Brazilian Football Legend Pele Hospitalized, Placed Under ‘Special Care’


74-year-old Brazilian football legend Pele has been admitted to a special care unit at a Sao Paulo hospital after complications following treatment for a urinary infection. According to BBC, Pele, a three time World Cup-winning team member for Brazil was admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo after suffering “clinical instability”.

There were conflicting reports about the actual condition of Pele initially with Yahoo! News saying that the condition of the football legend is stable and improving. Earlier, a Sky News report had said that his condition was worsening. That report was based on a statement by the hospital which said that Pele was transferred to the special care unit after his condition had worsened. As reported by the BBC, Pele is now in a special care unit at the hospital which is deemed to be at a lower criticality level compared to an intensive care unit. He was admitted to the hospital earlier this week and following treatment, was initially placed under intensive care. Earlier, Pele was discharged from the same hospital on November 13 after he underwent a surgery to remove kidney stones.

To alleviate all concerns regarding Pele, who is considered a national hero by Brazil, Jose Fornos Rodrigues, Pele’s spokesman and personal aide, confirmed that Pele is still doing fine.

”He is fine. The problem was that he was receiving too many visitors and that wasn’t helping, so they transferred him to a calmer area to continue receiving the proper treatment. He should be out of the hospital in a few days.”

Following the statement issued by the hospital, the entire nation of Brazil was shocked. It became a top news story across all media networks and was widely reported in the local media. Later, hospital officials confirmed that the three-time World Cup champion was not in an intensive care unit and was just being monitored — much to the relief of his fans.

Pele, who is widely considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, was a member of the World Cup-winning Brazilian team from 1958, 1962 and 1970. He has scored an incredible 1,281 goals in 1,363 games in a career spanning 21 years. This remains a world record to this day. He was also awarded the Fifa Golden Ball award for being the best player at the 1970 World Cup. More recently, Pele was a special ambassador for Brazil at this year’s World Cup.

[Image Via Planet F1]

Share this article: Brazilian Football Legend Pele Hospitalized, Placed Under ‘Special Care’
More from Inquisitr