Sao Paulo: Brazilian Football legend Pele said on Saturday that he was feeling “strong, very hopeful” despite medical problems that have kept the 82-year-old sports icon in hospital with a respiratory infection.
Pele, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, was hospitalized earlier this week during a concussion. Colon cancer Treatment
“My friends, I want to keep everyone calm and positive,” Pele said in an Instagram post.
Doctors treating Pele said earlier in the week that the Brazil legend had remained “stable” and had not worsened yesterday.
Doctors at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement that Pele “has responded well to care over the past 24 hours without any deterioration in the clinical picture.”
Doctors earlier on Saturday made no reference to media reports that the three-time World Cup winner was receiving end-of-life care.
They were yellow. Hospitalized Doctors earlier this week said there was a “re-evaluation” of the chemotherapy he had been undergoing since surgery to remove a colon tumor in September last year.
The players expressed their support for Pele in the ongoing World Cup in Qatar.
France striker Kylian Mbappe tweeted on Saturday: “Pray for the king.”
England captain Harry Kane offered his support for Pele at a press conference ahead of his side’s last 16 tie against Senegal.
“We send our best wishes to him and obviously to all his family,” Kane said.
“He is an inspiration to our game and an incredible footballer and an incredible person. We wish him all the best.”
Pele is the only footballer in history to have won three World Cups — 1958, 1962 and 1970 — and is one of the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.
Nicknamed “O Rei” (The King), he scored more than 1,200 goals in one of the game’s most storied careers, before retiring in 1977.
Pele took the 1958 World Cup by storm at a young age when he was 17, scoring a hat-trick in the semi-final and two more goals in the final, advancing his career and becoming the Brazilian national team. Started the team’s football dynasty. .
In recent years, Pele has suffered from deteriorating health but has dealt with the problems with his trademark good humour.
In her Instagram post on Saturday, the sports sensation said the outpouring of love messages from around the world “keeps me energized” and said she’s “excited to see Brazil at the World Cup too!”