Pele’s daughters tell his supporters that he will return home

• Pele’s children assured his supporters on Sunday that their father’s health was not in danger
• That they were certain he would return home once his respiratory infection cleared up

Since Tuesday, the 82-year-old patient in Sao Paulo has been receiving treatment for colon cancer, which was initially discovered in September 2021.

According to Kely Arantes Nascimento, Pele “is ailing, he is older, but at this point, he is hospitalised for a lung infection.”

She added, “And when he gets better, he’ll come home.”

She insisted, “We are not saying goodbye in the hospital,” outlining how the respiratory condition was brought on by a COVID-19 infection the athletic legend had had three weeks earlier.

Flavia Arantes Nascimento, her sister, refuted claims made by ESPN Brazil and the daily Folha de S.Paulo that Pele was no longer responding to chemotherapy and was instead only receiving “palliative care.”

The family was “weary of getting condolences,” she said, adding that the cancer therapy is “delivering results” and that her father was not in the intensive care unit but rather a regular ward.

“The fact that they are claiming he is near death is incredibly cruel. It’s not like that, trust us “She spoke.

Fans of Pele, real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento, gathered in front of the hospital where the three-time world champion is being treated earlier on Sunday.

For the recovery of the guy largely recognised as the greatest footballer of all time, more than 100 devoted followers prayed.

One supporter, Marcos Bispo dos Santos, told AFP that “we are a spiritual force” praying for the sports hero as he fights “one of the toughest battles of his life.”

Pele’s condition was described as “stable” by medical staff at Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital on Saturday.

According to a statement, Pele “has had an excellent reaction to care without any worsening in the clinical picture in the last 24 hours.”

Later, the celebrity expressed optimism in an Instagram post by writing, “My friends, I hope to maintain everyone’s composure and optimism. I am resilient, full of optimism, and I continue to receive medication as prescribed.”

On Sunday, his supporters held a banner with the words “Torcida Joven” and an image of a young Pele outside the clinic in the western Sao Paulo neighbourhood of Morumbi (“Young Fans”).

Posters with the message “Long live the king!” were stuck to walls near hospital doors.

The supporters gathered in a circle at midday and recited a “Our Father” while clasping hands.

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