CNN —
Thousands lined the streets Tuesday arsenic a ceremonial procession took shot large Pelé to his last resting place.
It had started astatine the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, location of Pelé’s erstwhile nine Santos, and his coffin was carried done the streets of the metropolis of Santos, including the thoroughfare wherever Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.
It continued to the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery, wherever a backstage ceremonial would beryllium held for household members.
The three-time World Cup victor died connected Thursday astatine the property of 82 from aggregate organ nonaccomplishment owed to the progression of colon cancer.
Tributes from astir the satellite person poured successful ever since, with radical of each ages flocking to his 24-hour nationalist wake, which began connected Monday astatine Santos’ 16,000-seater stadium, popularly known arsenic “Vila Belmiro.”
More than 230,000 people, galore wearing Brazil’s iconic yellowish jersey, had attended the wake, according to Santos.
The doors to the stadium closed with thousands of mourners inactive successful enactment and radical were turned away, according to CNN teams connected the ground.
Huge crowds past lined the streets, waving flags and applauding arsenic the Brazilian’s coffin passed by.
Pelé’s sister, Lucia, was seen tearfully waving from a balcony astatine crowds who had gathered extracurricular her mother’s house. The coffin past arrived astatine the cemetery.
Brazilian president Lula da Silva arrived astatine the aftermath connected Tuesday greeting with constabulary information “very much” reinforced to accommodate the President’s presence, Santos told CNN.
“Pele is incomparable, arsenic a shot subordinate and arsenic a quality being,” Lula said Tuesday, per Reuters.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino besides traveled to Brazil to wage his respects connected Monday.
“Pelé is eternal,” Infantino told reporters, per Reuters. “FIFA volition surely grant the ‘king’ arsenic helium deserves.
“We person asked each shot associations successful the satellite to wage a infinitesimal of soundlessness earlier each crippled and volition besides inquire them, 211 countries, to sanction a stadium aft Pelé. Future generations indispensable cognize and retrieve who Pelé was.”
For much than 60 years, the sanction Pelé has been synonymous with football. He played successful 4 World Cups and is the lone subordinate successful past to triumph three, but his bequest stretched acold beyond his trophy haul and singular goalscoring record.
“I was calved to play football, conscionable similar Beethoven was calved to constitute euphony and Michelangelo was calved to paint,” Pelé famously said.
Pelé, calved Edson Arantes bash Nascimento, is wide regarded arsenic 1 of the top players successful past and Brazil held 3 days of nationalist mourning pursuing his death.