Photos 👇 Thousands of mourners converged on the streets of Santos to attend the funeral of the Brazil football legend, Pele.
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| Fans in thousands converged to catch some view of Pele’s coffin which was carried on a fire truck and slowly driven through the streets of Santos. Photo: Reuters via BBC |
Pele passed away last week, 29 December, at the age of 82 after battle with colon cancer.
The World Cup hero is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, and his huge status was confirmed when people formed massive queues to pay their condolences to his family.
On Tuesday, Pele was finally laid to rest after three days of national mourning in the South American country, declared by the government.
The Brazil football Icon’s coffin was carried on a small vehicle and guarded by ten military guards as it was taken through the Stadium.
A fire truck waited outside the stadium to pick up the coffin as it was driven slowly through the streets of Santos.
It then ended with a private burial ceremony which took place where Pele had chosen to be his final resting place at a cemetary, which is half a mile off the stadium.
Brazil forward, Neymar, was unable to make it to the funeral of Pele at short notice as he is with his French Ligue 1 club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), however, his father, Neymar Santos Senior arrived on his behalf and explained why his son was not present at the funeral ceremony.
He said: “Neymar will not be able to attend Pelé’s funeral. My son asked for me to come here in his presence.”
More photos ⬇️
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| New President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, attended Monday’s memorial. Photo: Reuters via BBC |
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| Thousands of mourners from all over the world converged on the streets of Santos to catch some view of Pele’s coffin and pay their respects. Photo: Getty Images via BBC |
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| Two life-sized bronze statues stood at the entrance to Pele’s tomb on Tuesday following a private ceremony at the Ecumenical Memorial Necropolis cemetery in Santos. Photo: BBC |
