AL RAYYAN, Qatar — The Torch hotel outside Khalifa Stadium has a message on its side tonight sending well wishes to Pelé, the three-time World Cup winner from Brazil who has been battling cancer.
A Brazilian newspaper reported that Pelé, 82, was no longer responding to chemotherapy treatments and had been moved to palliative care, suggesting he would no longer take aggressive measures to fight his cancer.
The report did not suggest that his death was imminent; such scares have been common in recent years each time Pelé, one of the world’s most famous sportsmen, has entered the hospital for treatment.
Pelé’s own Instagram account attempted to push back on the most recent reports this week that noted he was back in the hospital.
“Friends, I am at the hospital making my monthly visit,” said a message under a different photo of him on a building in Doha. “It’s always nice to receive positive messages like this. Thanks to Qatar for this tribute, and to everyone who sends me good vibes!”
Pelé’s daughter Kely Nascimento had said on Instagram earlier this week that there was “no surprise or emergency” in her father’s condition.
“Lots of alarm in the media today concerning my dad’s health,” Nascimento wrote at the time. “There is no emergency or new dire prediction. I will be there for New Year’s and promise to post some pictures.”
