Pele has revealed he is very well despite “a little step back” this week in his recovery after surgery to remove a tumour from his colon earlier this month.
The three-time World Cup winner was expected to return home shortly after he left intensive care at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.
However, reports in Brazil on Friday stated the 80-year-old was back in the ICU but his daughter later that night sought to reassure the football community over his health before the Santos great also provided a social-media update.
Perhaps football’s first world superstar, he rose to international prominence when he helped Brazil win the 1958 World Cup as a 17-year-old, repeating the feat in 1962 and 1970.
Officially, he scored 757 goals during a glittering career – club Santos claim his tally was closer to 1,000 – leaving him behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Josef Bican on the all-time list.
