Past and present soccer stars have been wishing Pelé well on social media as the Brazilian great’s health condition remains stable, according to a hospital statemen
AL RAYYAN, Qatar — The Torch hotel outside Khalifa Stadium had a message on its side on Saturday sending well wishes to Pelé, the three-time World Cup winner from Brazil who has been battling colon cancer.
In São Paulo, officials for Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein said in a statement on Saturday that Pelé, 82, was in stable condition after being admitted earlier this week to reassess chemotherapy. Pelé had “a good response” to treatment for a respiratory infection, the statement said, and his health had not worsened in the last 24 hours.
The hospital’s statement came after a Brazilian newspaper suggested that Pelé 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 newspaper report did not suggest that his death was imminent, and the hospital did not say that Pelé had been moved to hospice.
Similar scares have been common in recent years each time Pelé, one of the world’s most famous athletes, 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.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Originally published at The New York Times News Service Syndicate