Pele’s daughter has posted an emotional update from the hospital bedside of the Brazilian football icon.
Aged 82, Pele will spend Christmas in the Albert Einstein Hospital, Sao Paulo following news his cancer has worsened.
It was confirmed earlier this month that he was undergoing an extended stay in hospital due to a respiratory infection aggravated by Covid, while he continues his treatment for cancer. He is now under “elevated care” while he experiences kidney and heart trouble.
Many of his family member have now gathered at the hospital, with Kely Nascimento, Pele’s daughter, posting a picture of them all together.
She wrote on Instagram: “Almost all of them. Merry Christmas. Gratitude, love, togetherness, family. The essence of Christmas. We thank you all for all the love and light you send.”
On Saturday, she posted a photograph to Instagram of her alongside Pele in hospital.
“Here we go, in the fight and in faith,” she wrote. “One more night together.”
Edson Cholbi Nascimento, one of Pele’s sons and known as Edinho, arrived Saturday, one day after he gave a news conference to deny he would visit his father in hospital. Edinho, who works for a club in southern Brazil, had said then that only doctors could help his father.
"He is here," Ms Nascimento said on Instagram with a picture showing her sitting next to Edinho and two of his children at the hospital. “I am not leaving, no one will take me out of here.”
Hours later, Edinho, a former Santos goalkeeper, posted a picture showing his hand holding his father's.
“Dad... my strength is yours,” Pele's son said.
