CELEBRITY
Pele takes his final exit today
An emotional Brazil began paying its final respects on Monday to football legend Pele with a wake at the stadium where he first took the world’s breath away with his dazzling skill.
Throughout the day, thousands of fans and football dignitaries slowly filed through the Vila Belmiro, home to Pele’s long-time club, Santos.
More continued to join the queue as night fell, waiting their turn to walk past the body of “O Rei” (The King), lying at the centre of the field.
Pele’s coffin was draped in the flags of Santos and Brazil and surrounded by white flowers, including bouquets from the likes of Real Madrid or current Brazil star Neymar, whose father was in attendance.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife also sent a wreath, local media reported.
Lula’s office announced earlier that he would attend the wake on Tuesday morning, less than 48 hours after taking office, to “pay his respects and tribute,” before a funeral procession and interment later in the day.
Pele, a three-time World Cup winner widely considered the greatest footballer of all time, died Thursday at age 82 after a battle with cancer.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who attended the wake with the heads of the South American and Brazilian football confederations, said the sport’s governing body would ask all member countries to name a stadium in Pele’s honor.
“Pele is eternal. He’s a global icon of football,” he told journalists in Santos, a southeastern port city 75 kilometers (45 miles) from Sao Paulo.
Carlos Mota and his 12-year-old son Bernardo had traveled more than 500 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro to pay tribute to their hero
“My whole childhood was influenced by what Pele did for Brazil, by his World Cup wins. He was a national idol,” Mota, 59, told AFP.
“I’ve always told my son, there are three indisputable facts: the ball is round, the grass is green and Pele is the greatest of all time.”
Bernardo clearly took the lesson to heart.
“I never saw Pele play, but I’ve seen the videos. He’s the greatest player who ever walked the Earth,” he said.
Seventy-five-year-old retiree Vera Lucia, who had made the trip from Sao Paulo, was also braving the scorching sun to stand in line, which stretched to two kilometers in the early afternoon.
“I’m just devastated,” she said. “We always loved watching his matches as a family.”
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele exploded onto the scene at age 15, when he made his professional debut with Santos.
He went on to win the World Cup three times with Brazil, in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – the only player in history to achieve the feat.
Tributes have poured in from around the world since his death, with a Who’s Who of current and former football greats hailing his genius for the “beautiful game.”
A stream of athletes, politicians, dignitaries and fans are expected in Santos for the wake, though turnout may be dented somewhat by the New Year’s holiday weekend.
Some 7,000 people had filed past the casket by mid-afternoon, according to Brazil’s TV Globo.
Pele’s coffin was carried into the stadium by pallbearers dressed in black, led by his son Edinho.
The late icon’s widow, Marcia Cibele Aoki, his third wife, whom he married in 2016, cried before his open casket as she reached out to touch his head. She also placed a rosary in his coffin.
Other tributes have come in from around Brazil, which held three days of national mourning.
At the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio, a giant poster with Pele’s image bears the word “eternal.”
And Lula’s inauguration Sunday began with a minute’s silence in Pele’s memory.
Pele had been in fragile health, suffering from kidney problems and then colon cancer.
But he remained active on social media, cheering on Brazil from his hospital bed in Sao Paulo during the World Cup in Qatar and consoling the pre-tournament favorites when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals, three weeks before his death.
The wake will be followed by a funeral procession Tuesday through Santos, including past the house of Pele’s mother, 100-year-old Celeste Arantes, who is still alive.
The procession will end at Santos’s Memorial Cemetery, where a Catholic funeral service will be held before Pele is interred in a special mausoleum.
-AFP
A court in Argentina has heard fresh testimony in the ongoing trial over the death of football legend Diego Maradona, with a psychologist telling judges that the late icon suffered from bipolar disorder, narcissistic traits and required strict abstinence from alcohol.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition marked by extreme mood swings ranging from periods of intense emotional “highs” (mania) to deep “lows” (depression).
Carlos Díaz, 34, one of seven medical professionals charged in connection with Maradona’s death, appeared before the court in Buenos Aires on Thursday, where he faces a charge of manslaughter with reckless intent for allegedly prescribing inappropriate medication.
According to Argentine media reports, Díaz told the court that Maradona’s mental health condition was complex and deeply intertwined with substance dependency.
“There was bipolar disorder and narcissism,” Díaz was quoted as saying. “He could bring a country to its knees, but one glass of alcohol could bring him to his knees.”
Díaz said he first met the former Argentina captain on October 26, 2020 — less than a month before his death — and was alarmed by Maradona’s condition. He recalled seeing the football great drinking wine at the time, an image he said reminded him of his late father, who struggled with alcoholism.
The psychologist told the court that he believed Maradona was willing to change his lifestyle and that his treatment approach was centred on complete abstinence from alcohol. He added that toxicology findings indicated the football legend had gone 23 days without drug use before his death.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football history, Maradona enjoyed a glittering career with clubs such as Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli, and famously captained Argentina to victory at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60, following surgery for a subdural hematoma. His death shocked the football world and prompted widespread mourning across Argentina and beyond.
The trial is seeking to determine whether members of his medical and care team bear criminal responsibility for his death, with prosecutors alleging negligence in his treatment and supervision during his final days.
Also testifying on Thursday was neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, another of the defendants. He told the court that Maradona’s home-based care was appropriate under the circumstances and was never intended to function as an intensive-care unit.
The case continues to draw intense public interest in Argentina, where Maradona remains a revered national figure, even as questions persist over the circumstances surrounding his final days.
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Every week, hundreds of people line up to fill a plastic container with food in an unlikely place: the humble home where Argentine soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona was born.
The house in Villa Fiorito, a poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, no longer belongs to the family of Maradona, who died in 2020 after a heart attack. Still, for the last month, its current owner has lent its dirt yard to a group of volunteers who light a grill and cook for neighbours.
Last Thursday, Maria Torres stirred a stew in two large pots while several others peeled potatoes and chopped pieces of chicken. A mural painted on the house’s facade depicts the soccer player next to the words, “The house of god.”
A man cooks stew for residents of the working-class neighbourhood of Villa Fiorito at a soup kitchen set up in the house where late soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona spent his early childhood, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 26, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Miguel Lo Bianco
Poverty has been trending downward in Argentina, with official statistics released on Tuesday showing it dropping to 28.2% of the country’s population in the second half of 2025 from 52.9% in the first half of 2024, when President Javier Milei sharply devalued the peso and inflation spiked.
While there has been a “very important drop” in poverty, Argentina needs to see more GDP growth in labour-intensive sectors, such as mining, as opposed to capital-intensive sectors, such as agriculture, said Eduardo Donza, a sociologist at the Catholic University of Argentina.
Volunteers chop chicken before cooking a stew for residents of the working-class neighbourhood of Villa Fiorito at a soup kitchen set up in the house where late soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona spent his early childhood, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 26, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Miguel Lo Bianco
The drop in the poverty rate has followed a substantial drop in monthly inflation, from double digits when Milei took office to 2.9% in February.
A man cooks stew for residents of the working-class neighbourhood of Villa Fiorito at a soup kitchen set up in the house where late soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona spent his early childhood, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 26, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Miguel Lo Bianco
However, Milei’s austerity measures have sharply diminished the public sector workforce, and many say they have lost purchasing power as the government has cut transportation and energy subsidies.
Volunteers chop chicken before cooking a stew for residents of the working-class neighbourhood of Villa Fiorito at a soup kitchen set up in the house where late soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona spent his early childhood, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 26, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Miguel Lo Bianco
Leonardo Fabian Alvarez, a pastor who runs the makeshift soup kitchen, said he has seen the demand for food in Villa Fiorito and other neighbourhoods grow as small factories have closed. Deregulation and a stronger peso have led to cheaper imports under Milei.
“People obviously lost their jobs,” he said, adding that “they come to the line, pick up food, take what we give them.”
Argentina declared the home of Maradona a National Historic Site in 2021.
-Reuters
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The legacy of Brazilian football legend Pelé has taken a new turn after Neymar Santos Sr, father of Brazil star Neymar Jr, confirmed the acquisition of the commercial rights to Pelé’s name and image through his agency, NR Sports.
Speaking at the Pelé Museum in Santos, Brazil, Neymar Sr said the deal marks a new chapter for one of the most iconic brands in global sport.
“We are proud. I think it’s a very strong brand. We want to strengthen its identity and adapt it to the current era,” he said, describing the project as deeply emotional and nationally significant.
Although financial details were not officially disclosed, Brazilian media estimate the acquisition at around $18 million. The rights had previously belonged to US-based company Sport 10, which many in Brazil accused of underdeveloping a national treasure.
A ‘Repatriation’ of Pelé’s Legacy
NR Sports described the agreement as a “repatriation” of Pelé’s brand—bringing back to Brazil “one of the greatest symbols in the history of world sport.”
Pelé’s daughter, Flavia, attended the announcement and welcomed the move, saying the family had tried—and failed—to reacquire the rights after Pelé’s death in 2022.
“There are no words to describe the emotion of bringing back a brand that embodies soul, humanity, and love. It’s priceless,” she told AFP.
The unveiling was accompanied by an emotional tribute at the Pelé Museum, which erected a massive green screen with Pelé’s iconic logo. A video shared on Pelé’s and NR Sports’ official accounts celebrated the “universal language” of Brazilian football, showing some of the King’s most memorable goals from his World Cup triumphs in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
Neymar Jr: ‘Pelé Was Born to Change Everything’
Neymar Jr, who recently returned to Pelé’s former club Santos and has surpassed the King as Brazil’s all-time top scorer, featured in a promotional video congratulating his father’s company.
“Some are born to play, others are born to change the game. Pelé was born to change everything,” the 33-year-old forward said. “Pelé never stopped being one of us, and now he is officially part of Brazil, again and forever.”
A New Era for an Underused Global Brand
For years, Pelé’s image rights were more prominently exploited abroad than at home—a situation that drew criticism from the family and Brazilian football circles. The new deal is expected to revitalise the Pelé brand through modern marketing, partnerships, and heritage initiatives anchored in Brazil.
“This is the beginning of a motivating project for us. We are very moved,” Neymar Sr added.
Pelé, who died in December 2022 at age 82, remains an enduring symbol in Santos, São Paulo state, where he played from 1956 to 1974 and where thousands still visit his mausoleum.
With the rights now back in Brazilian hands, NR Sports says the goal is clear: preserve, expand, and enrich the legacy of the King of Football for generations to come.
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