Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, full name Edson Arantes do Nascimento, will remain hospitalized during Christmas in the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo. His family agreed with doctors that he isn’t in the best condition to return home.
According to AP News, the Albert Einstein hospital confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that the 82-year-old soccer star is being treated for “kidney and cardiac dysfunctions.”
The Washington Post reported that Pelé has been fighting cancer with chemotherapy since 2021 following colon tumor removal. Newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported on Dec. 3 that Pelé wasn’t responding to chemotherapy, which the former soccer player’s family said was false.
Pelé’s daughter, Kely Cristina Nascimento, posted an update on Instagram on Thursday about her father spending time in the hospital during the holidays.
“Insta family, our Christmas at home has been suspended,” Nascimento wrote in the caption. “We decided with the doctors that, for various reasons, it would be better for us to stay here with all the care that this new family at Einstein gives us!! We, as always, thank you for all the love you show us here in Brazil as well as around the world! Your love for him and your stories and prayers are a HUGE comfort because we know we are not alone.”
Nascimento continued, “We are going to turn this room into a Sambódromo (just kidding), we will even make caipirinhas ((not kidding!!). We wish everyone who celebrates a Christmas that filled with family, full of children, some fighting and TONS of love and Health!!”
She ended the post by saying that she would post an update next week.
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The three-time World Cup winner was hospitalized at the beginning of December to treat a respiratory infection exacerbated by COVID-19, per a News Onyx report. Pelé did respond well to treatment for the infection, but AP reported that the hospital didn’t mention any signs of it in the recent update.
Pelé posted a photo of the hospital’s update on his health and expressed gratitude for the positive messages and love.
“My friends, I want to keep everyone calm and positive,” he wrote. “I’m strong, with a lot of hope, and I follow my treatment as usual. I want to thank the entire medical and nursing team for all the care I have received.”
He added, “I have a lot of faith in God, and every message of love I receive from you all over the world keeps me full of energy. And watch Brazil in the World Cup too! Thank you so much for everything.”
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