PSG and Brazilian team forward Neymar Jr. asked his father, Neymar Santos, to represent him this Monday at the wake for idol Pelé, who died last Thursday at the age of 82.
“With great sadness my son asked me to be here. That in his place I could give support to the family, because one knows how sad it is to lose someone. We did not lose just an athlete, we lost the citizen, we lost the person Pele,” Santos told reporters.
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Neymar’s father arrived at noon on the pitch of the Vila Belmiro stadium, in the city of Santos, where “O Rei” played at home for most of his sports career and his funeral is held.
“Pelé was an inspiration for all of us, he inspired this sport, all generations, Pelé was always a reference. It’s a sad moment for all Brazilians. We lost Edson Arantes. He leaves us sad and Neymar is not coming,” Santos concluded.
The striker, who began his career at Santos, which allowed him to have a close relationship with Edson Arantes do Nascimento “Pelé”, published on his social networks photos of his training this Monday with the team from the French capital.
Another who announced that for health reasons he will not go to the wake to say goodbye to his friend and “partner” on the field was José Macia “Pepe”, 87 years old and historic striker for Santos.
Through his children, Pepe said on his social networks that he is in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo, where he spent New Year’s Eve, and that the family decided to save the former delentaro from returning by road to Santos and “take care of his health emotional”.
The wake began this Monday for fans to pay tribute to the legendary striker, with the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other personalities from the world of football and Brazilian public life.
The Santos club reported that the wake will last 24 hours, until 10:00 a.m. (1:00 p.m. GMT) on Tuesday, when a funeral procession will begin that will go through the streets of Santos, a port city located about 80 kilometers from Sao Paulo, where he died. the idol.
The procession will pass through the Channel 6 area, where Pelé’s mother lives, Celeste Arantes, who is 100 years old, before heading to the Ecumenical Necropolis Memorial Cemetery, where he will be buried in a private ceremony, reserved for family members.
Pelé died last Thursday at the Sao Paulo hospital where he had been admitted for a month due to multi-organ failure caused by colon cancer that was diagnosed in 2021.
