Pele to be laid to rest in 14-floor ‘vertical cemetery’ in Santos with 14,000 vaults, a waterfall and a car museum after the football legend’s death aged 82
- Pele will be taken to the Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos for a 24-hour wake
- He will then be taken through the streets to stop outside his mother’s home
- Pele will finally be laid to rest in private at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica
Pele will be buried in a 14 storey cemetery in the centre of Santos on Tuesday following three days of official mourning.
The three-time World Cup champion, who died yesterday, will be taken from the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paolo on Monday to the Vila Belmiro Stadium where members of the public will be able to pay their final respects.
His body will remain on the centre circle for 24 hours before he is taken through the streets of his home city to stop briefly outside the home of his 100-year-old mother, Celeste, who is bed-bound, according to local media.
He will then be taken to the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica, which was dubbed ‘A Tomb With A View’ in a 2014 short film on the cemetery, claimed to be the world’s tallest.
Football legend Pele, pictured in New York in 1975, will be laid to rest in a massive multi-story cemetery in Santos on Tuesday
He will be laid to rest at the 14-storey Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery in Santos, pictured
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died on Thursday following a long battle against cancer. The legend, better known as Pele, was 82.
The vertical cemetery was built in 1983 and has more than 14,000 vaults. It has a tropical garden, restaurant and even a classic car museum.
Pele won the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
His funeral has been delayed to allow the transition of power from outgoing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and the inauguration of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday morning.
Across Brazil, there has been widespread grief with monuments lit up in the nation’s flag to celebrate the footballing legend
A 24-hour public wake will be held at the Vila Belmiro stadium, home of Santos, where Pele played much of his career
Outside Santos City Hall, floral tributes spelling out their most famous son have been left by mourners
Brazilians are beginning three days of official mourning for the three-time World Cup winner
This weekend’s New Year fixtures in the Premier League will pay tribute to the legendary player.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Pele’s influence in the world game will be everlasting.
Three-times World Cup winner Pele, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday at the age of 82 after a lengthy battle with colon cancer.
The Brazilian’s death has sparked a huge outpouring of affection and respect from around the globe.
Guardiola said: ‘On behalf of Manchester City, the biggest condolences for his family and friends. Football is football thanks to these types of people.
‘Neymar said a great sentence when he said before (Pele) number 10 was just a number and after it became something special.
‘Every top player wanted to wear number 10 in their team. What he has done for football is there and always will remain.
Members of the public will be able to get 24 hours to pay tribute to Pele as his coffin lies on the centre circle of the pitch where he played the majority of his career
Monuments across the globe have been lit up in memory of Pele, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro
‘It’s like a good movie, the legacy after many years. That we are still talking about him like a good movie or a good book is because he was so good.
‘I think Pele, (Diego) Maradona, (Johan) Cruyff, (Lionel) Messi, (Franz) Beckenbauer, Cristiano Ronaldo – these type of players will be forever, they will be eternal.
‘They have done many things in many years on the pitch and off it and with their teams and countries.
‘These type of players make our business, our work, our job, however you want to say it, a better place because what he produced, what we have seen in the World Cup, what one team can produce can change 48 million people, the country. It’s unbelievable.’
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said the Brazilian players in his Gunners side, which include Gabriel Magalhaes, vice-captain Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Marquinhos, have been mourning the death of their compatriot.
He said: ‘We did talk about (his legacy) the other day and obviously they are very emotional because he’s one of the most popular figures in Brazil, and it’s a big loss.
‘Obviously everything that I’ve seen of him and hear of him has been through videos and people who knew him personally, and a lot of relationships I’ve had always in football, but someone that probably changed the dimension of a single player in world football, because he could do a bit of everything.
‘He was probably the most complete player that the game has ever seen, and it is a big loss. We had two big losses with him and Maradona in the last (two years).’
Frank Lampard, the former England and Chelsea midfielder who is now manager of Everton, recognises the enormous impact Pele had in the game.
Lampard, 44, said: ‘There’s huge respect for him as a player and as a person, as all the responses since yesterday have shown. He was a great man as well as a great player.
‘He was one of the greatest without doubt, so a sad day for football.
‘The reach of his name in the game was obviously huge. It just gets bigger with age. We have lost him unfortunately but his name will continue for evermore because of his impact on the game.’
The Premier League and EFL have said as a mark of respect, all games this weekend will see players wear black armbands with a minute’s applause prior to kick-off.
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