Brazil Football Legend Pele to Spend Christmas in Hospital

Brazil's football legend Pele will spend Christmas in the hospital after his health worsened during a visit to regulate his cancer medication.

On Wednesday, doctors at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said the former soccer requires "elevated care" related to kidney and cardiac dysfunction.

"Our Christmas at home has been suspended," his daughter Kely Nascimento said on Instagram on Wednesday.

"We decided with the doctors that, for various reasons, it would be better for us to stay here with all the care that this new family at Einstein gives us.

The 82-year-old football player — widely considered to be one of the world's greatest — has been in the hospital since late November. 

Pele has been undergoing chemotherapy since having a tumor in his colon removed in September 2021.

He led Brazil to victory in the 1958, 1962, and 1970 World Cups. The football great remains the national team's all-time leading scorer with 77 goals.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Brazilian team held a banner on the pitch honoring Pele while fans also unfurled a giant banner that read: "Pele, get well soon."

Following Argentina's victory against France on Sunday, Pele hailed performances from Argentinian team leader Lionel Messi and France's rising star Kylian Mbappe, as well as semi-finalists Morocco.

"Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way," he wrote on Instagram. "What a gift it was to watch this spectacle of the future of our sport."