– Pelé has had enormous significance for us Brazilians – for our self-image as a country. That’s what pensioner Luis Pesseia says, whom news meets at the traditional football bar Real Chopp here in Rio. – Even now when he is seriously ill, he gives our WC team motivation. The players say that his greetings from the hospital bed encourage them to put in extra effort, says the 65-year-old. – No one has meant more to football interest in Brazil than Pelé, says pensioner Luis Pesseia in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Arnt Stefansen / news Pelé is the only player in the world to have won three football World Cups – in 1958, 1962 and 1970. And Luis Pesseia is a great admirer of the now 82-year-old football legend. – Pelé left his mark on all children and young people of his generation. No one has meant as much to the interest in football and the joy of football in Brazil as him. “Most importantly, he has been a role model for children from poor families with dark skin,” says the pensioner here from Rio. “Lying for death” Before the weekend, the news went around the world that Pelé is on his deathbed. According to the major Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, the chemotherapy treatment for his cancer is no longer working. “He now only receives painkillers – so-called palliative treatment,” the newspaper wrote. But at the weekend, one of Pelé’s daughters, Kely Nasciemento, posted the following message on her account on Instagram: – No rush – The media is shouting again and I’m writing this to calm things down. My father is in hospital and his further treatment is being considered, she writes. – But I have no intention of jumping on a plane to go to Brazil. My brothers are there visiting dad and I’m going there for New Year’s weekend. – There is no rush, writes the daughter, who lives in the USA, and is now present during the WC in Qatar. And the football legend writes the following on Instagram: Strong and full of hope – I feel strong and full of hope. I want everyone to be calm and think positively,” writes Pelé. And according to the hospital, he is better after being admitted with a respiratory infection. Brazil’s team pays tribute to Pelé after yesterday’s victory in Qatar. Photo: Andre Penner / AP But Folha de São Paulo will not retract the report that Pelé is terminally ill. “The hospital will not answer our question about what is now happening with the cancer treatment,” writes the Brazilian newspaper. – I react strongly to such press reports, says Luis Pesseia at the Real Chopp bar. – They try to make money from other people’s illness and misfortune, and it is very ugly. It’s very good that the family speaks up, and then the rest of us can pray and hope that he will still live a long time, says the 65-year-old.
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How sick is football legend Pelé? – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
