Thiago Silva labelled Pele as "forever the king of football" as tributes flooded in from Brazil players after the Selecao great's death on Thursday.
The three-time World Cup winner suffered multiple organ failure after being moved to palliative care in Sao Paulo earlier in December when his body stopped responding to cancer treatment.
Sao Paolo's Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital confirmed the cause of the 82-year-old's death before tributes poured in from players, clubs and sporting organisations.
Pele helped Brazil to World Cup success in 1958, 1962 and 1970, with no player in the tournament's history winning more, and the likes of Silva and Casemiro joined in sharing their memories of the former forward.
"Forever the king of football, the Legend!," Chelsea centre-back Silva posted on Twitter alongside a crown emoji. "Rest in peace, Pele. You have changed the history of football.
"Your legacy will always be in our hearts. Thanks for everything!"
Manchester United midfielder Casemiro, who played alongside Silva as Brazil fell to World Cup quarter-final elimination in Qatar, echoed a similar sentiment.
"Rest in peace, king Pele. Thank you for the glory you gave to Brazil and football. Your legacy is eternal," he wrote on social media.
Casemiro's United team-mate Antony labelled Pele as an "example", posting: "The biggest of all! The king, the inspiration, the example, the only one, the ETERNAL!!"
Pele's 77-goal international haul remains a benchmark among Brazilian players, though Neymar matched that record with his World Cup quarter-final strike against Croatia in Qatar.
That scoring form from the former Santos forward inspired numerous current Brazil stars, with young Real Madrid forward Rodrygo recalling the tales told of Pele.
He wrote on Twitter: "What a sadness! 12/29 from today will always become a sad date. We grew up in Santos hearing people talk about you every day, how good you were at playing and as a person.
"Thank God I had the opportunity to meet you in person…"
Richarlison, who excelled as the central striker for Brazil on the global stage in Qatar, added: "Today, football says goodbye to its most beautiful chapter.
"From the guy who dedicated his thousandth goal to children, stopped wars and showed an entire country that he could do more. You are and always will be matchless and eternal, King.
"Thank you and may God welcome you with open arms."
Sheffield United go second after late turnaround, Plymouth continue good home form
Sheffield United staged a late turnaround to win 2-1 away to Bristol City and go second in the Championship, one point behind leaders Sunderland who play on Wednesday.
The game started slowly, with the hosts not opening the scoring until a 75th-minute Anis Mehmeti penalty after a foul on Sinclair Armstrong by goalkeeper Michael Cooper.
The Blades showed great character to haul themselves back into the game, with 18-year-old Ryan One scoring the equaliser in the 86th minute.
But things went up a notch in stoppage time when Robert Dickie was given a straight red card for a cynical foul on Callum O'Hare 35 yards out.
The drama wasn't finished yet and with seconds to go, Harrison Burrows smashed home a left-foot rocket to win the game for the Blades.
At the bottom of the table, Plymouth opened a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth.
The victory means that Wayne Rooney's side have dropped just two points in their last five games at Home Park, having lost six on the bounce in all competitions away.
It is now four without a victory for Portsmouth, who have earned just nine points in their opening 14 matches back in the Championship.
Elsewhere, Middlesbrough responded to their 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City last weekend by beating second-bottom Queens Park Rangers 4-1 on the road.
That was a first victory in three for Michael Carrick's side, who are one place below the play-off positions and trail only by goal difference.
QPR are four points behind fourth-bottom Preston North End, having failed to win any of their last 10 league games.
Real Madrid 1-3 Milan: Visitors seal statement win against defending champions
Milan won an away match against the reigning European Champions for the first time after claiming a stunning 3-1 victory against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The result moves Milan up to 18th in the table on six points from their four games, level with Madrid but behind them by one place on goal difference.
Malick Thiaw headed the visitors into a 12th minute lead at the Bernabeu, planting a powerful header beyond Andrii Lunin after Christian Pulisic's pinpoint corner kick.
But Milan joy was short-lived when Emerson Royal fouled Vinicius Junior in the box 11 minutes later, with the Brazilian stepping up to level the contest from 12 yards.
However, Paulo Fonseca's side entered the break with the lead when former Madrid striker Alvaro Morata finished from close range after being the quickest to react to Rafael Leao's spilled effort.
Leao was again involved for Milan's third, with his driving run ending with a smart cutback to Tijjani Reijnders, who sealed a statement win for the Rossoneri.
Data Debrief: Milan provide Bernabeu fireworks
After losing their opening two games in the Champions League, Milan showed their credentials on the grandest of stages against Madrid.
They were helped by Morata, who haunted his former club once again. The Spaniard has scored in all three of his Champions League games against Madrid, also netting home and away against them with Juventus in 2014-15.
Pulisic also continued his fine form for Milan. He has now been involved in 11 goals in all competitions this season (seven goals, four assists).
Among Serie A players, only Atalanta duo Mateo Retegui (14) and Ademola Lookman (12) have been involved in more.
Carlo Ancelotti has now lost consecutive home games as Madrid manager for the first time, while it’s the first time he’s done so with any side since May 2021 with Everton.
Martinez back in Argentina squad for World Cup qualifiers
Emiliano Martinez has been recalled by Argentina for this month's World Cup qualifiers versus Paraguay and Peru after serving a two-match suspension.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper sat out a 1-1 draw with Venezuela and a 6-0 rout of Bolivia in October after being banned for "offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play" by CONMEBOL.
Martinez had made a lewd gesture with the Copa America trophy ahead of a match against Chile in September, then hit a local television camera after a loss to Colombia.
Valencia midfielder Enzo Barrenechea has been handed his maiden call-up by Lionel Scaloni, while Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho and Leicester City's Facundo Buonanotte have also been recalled.
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi will lead the world champions – who are top of the CONMEBOL qualification group with 22 points – in Paraguay on November 14, before they host Peru five days later.
Argentina squad: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Walter Benitez (PSV), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), German Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Nehuen Perez (Porto), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Enzo Barrenechea (Valencia), Thiago Almada (Botafogo), Facundo Buonanotte (Leicester City), Nicolas Paz (Como), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Valentin Castellanos (Lazio).
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