Farewell to 'The King': Pele arrives at his final resting place

Farewell to ‘The King’: Pele arrives at his final resting place in the world’s tallest cemetery after his coffin was carried through Santos on a fire truck and past his 100-year-old mother’s house as tens of thousands of tearful fans lined the streets

• Pele’s coffin was carried on a fire truck through the streets of Santos from the stadium to the burial site
• It was then gingerly lowered onto the shoulders of soldiers who carried Pele’s remains into the cemetery 
• It passed in front of his 100-year-old mother’s house where his sister appeared waving from the balcony 
• The Brazilian legend was lying in state at the stadium in Santos for 24 hours, attended by 230,000 fans 

The coffin of Brazilian football legend Pele has arrived at its final resting place after a massive procession through the city of Santos in Sao Paulo state which saw more than 200,000 people line the streets to pay their respects to the fallen legend.

Pele’s casket, draped in the Brazilian flag and that of his longtime club, Santos FC, arrived atop a red firetruck at the Santos Memorial Cemetery, near the stadium where ‘The King’ began his rise to become what many consider the greatest footballer of all time.

It was then gingerly lowered onto the shoulders of National Guard soldiers who carried him into the vertical cemetery which stands a whopping 14 stories high.

Pele’s remains will be interred in a mausoleum at the cemetery following a private ceremony this evening.

It comes after the great one’s coffin was cheered through the city streets, having been carried out of his beloved stadium as thousands of mourners came to pay tribute to their footballing icon. 

Pele’s coffin was gingerly lowered onto the shoulders of National Guard soldiers who carried him into the vertical cemetery which stands a whopping 14 stories high

Members of the National Guard carry the casket of Brazilian soccer legend Pele to the cemetery

The legend’s coffin is carried into the cemetery close to the Santos  stadium where he scored hundreds of goals

The coffin of the late Brazilian football star Pele is transported to the Santos’ Memorial Cemetery after the funeral procession in Santos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil on January 3, 2023

Pele’s coffin has been cheered along the streets of Santos after being carried out of his beloved stadium as thousands of mourners including new president Lula came to pay their respects to the Brazilian footballing icon

A flood of fans, politicians and football dignitaries have flocked to pay their respects to the player known as ‘The King’ in the southeastern city of Santos

Fans of the late Brazilian football star Pele gather on the street as a firetruck transports Pele’s coffin to the Santos Memorial Cemetery

Pele’s sister Maria Lucia Nascimento makes a heart sign to the huge crowds gathered below her mother’s house as the procession goes past

Pele’s sister Maria Lucia Nascimento, family members, and friends bid farewell to the Brazilian football legend

Huge crowds of fans almost brought the procession to a standstill as it moved from the Vila Belmiro stadium to the burial site

Tens of thousands of fans, political leaders and football dignitaries including FIFA president Gianni Infantino have filed through the stadium since the wake began Monday morning

Members of the National Guard are pictured as the casket is covered in flowers during the procession through the streets of Santos

Fans are pictured with banners as the casket of Brazilian soccer legend Pele is transported

Pele, the only player in history to win three World Cups, scored a world record 1,281 goals during his more than two-decade career with Santos

Draped in the flags of Santos and Brazil, the coffin was then hoisted to the top of a bright red fire truck for a massive funeral procession through the streets of Santos

The funeral cortege will end at the port city’s Memorial Cemetery, where a Catholic funeral service will be held

Throngs of fans, bikers and drivers honked their horns and tried to touch the fire engine carrying the coffin, almost bringing the procession to a standstill as it moved from the Vila Belmiro stadium to the burial site, passing the beach and the house of Pele’s 100-year-old mother.

His grieving sister Maria Lucia appeared on the balcony and waved to the throngs below but his mother Celeste Arantes did not make an appearance.

Earlier, Brazilian president Lula and his first lady, Rosangela ‘Janja’ da Silva, were visibly moved at the open casket service and paused before the coffin, and embraced Pele’s grieving widow, while a minute’s silence for the triple World Cup winner was also held.

Before today’s procession and service, an estimated 230,000 people stood in hours-long queues to visit his open casket.

Pele died aged 82 on December 29 after a long battle with cancer.

Pele’s coffin has been cheered along the streets of Santos after being carried out of his beloved Santos stadium

Throngs of fans, bikers and drivers honked their horns and tried to touch the fire engine carrying the black coffin

The casket was draped in the flags of Santos and Brazil as it was carried through the thronging crowd in Santos today

A mourner reacts as Brazilian soccer legend Pele is transported by the fire department

The black coffin was draped in the flags of Brazil and Santos as it was carried on the back of a fire truck through the streets 

The woman wearing a Santos shirt could not control her emotions as Brazil continues to mourn one of its most famous sons

Fans threw white petals during the emotional procession through the streets of his boyhood club Santos

In this aerial picture fans of the late Brazilian football star Pele gather on the street as a firetruck transports Pele’s coffin to the Santos’ Memorial Cemetery

Fans pack the streets and hold up Pele football shirts to pay tribute to their iconic star

More than 150,000 people including President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid their respects to the Brazilian soccer great Pele in the coastal city of Santos

Pele’s coffin has been carried out of his beloved Santos stadium after thousands of mourners including new president Lula came to pay their respects

Pele’s coffin was carried out of the stadium this morning by pallbearers dressed in black

Many were decked out in Santos colours to honour the club’s hero as the streets were filled with crowds of mourners

A vicar wearing a shirt featuring multiple pictures of Pele throughout his footballing career salutes the procession

Pele’s mother ‘Dona Celeste,’ as she is known in Brazil, celebrated her 100th birthday on November 20 – the day the 2022 World Cup kicked off in Qatar.

She was 17 when she gave birth to her first child on October 23, 1940, a baby who would grow up to be the man widely considered the greatest footballer of all time.

Family members say she has cognitive difficulties and is unaware her world-famous son has died.

‘She’s doing well, but she’s in her own little world,’ her daughter, Maria Lucia, who lives with her in the southeastern city of Santos, told ESPN on Friday.

Mourners began paying their respects to Pele in a solemn procession past his coffin at the Vila Belmiro Stadium in his home town of Santos on Monday.

Pele’s coffin was placed on the Santos field where he scored scored some of the best goals of his career. Thousands of mourners draped in Pele shirts and flags walked past his casket in the 16,000-seat stadium outside Sao Paulo.

Vila Belmiro was decorated with Brazilian flags and No 10 shirts that became popular after Pele started wearing them for Santos and Brazil.

The stands filled up with bouquets of flowers placed by mourners and sent by clubs and star players – Neymar and Ronaldo among them – from around the world as loudspeakers played a song named Eu Sou Pele (I Am Pele) that was recorded by the Brazilian himself.

Fans waited in three-hour queues snaking around the Urbano Caldeira stadium to see his coffin on the centre circle of the pitch. 

Pictured: Brazil ‘s new president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva comforts Pele’s widow at the footballing stars wake in Santos, Brazil on Tuesday

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (left) greets the son of late Brazilian football legend Pele, Edinho (right), during his wake at the Urbano Caldeira stadium in Santos, January 3

Lula and First Lady Rosangela ‘Janja’ da Silva paused before Pele’s coffin and embraced his widow and other family members

Lula, who took office Sunday in a ceremony that started with a minute’s silence for Pele, travelled to the southeastern city of Santos to pay his respects to family and friends

The black coffin was carried outside the stadium on a small vehicle before it was transferred to a fire truck for the procession

Pelé will be buried Tuesday in the city where he grew up, became famous, and helped make into a global capital of football

Fans of the late Brazilian football star Pele observe from windows as a firetruck transports Pele’s coffin to the Santos’ Memorial Cemetery

As the procession passed by the beach, some dressed in bikinis and trunks came to pay their respects to the legendary footballer

People pray outside the home of the mother of Brazilian soccer great Pele during his funeral procession

Pele will be taken to the burial at a nearby cemetery for close friends and family at 5pm.

The triple World Cup winner reportedly chose a special mausoleum at a burial site on the ninth floor of a nearby cemetery which will allow him to watch over the stadium.

Former Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto and Pele’s son Edinho were among those who placed his coffin on the pitch during a ceremony before fans and well-wishers were allowed to pay their respects.

Brazil’s government had declared three days of national mourning after Pele’s death.

The nation’s newly appointed president Lula took office on January 1, beginning his third term in office. 

‘Pele is incomparable, as a soccer player and as a human being,’ said Lula, who arrived by helicopter at the stadium where a giant banner read ‘Long Live The King’.  

He later comforted Pele’s family members and listened to a Catholic ceremony alongside First Lady Rosangela da Silva.

‘The most fantastic thing is that Pele never held his nose in the air, he treated everyone the same,’ Lula told Santos TV.

Dubbed the ‘king of soccer,’ Pele played for Santos from 1956 to 1974, scoring more than 1,000 goals.

Celebrities and authorities also paid their respects. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was one of the first to attend the memorial on Monday and said he would ask football associations around the world to name a stadium after Pele, the only man to win the World Cup three times as a player.

Some soccer stars attended the wake, including former Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto, who helped place Pele’s coffin in the center of the field on Monday.

But only two of the 67 living Brazilian world champions attended the service – 1994 World Cup winner Mauro Silva, who works for the Sao Paulo state FA, and 1970 champion Clodoaldo, who works for Santos – prompting criticism from some commentators.

Mass was celebrated at the Vila Belmiro stadium before his casket was ushered through the streets of Santos to a nearby cemetery

The funeral procession through Santos will go past the house of Pele’s mother, 100-year-old Celeste Arantes, who is still alive

The massive funeral procession will end at a cemetery where the player widely considered the greatest of all time will be interred in a private ceremony

Brazil’s new president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (pictured centre) visited Pele’s open casket on Tuesday, as one of his first actions as the country’s new head of state

The Brazilian star died on December 29 at the age of 82 after a long battle with cancer, and was mourned on Monday and Tuesday at the stadium of his long-time club Santos, where thousands of people arrived to bid him farewell. Pictured: Pele’s son Edinho is pictured with mourners as the body of Brazilian soccer legend Pele is seen in his casket, as he lays in state on the pitch of his former club Santos’ Vila Belmiro stadium

Football fans line up to attend the funeral of the late Brazilian soccer legend Pele at the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos, Brazil, early Tuesday, January 3

Pictured: Pele of Brazil celebrates the victory after winnings the 1970 World Cup in Mexico

Geovana Sarmento, 17, waited in the three-hour line to view his body as it lay in repose. She came with her father, who was wearing a Brazil shirt with Pelé’s name.

‘I am not a Santos fan, neither is my father. But this guy invented Brazil’s national team. He made Santos stronger, he made it big, how could you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people ever, we needed to honor him,’ she said.

Caio Zalke, 35, an engineer, wore a Brazil shirt as he waited in line. ‘Pelé is the most important Brazilian of all time. He made the sport important for Brazil and he made Brazil important for the world,’ he said.

A notable absentee was Jair Bolsonaro, whose term as president ended Dec. 31. A day before, he departed capital Brasilia on a flight to Florida, shirking the ceremonial duty of passing the presidential sash to Lula. Bolsonaro is staying in a complex outside Orlando and has been filmed speaking to neighbours.

In the 1960s and 70s, Pele was perhaps the world’s most famous athlete. He met presidents and queens, and in Nigeria a civil war was put on hold to watch him play. Many Brazilians credit him with putting the country on the world stage for the first time.

The crowd was mostly local, although some came from far away. Many mourners were too young ever to have seen Pele play. The mood was light, as people filtered out of the stadium to local bars, wearing Santos FC and Brazil shirts.

Claudio Carrança, 32, a salesman, said: ‘I never saw him play, but loving Pele is a tradition that goes from father to son in Santos. I learned his history, saw his goals, and I see how Santos FC is important because he is important. I know some Santos fans have children supporting other teams. But that’s just because they never saw Pelé in action. If they had, they would feel this gratitude I feel now.’

Among those at the stadium was Pele’s best friend Manoel Maria, also a former Santos player.

‘If I had all the wealth in the world I would never be able to repay what this man did for me and my family,’ Maria said. ‘He was as great a man as he was as a player; the best of all time. His legacy will outlive us all. And that can be seen in this long line with people of all ages here.’

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