
Pele had invited Ali to attend the match and the iconic boxer also accompanied him back to the dressing rooms at full-time. It was one of many public meetings between the pair who broke barriers as they became household names around the world through their sports.
Two legends shared an era as the best of the 20th century
Pele and Ali would share an era as the best of the 20th century in football and boxing. The Brazilian is the only player yet to ever win the FIFA World Cup three times. The American, nicknamed ‘The Greatest’, was the first three-time world heavyweight champion boxer.
When Ali passed aged 74 on June 3, 2016, Pele paid tribute to his friend. The Brazilian icon said, via quotes by the Evening Standard: “He used to say he was my brother. We had many opportunities to be together in time… we worked together for children in UNICEF.”
Pele also noted on Instagram at the time: “The sporting universe has just suffered a big loss. Muhammad Ali was my friend, my idol, my hero. We spent many moments together and always kept a good connection throughout the years. The sadness is overwhelming.”
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