Xtra Time Web Desk: The football fraternity on Monday paid their last respects to Brazilian soccer legend Pele as the funeral ceremony began at Sao Polo. The three-time former world champion Pele died at the age of 82 after suffering from cancer. Entire Brazil was part of a three days national mourning for the greatest footballer on the planet. Current Brazilian superstar footballer Neymar Jr. is supposed to attend the funeral ceremony.
Fans and well-wishers have gathered at the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos to bid farewell to the legend. Pele’s casket was carried through the streets of Santos and passed in front of the home of his 100-year-old mother, Celeste.
Santos, the club where Pele played, earlier in a statement said that the public would be able to pay tribute at the stadium. The coffin will be placed in the center circle of the field and fans will be allowed from 10 am local time until the following day at the same time.
The burial will take place at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica, a vertical cemetery in Santos, and only family members will be allowed.
Pele passed away on December 29 at the Albert Einstein Hospital after a long battle with cancer. He was receiving treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The doctors stated that Pele died of multiple organ failure, a complication of cancer.