Brazil declares 3 days of mourning for Pele

Brazil on Thursday declared three days of mourning over the demise of football legend Pele, reported Brazilian news portal G1 citing a decree signed by outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

According to G1, the decree signed by Bolsonaro reads, "Official mourning is declared throughout the country, for a period of three days, counted from the date of publication of this Decree, as a sign of regret for the death of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele, a former football player."

Pele passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 after battling cancer.

Earlier, Jair Bolsonaro tweeted, "With regret the passing of a man, who through football, took the name of Brazil to the world. He turned football into art and joy. May God comfort your family and welcome you into his infinite mercy."

The funeral of Pele will take place on Monday, January 2, Brazilian news outlet G1 reported citing a statement released by Santos Futebol Clube. His body will be laid to rest at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium in Vila Belmiro in Santos.

The wake for Pele is expected to start at 10 am on Monday and should continue until 10 am on Tuesday, January 3 (local time). when a parade will be held through the streets of Santos.

In a medical bulletin, the Albert Einstein Hospital confirmed that Pele died at 3:27 pm "due to multiple organ failure, a result of the progression of colon cancer associated with his previous clinical condition, as per G1 report.

Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is considered as one of the greatest to ever step on a football pitch. He is the only player to have won three World Cup titles, having won the top prize in football in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

Meanwhile, Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called it a "privilege" that he witnessed Pele play at Pacaembu and Morumbi. He paid tribute to football legend Pele in a series of tweets.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tweeted, "I had the privilege that younger Brazilians didn't have: I saw Pele play, live, at Pacaembu and Morumbi. Play, no. I saw Pele give a show. Because when he got the ball he always did something special, which often ended up in a goal."

"I confess that I was angry with Pele, because he always massacred my Corinthians. But, first of all, I admired him. And the anger soon gave way to the passion of seeing him play with the number 10 shirt of the Brazilian national team," he said in another tweet.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in another tweet, "Few Brazilians took the name of our country as far as he did. As different from Portuguese as the language was, foreigners from the four corners of the planet soon found a way to pronounce the magic word: 'Pele'."

He further stated, "Pele left us today. He went to make a table in heaven with Coutinho, his great partner at Santos. He now has the company of so many eternal stars: Didi, Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Socrates, Maradona... He left a certainty: there had never been a number 10 like him. Thank you, Pele."