RIP Pele: Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities like Vicky Kaushal, Kareena Kapoor and others paid moving tribute to the legendary gootball player as he passed away on Friday (December 30). The 'King Of Football' was 82 and died peacefully at his home in presence of his family. Pele's daughter, Kelly Nascimento, posted a social media update where she shared a picture of her along with members of her family, and wrote: "We have to look out for each other, and hold tight." It was said that the conditon of the superstar player was worsening recently and he was put under "elevated care" related to "kidney and cardiac dysfunctions".
From sports fraternity to film celebrities, tributes flowed in for Brazilian football legend Pele. Kareena Kapoor, who is currently on a family vacation in Switzerland, shared a picture of Pele on her Instagram stories and wrote "RIP." On the other hand, Vicky Kaushal also dedicxated a couple of posts for the legendary footballer. The p0ost read, "When Maradona died, Pele said he hopes some day he'll ‘play ball with Maradona in the sky."
Abhishek Bachchan also paid trubute to Pele and said, "As a child my father introduced me to Pelé and his magic. And thus began a lifelong love for football. We had shelves filled with VHS tapes of his and the Brazilian team’s matches. I would religiously watch them with my father. A magician we’ve all been blessed to witness."
He added, "A few years ago, whilst visiting India I somehow managed to get an autographed jersey of his. It has pride of placement in my office. Thank you, sir for teaching us about joga bonito and being such a hero and idol to billions. Rest in Peace to the greatest!"
Madhur Bhandarkar also tweeted, "Farewell, Pelé. (broken heart emoticon) You have changed the History of football. One of the greatest to have graced the beautiful game, Sir your legacy will always be in our hearts. #RIP." While Anupam Kher said, ""Dearest Pele! You and your game, and the way you played it, will always be #GameChanger for millions of people all the world. Whether they played football or not. Thank you for your inspiring life. #RipLegend #OmShanti #Pele."
Meanwhile, Pele made scoring look easy, getting the ball into the net in the most varied and beautiful ways — dribbling past defenders, firing powerful shots, striking well-placed free kicks or using firm headers. Nearly 1,090 of his goals came with the Brazilian club Santos, and 95 were scored with Brazil's national team.
