Pele leaves a legacy "impossible to summarise in words" but FIFA president Gianni Infantino believes the Brazil great "achieved immortality" after his death on Thursday.
Sao Paolo's Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital confirmed multiple organ failure as the cause of death for the three-time World Cup winner, who many consider to be the greatest footballer of all time.
The Santos legend had been battling colon cancer, with his family travelling to join him earlier in December after being moved into palliative care when his body stopped responding to treatment.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo Nazario and Cristiano Ronaldo paid tribute to the 82-year-old before Infantino joined a plethora of players, clubs and sporting organisations to offer their kind recollections.
"For everyone who loves the beautiful game, this is the day we never wanted to come. The day we lost Pele," Infantino wrote in a statement published by FIFA.
"'O Rei' [The King] was unique in so many ways. He was the only player to have won the World Cup three times and his skill and imagination were incomparable.
"Pele did things that no other player would even dream of, such as the famous dummy in the 1970 World Cup semi-final that became known as the Pele run-around.
"Or the goal he scored in the 1958 World Cup final as a 17-year-old when he flicked the ball over a defender and volleyed it into the net.
"The sight of him punching the air in celebration is one of the most iconic in our sport, and is etched into our history.
"In fact, because televised football was still in his infancy at the time, we only saw small glimpses of what he was capable of."
Pele, who scored 643 goals in 659 matches for Santos over an 18-year period, helped Brazil to World Cup success in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – no player in the tournament's history has won it more often.
He remains the youngest player to ever win the competition and the youngest to score in the final after achieving the remarkable feat when he was just 17 years and 249 days old.
His 77-goal international haul still stands as a Brazilian record despite Neymar matching the benchmark in Qatar with a quarter-final strike against Croatia, leading Infantino to hail Pele's legacy.
"Most importantly, 'The King' rose to the throne with a smile on his face. Football could be brutal in those days, and Pele was often on the receiving end of some rough treatment," he continued.
"But, while he knew how to stand up for himself, he was always an exemplary sportsman, with genuine respect for his opponents. I had the great privilege of meeting him on several occasions.
"The moments spent with him will forever remain in my memory and in my heart. Pele had a magnetic presence and, when you were with him, the rest of the world stopped.
"His life is about more than football. He changed perceptions for the better in Brazil, in South America and across the world. His legacy is impossible to summarise in words.
"To his family and friends, to CBF [the Brazilian Football Confederation], to Brazil and to all football fans who loved him so much, I express my sincere condolences.
"Today, we all mourn the loss of the physical presence of our dear Pele, but he achieved immortality a long time ago and therefore he will be with us for eternity."
Tuchel bemoans lack of focus as Bayern slump to final-day defeat
Departing Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with his team's lack of focus following their 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Bayern threw away a two-goal lead, condemning them to a third-place finish behind unbeaten Bayern Leverkusen and Stuttgart
After failing to win the Bundesliga title for a 12th consecutive season, Tuchel's side will also go without domestic or European silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
"We started really well, but then we had a string of individual mistakes," Tuchel said in a short press conference.
The coach is leaving Bayern after just over a year in charge after the club announced his departure in February. There had been talks to potentially reverse that decision last week, but no agreement was reached.
"In the second half we played well for 15 minutes, but then it was again a series of individual mistakes and loss of possession," Tuchel said. "We gave away a two-goal lead for a completely unnecessary and bitter defeat."
Despite a string of injury absences, Bayern were 2-0 up by the sixth minute but Hoffenheim scored four times, including an Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in the second half to turn the game around.
"It happens far too often, like that. It happened in Stuttgart where we conceded two late goals [for a 3-1 defeat]. In Heidenheim, the same [for a 3-2 loss]. Here the same. It just happens too often," Tuchel added.
"I have an explanation for that, but it is not for the public."
Bayern's Aleksandar Pavlovic, who is part of Germany's preliminary Euro 2024 squad, went off injured early in the match and will undergo further tests.
"He twisted his ankle. We will have to wait and see what the checks show," Tuchel said.
Man City will come back fighting after WSL title loss - Taylor
Gareth Taylor says that Manchester City will "come back fighting" after losing out on the Women’s Super League title on the final day.
City beat Aston Villa 2-1 thanks to goals from Mary Fowler and Lauren Hemp on Saturday, but ultimately fell just short, missing out to Chelsea on goal difference.
Emma Hayes led the Blues to a fifth consecutive WSL title with a 6-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford, having made up their inferior goal difference with an equally impressive 8-0 win over Bristol City two weeks ago.
Taylor has reflected on a "mix of emotions" after narrowly missing out on being champions.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, he said: "I feel really proud of the team's performance. The mad thing is we could have maybe scored double figures today quite easily. That's the difference.
"To win 18 games in the season and still come up short is not easy but we have. It's been a big push from the team, we've worked incredibly hard, and we'll come back fighting."
When asked what lessons City can take from this season, Taylor added: "We need to improve in all areas. We have to have potentially better options from the sidelines. I think that's really key.
"I'm so enthusiastic about the way we played today. A lot of the stuff we did was really good. That's what inspires me to get up in the morning and fight for next season's title."
Goalkeeper Khiara Keating became the youngest-ever Golden Glove winner in her breakout season, as the 19-year-old kept nine clean sheets in 22 league games and conceded just 15 goals in total.
While disappointed about Saturday’s outcome, Keating looked back on the highlights of her season.
She said: "Obviously we are disappointed. We wanted to go out and win a trophy today. We knew what we had to do, and we didn't quite get it done.
"Hopefully next season in the Champions League we can show what we're about and go and win some trophies.
"From a personal point of view, my breakout season had a lot to prove at the start of the season, everyone was kind of.. Not doubting but wondering what I'd be like. I hope I've shown everyone what I can do.
"Gaz [Taylor] put his faith in me to go and play how I play and that is what I needed to go out there and do what I did this season."
Union Berlin survive Bundesliga relegation after stoppage-time winner against Freiburg
Union Berlin scored a stoppage-time winner against Freiburg to secure their Bundesliga safety, despite missing two penalties on a dramatic final day.
Marco Grote's side, who participated in the Champions League during the first half of this season under former coach Urs Fischer, occupied the relegation play-off spot heading into the final day of the campaign.
Just three points clear of 17th-place Koln, who travelled to Heidenheim, they welcomed Freiburg to Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, knowing a defeat could spell the end of their five-year stay in the German top flight.
Mainz, two points clear of Union in 15th, moved themselves out of the relegation picture with a commanding 3-1 win at Wolfsburg.
That meant one of Union, Bochum or Koln would join already relegated Darmstadt in the second tier. One would have to settle for a play-off place, while the other would survive.
Koln went down 4-1 at Heidenheim, while Bochum's defeat at Werder Bremen by the same scoreline meant Union could leapfrog them with victory over Freiburg.
The hosts, for whom Josip Juranovic missed a first-half penalty, broke the deadlock in the 68th minute through Benedict Hollerbach.
However, they looked set for a relegation play-off when Ritsu Doan equalised for the visitors with five minutes remaining, before substitute Kevin Volland struck the post with his spot-kick early in stoppage time.
Nevertheless, there was to be a dramatic late twist as Janik Haberer struck in the 92nd minute to catapult Union out of the bottom three and to safety in 15th place.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
