Sports world reacts to the death of Pele

By
TSN.ca Staff

Published: 

Brazilian soccer legend Pele has died at age 82 after a long battle with colon cancer and complications that arose. The sports world reacts to the death of one of the giants of soccer.

Pele led Brazil to FIFA World Cup championships in 1958, 1962 and 1970 - the only player to accomplish the feat three times.

His 77 international goals was the gold standard for Brazil until Neymar surpassed the total in 2021.

Santos, the side for whom Pelé played 19 seasons and the entirety of his career in Brazil, tweeted out an image of a crown with the simple caption of "Eterno."

Pelé won six league titles in his time at Santos.

Tribute from MLS.

Honoured by his home country, helping Brazil win three World Cups.

Canada Soccer tweeted in tribute of Pelé with photos of his time in Canada.

"We join the sporting world in mourning the passing of one of our sport's greatest players," the tweet read.

Soccer personality Ray Hudson tweeted out his remembrances of Pelé.

"God in football boots, oh yes," Hudson wrote. "A player who was my idol at 10 years old, who I played against as a 22-year-old and who I loved my life, as did the entire world. Peerless Pelé, rest in bliss as the world cries for you, but rejoices that you blessed your beautiful game."

Jamaica's sporting hero, Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, tweeted out a loving message to Pele, calling him a sporting legend.

Argentina and Tottenham Hotspur legend Ossie Ardiles tweeted out a photo from the 1981 Sylvester Stallone movie Escape to Victory in which he appeared alongside Pelé.

"The King of Kings has died," Ardiles wrote. "Extraordinary player. Unique. 3 times World Cup winner, more than a thousand goals. My idol when young. He made football the beautiful game and truly international. My time playing alongside him in Escape to Victory was a dream come true. RIP Pelé."

English football tweeted out a picture of Pele exchanging jerseys with Bobby Moore, taken after Brazil defeated England 1-0 in the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

The country referred to Pele as "one of the greatest to have graced the beautiful game," in the tweet.

Thiago Silva, who plays centreback for Brazil's national team and has accumulated seven goals in 113 international appearances, called Pele the King of football and shared an image of Pele striking a bicycle kick.

Former United States President Barack Obama tweeted in memory of Pele, calling him one of the greatest to ever play the game and lauding his influence on the world through his magnificence on the soccer pitch.