Pele’s daughters Flavia and Kely Nascimento have revealed that their father had COVID-19 before being hospitalised.
Brazilian newspapers had reported that Pele was not responding to chemotherapy and had started to receive palliative care to relieve pain and shortness of breath, but Kely and Flavia insisted that this is not the case.
“About three weeks ago he caught Covid. He was vaccinated with all the vaccines, but because of the cancer medicine, the chemotherapy, he was fragile and got a lung infection. Really? It’s serious because he has a certain age and is treating cancer,” Kely said.
“It is very unfair to start talking about him being terminally ill, undergoing palliative treatment. It’s not that. Believe us. More than anyone else, we don’t want that moment to come.
“Of course, one day it will happen, but it’s not now, you don’t need to be in that alarm anticipating a situation that doesn’t exist now,” she added.
Pele is a Brazilian legend, he helped Brazil win the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups and remains the team’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals in 92 matches.
Te 82-year-old has suffered from a series of health issues in recent years, including a hip surgery that left him with recurring pain.
Pele was admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital, in Sao Paulo, on November 29. Meanwhile, ESPN found that Pele would have shown mental confusion, heart failure and body swelling.
So far, Pele’s doctors have not confirmed the diagnosis. But ESPN reported they have already started antibiotic treatment to contain the situation.
Pele said on Instagram that he was in the hospital for a routine consultation, refuting rumors that it would be a serious hospitalisation.
He took the opportunity to thank him for the tribute received in Qatar, with a wish for improvement projected on giant screens in the midst of the World Cup.
