Pelé, one of the world's most famous and renowned soccer players, has sadly passed away at the age of 82.
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The Brazilian soccer star's death was confirmed by his manager, Joe Fraga, on 29 December.
He passed away in a hospital in São Paulo, having previously been placed in palliative care earlier this month for an advanced form of cancer.
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He started playing soccer for the Brazilian national football team in 1957 at age 16, and was considered a national treasure in his country, as well as credited for popularizing the sport in the United States.
Following a 21-year soccer career, at his last game in October of 1977, with his father and Muhammad Ali next to him at the Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, he exclaimed to the crowd: "Say with me three times now," stating, "For the kids: Love! Love! Love!"
Named by his parents Edson Arantes do Nascimento, throughout his 21-year tenure in the sport, he scored 1,283 goals in 1,367 professional matches, including 77 goals for the Brazilian national team.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPelé was arguably the most famous soccer player
He was born on 23 October, 1940, in Três Corações, a small rural town in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
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Edson, the name he was born with, was in honor of Thomas Edison, in light of electricity coming to their town for the first time shortly before his birth.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe star is survived by his seven children
In a 2006 memoir, Clive Toye, former president and general manager of the New York Cosmos, who Pelé played for, said of him: "I wish he had gone on playing forever," adding: "But then, so does everyone else who saw him play, and those football people who never saw him play are the unluckiest people in the world."
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