82-Year-Old Brazilian Soccer Great Pelé Hospitalized With Colon Cancer

The health of soccer icon Pelé is worsening, according to Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, where he is hospitalized.

According to CNN, Pelé requires greater care due to the progression of his cancer. The 82-year-old soccer great was admitted to the hospital Nov. 29 for a respiratory infection and “re-evaluation of the chemotherapy treatment over the colon cancer identified in September 2021.”

This week, the hospital released a statement saying that Pelé “presents progression of the oncological disease and requires greater care related to renal (kidney) and cardiac dysfunctions.”

Earlier this month, The Independent reported on the condition of the Brazilian soccer great. He was placed in the hospital at the time to re-evaluate his treatment for colon cancer. Doctors who are treating Pelé have released a statement that was posted to his Instagram account reassuring fans that he is “still undergoing treatment and the state of [his] health remains stable.”

NBC News reported that Pelé’s daughter, Kely Nascimento, said he will be spending the Christmas holiday at the hospital. She posted the news on her Instagram account Wednesday.

“Insta family, our Christmas at home has been suspended. 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.”

Last September the beloved soccer legend, who won three World Cups with Brazil, had surgery to remove a tumor. In an updated report from The Independent earlier this month Nascimento said that Pelé had COVID-19 about a month ago, which led to a respiratory infection.