SAO PAULO: Brazilian football great Pele’s cancer has advanced and he requires care related to renal and cardiac dysfunction, according to a medical report, and his family said he would remain in a Sao Paulo hospital over Christmas.

Widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, the 82-year-old has been hospitalised in the Albert Einstein hospital since late November as doctors reevaluate his treatment and tend to a respiratory infection.

Pele has received regular medical treatment since a tumor was removed from his colon in September last year.

“Our Christmas at home has been suspended,” his daughters Kely Nascimento and Flavia Arantes said on Instagram, thanking people for their support. “We decided with the doctors that, for various reasons, it would be better for us to stay here with all the care that this new family at Einstein gives us,” she said in the post.

Accompanied by a picture of them smiling, the sisters thanked Pele’s fans for their support and wished them a happy festive season.

“We are going to turn this room into a Sambodrome [just kidding], we will even make caipirinhas [not kidding!!],” they joked, referencing Brazil’s famous cocktail.

The siblings promised an update next week.

Pele dazzled from an early age and took the 1958 World Cup by storm when he was 17 years old, netting a hat-trick in the semi-finals and two more goals in the final, catapulting his own career and launching the football dynasty of the Brazilian national team.

Pele scored more than 1,000 goals in one of the most storied careers in sport. He is the only player in history to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970).

In recent years, the man dubbed “The King” has faced deteriorating health and his public appearances have grown rare.

He has dealt with his ailments with trademark good humor, remaining active on social media.

Following Argentina’s win in Sunday’s World Cup final, Pele posted a picture of their team lifting the trophy, and hailed performances from squad leader Lionel Messi, France’s rising star Kylian Mbappe, and surprise semi-finalists Morocco.

“Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way,” he said. “What a gift it was to watch this spectacle of the future of our sport.”

Brazilian players had during a quarter-final in Qatar unfurled a massive banner on the pitch with an image of the football great during his 1970 World Cup win. It simply read: “Pele!”

World Cup host nation Qatar also showed its support for Pele, lighting up buildings with a “Get well soon” message.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2022