Packed streets pay final respects as Pele is laid to rest

Pele passed away last week after his year-long battle with cancer. Meanwhile, thousands packed the Sao Paulo streets on Tuesday to pay their final respects to the legend before he was finally laid to rest.

Image credit: Getty & PTI

Late-great Brazilian football legend Pele is no more in this world, as he died following his year-long battle with cancer. He breathed his last at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo. He was put for a 24-hour public wake at the Vila Belmiro Stadium in the city, the home stadium of his long-time football club Santos. After the wake ended on Tuesday morning, he was taken out on his final journey through the city's streets flanked by thousands who paid their last respects to the legend, while many called him the 'King'.

Image credit: Getty

The wake had begun on Monday, where Pele was welcomed to the ground from the hospital as fans set off fireworks and waved flags en route to the venue. While his coffin was placed at the centre of the pitch, as visitors paid a visit to him for the last time, he was taken to the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica that overlooks the stadium just half a mile away, reports FotMob.

Pele was laid to rest on the ninth floor of the high-rise cemetery. In the meantime, the Santos City Hall confirmed that it had witnessed over 2,30,000 footfall at the venue during the wake, while crowds still came in strong while he was being carried for cremation. He was taken along the beachfront, as his coffin was placed on the top of a fire van, wrapped in a Brazilian flag.

Supporters accompanied him alongside and behind the van, waving the Santos flag, while some long-time Santos buffs also applauded him. His body was also taken past his 100-year-old mother's house. Also, an overhead shot of the Santos beach displayed a message in the heart, which read, "Pele will be eternal."