Brazilian soccer legend Pele on Saturday said that he feels “strong, with a lot of hope,” despite medical problems that have kept the 82-year-old sports icon in the hospital with a respiratory infection.
Pele, widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time, was hospitalized earlier this week amid ongoing colon cancer treatments.
“My friends, I want to keep everyone calm and positive,” Pele wrote on Instagram. “I’m strong, with a lot of hope and I follow my treatment as usual.”
Photo: AFP
Doctors treating Pele earlier on Saturday said that the Brazilian legend remained “stable,” with his condition not having deteriorated over the past day.
Pele “has had a good response to care without any worsening in the clinical picture in the last 24 hours,” doctors at Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital said in a statement.
Doctors made no reference to media reports earlier on Saturday that the three-time FIFA World Cup winner was receiving end-of-life care.
Pele was admitted to hospital earlier this week for what doctors said was a “re-evaluation” of the chemotherapy he has been undergoing since surgery to remove a colon tumor in September last year.
At the World Cup in Qatar, players expressed their support for Pele.
“Pray for the King,” France striker Kylian Mbappe wrote on Twitter.
England captain Harry Kane offered his support for Pele at a news conference.
“We send our best wishes to him and obviously all his family as well,” Kane said. “He is an inspiration amongst our game and an incredible footballer and incredible person. We wish him well.”
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Zach LaVine on Thursday scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory against defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics, while LeBron James once again made history. LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season. “We’re a good team,” LaVine said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.” Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to rally past
Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior on Tuesday won The Best FIFA Men’s Player award at a ceremony in Doha, while Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati picked up the women’s prize for the second time. The award came two months after 24-year-old Vinicius was second in the Ballon d’Or, with Real Madrid electing to snub the ceremony when they found out beforehand that Manchester City midfielder Rodri was set to win the trophy. This time, the Brazilian was on hand to collect the prize in person as he is in Qatar with his club ahead of their Intercontinental Cup final clash with Mexico’s Pachuca. “Thank