Pele’s funeral: Thousands line Santos streets as the Brazilian football legend is laid to rest

Thousands of mourners lined the streets as Brazilian football legend Pele was laid to rest in Santos, his former club’s hometown.

Pele had been lying in state in the center of the pitch at the club’s Urbano Caldeira stadium for 24 hours, allowing fans to pay their respects.

On Tuesday, people thronged the streets as his coffin was carried on a fire truck to a private family funeral.

Pele, a three-time World Cup winner, died on December 29th at the age of 82.

He had been receiving treatment for colon cancer since 2021, making him arguably the greatest footballer of all time.

Following his death, the Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning, and the country’s new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, traveled to Santos to pay his respects.

Pele’s coffin was carried on a fire truck through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, draped in a Brazilian flag.

The procession also passed by the home of his mother, Celeste Arantes, who is 100 years old.

More than 230,000 people attended his 24-hour wake in the Vila Belmiro stadium, where a steady stream of mourners continued through the night, according to Santos FC.

The funeral procession will end at the port city’s Memorial Cemetery, where Pele will be interred in a 10-story mausoleum that holds the Guinness World Record for the tallest cemetery on Earth.

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