Soccer legend Pelé, 81, will remain at the hospital in Sao Paulo for a couple more days despite being in stable condition. He underwent chemotherapy treatment on Wednesday for a colon tumor. Pelé remains in high spirits and has been documenting his hospitalization on Instagram.
“I’m going to take this chance to do a new battery of exams, so I’m going to stay here for a few days,” Pelé shared. “Don’t worry, I’m just getting ready for the holiday season! I wanted to share this achievement (his last chemo session of the year) with you. After all, every little victory is a reason to celebrate, don’t you think?
Pelé is widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time. He is a three-time World Cup winner and has been a prominent figure since he won his first World Cup as a teenager in 1958. He is still Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals, despite retiring 44 years ago. After retirement, Pelé became a worldwide ambassador for football and continued to stay in the public eye on the screen through movies and commercials.
Despite health issues in the past few years, including a hip surgery that left him unable to walk on his own and reports of depression due to declining health, Pelé has continued to assure fans that he is doing well. Some fans may be concerned about the extra few days of hospital stay, but his daughter says this was planned all along.
“In two or three days he will be back home to enjoy Christmas,” she wrote on Instagram. “This was not a surprise. It was already scheduled and is part of the treatment.”
