stylistic:tone, linguistic:translation
Death and funeral

In 2021, Pelé was diagnosed with colon cancer. He underwent surgery the same month, and afterwards was treated with several rounds of chemotherapy. In early 2022, metastasis were detected in the intestine, lung and liver. On 29 November, he was admitted to the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in São Paulo due to a respiratory infection after he contracted COVID-19 and for reassessment of the treatment of his colon cancer. On 3 December 2022, it was reported that Pelé had become unresponsive to chemotherapy and that it was replaced with palliative care.

On 21 December 2022, the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, where Pelé was being treated, stated that his tumour had advanced and he required "greater care related to renal and cardiac dysfunctions". Therefore, he was not allowed to spend Christmas at home, as his family had wanted. Pelé died on 29 December 2022, at 3:27 pm, at the age of 82, due to multiple organ failure, a complication of colon cancer. Pelé's death certificate stated that he had died of kidney failure, heart failure, bronchopneumonia and colon adenocarcinoma. He was survived by his 100-year-old mother, Celeste, who, given her advanced age, did not understand her son's death; she would later die in June 2024. Pelé's sister Maria Lucia do Nascimento described their mother as "in her own little world".

"He had a magnetic presence and, when you were with him, the rest of the world stopped. Today, the whole world mourns the loss of Pelé; the greatest footballer of all time."

—FIFA President, Gianni Infantino

Tributes were paid by current players, including Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, along with other major sporting figures, celebrities, and world leaders. The outgoing Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, declared a three-day period of national mourning. The national flags of the 211 member associations of FIFA were flown at half-mast at FIFA headquarters in Zürich. Landmarks and stadiums lit up in honour of Pelé included the Christ the Redeemer statue and Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, the headquarters of CONMEBOL in Paraguay and Wembley Stadium in London. There was applause and a minute's silence at matches in honour of Pelé.

Pelé's funeral, which involved his body being publicly displayed in an open coffin which was draped with the flags of Brazil and Santos FC, began at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos on 2 January 2023. Thousands of fans flooded the streets to attend the first day of the funeral service, with some in attendance claiming that they had to wait three hours in line. The public wake would continue to 3 January, and saw more than 230,000 people in attendance. Many in attendance were wearing the yellow and green No. 10 Brazilian jerseys and the black and white Santos football club jersey, which Pelé wore during his career. Brazil television channels suspended normal broadcasting to cover the funeral procession. Pelé's wife Marcia Aoki, his son Edinho, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez and president of the Brazilian Football Confederation Ednaldo Rodrigues were among those in attendance. It would continue on 3 January 2023. Newly sworn in Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was also among those who attended the wake. After the funeral procession, Pelé was buried at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica.

Kigali Pelé Stadium in Rwanda was renamed for him in March 2023 by Rwandan president Paul Kagame and FIFA president Gianni Infantino as part of the 73rd FIFA Congress. On 26 April 2023, the nickname pelé became synonymous with "exceptional, incomparable, unique" in Michaelis Portuguese-language dictionary after a campaign with 125,000 signatories.