Soccer Legend Pele Hospitalized for Cancer Treatment

Brazilian soccer legend Pele was recently hospitalized for chemotherapy treatment of a colon tumor Wednesday, according to CNN. A spokesperson from Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital told CNN, that Pele is “in stable condition and expected to be released in the next few days.”

Back in September, Pele, 81 underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his right colon, which was discovered during a routine examination. In an Instagram post at the time, Pele wrote: “When the path is difficult, celebrate each step of the journey. Focus on your happiness. It’s true that I can’t jump anymore, but these past few days, I’ve been punching the air more times than usual. Thanks also to all of you, who from afar, make my life complete with so many messages of love.”

Pele is considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. FIFA labeled Pele as “the greatest,” and in 1999, the International Olympic Committee named him the Athlete of the Century. In his career, Pele played for Santos from 1956-74 and the New York Cosmos from 1975-77. In his club career, Pele scored 655 goals in 700 appearances. He also helped Santos win multiple league titles and helped the Cosmos win the North American Soccer League championship in 1977. 

Pele was a member of Team Brazil from 1957-71. He helped the team win the World Cup three times (1958, 1962, 1970) along with other titles. Pele still holds the record for most goals scored by a team Brazil player with 77. However, current Brazilian star Neymar is in second place with 70 goals. 

“I never wanted to be a leader,” Pele said in an interview with Harvard Business Review in 2014. “But everybody knows my history. It came naturally. All the focus was on me. I just tried to pass on my best to the other players, to tell them what I thought was important in my life. We had our coaches off the field, and I had very good relationships with them because they gave me the freedom to work. But sometimes the field is so big they can’t talk to the players, so you have to help pass the message, organize the team, be the leader.” Pele scored a total of 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which is considered a Guinness World Record.