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."
Michael Beale hails performance of Jack Butland in Rangers win over Real Betis
Michael Beale praised the performance of Jack Butland as Rangers opened their Europa League group stage campaign with a 1-0 home win over Real Betis.
Abdallah Sima was the matchwinner with a second-half strike but Butland ensured the victory with a number of big saves, including two late on from substitute Rodri.
The former England goalkeeper arrived at Ibrox in the summer to succeed Allan McGregor and Beale felt Butland was already proving his worth.
The Rangers manager said: “Jack was taking over from a modern day legend at the club and there were a lot of eyes on him.
“But I’ve known about Jack for a number of years and all he’s had here is an opportunity to play and show his quality.
“It’s still very early in his Rangers career but we’re delighted with him.
“To get him as a free transfer, I think we’ve done very well.
“But it’s only the start of his Rangers career.”
Beale felt his players had been “outstanding” in the second half as they started to dominate the contest.
But he warned they would need to back it up in the league, starting with Sunday’s visit of Motherwell to Ibrox.
He added: “It was a big result and well done to the players.
“We had a couple of big moments in the first half, particularly with Rabbi (Matondo) going clean through.
“We did not settle until after 35 minutes and that is something that has been recurring. In the second half I thought we were outstanding and the goal typified that.
“For everybody else it is just a goal off a set-play but we win four first contacts before the goal. In tight games that is what we need to do more of.
“I knew it would be tough and I told the players that at half-time. I told them to step over the line, to commit to the game fully and not be a seven out of 10.
“In that changing room it is worth it but it is just three points and the focus is now Motherwell.
“We have had a couple of bangs on the head this season and we have heard it loud and clear from the outside.
“We have had two clean sheets since the international break and that is a real positive sign.
“But, nothing is done. It is just one performance.”
Roberto De Zerbi happy with Brighton players despite defeat to AEK Athens
Roberto De Zerbi congratulated his Brighton players in the dressing room for their performance despite losing 3-2 to AEK Athens on their European debut.
Despite dominating the ball and dictating the shape of the game in wet and difficult conditions at the Amex Stadium, Brighton were undone by an AEK side who made the best of what little they created and were clinical when their moments came.
First, the right-back Djibril Sidibe dashed into the box unmarked at a corner and flew into a superb diving header that nestled in the corner.
It was a lead they twice should have doubled when striker Levi Garcia went through on goal, first denied by goalkeeper Jason Steele then sliding the ball beyond the post as two glorious chances were wasted.
Brighton hit back through a penalty from Joao Pedro after a VAR check, the same means by which they levelled for a second time after the break. In between, Mijat Gacinovic had restored AEK’s lead, sliding in at a free-kick to finish from near the penalty spot.
Brighton were missing the injured Lewis Dunk in defence and his absence was felt again when substitute Ezequiel Ponce was given space on the counter-attack to win it for the Greek champions late on.
“We conceded three goals,” said De Zerbi. “Two goals in set pieces and one incredible goal, the third. We made some mistakes in the (final third) of the pitch, for example the chance of Joao Pedro in the second half, or the chance for Igor in the first half. But in terms of quality of play we played a very good game, I think.
“I’m really proud for the performance. I think we showed not the right experience, or maybe not the same experience as AEK Athens.
“But for the rest I think we played with personality and with the right attitude. We controlled the game, we dominated the game. And we are sad for the result.
“We are sad because we couldn’t make happy our fans, ourselves, our club. But we have to analyse the performance and the performance was good.
“We can learn. We have to learn. We can improve, but it’s difficult to accept this defeat. I congratulated the players 10 minutes ago, because I can’t be happy when we win at Old Trafford and sad today if the performances are both good performances.
“We have to know, and we knew before the game, that AEK had two situations where they could score; set-pieces and counter-attack. And when we’re defending set-pieces against this team, we have to be more focused, more with the right attitude, more smart to defend the set-pieces.”
De Zerbi confirmed that Dunk and striker Evan Ferguson had been ruled out of contention earlier on Thursday.
“Dunk couldn’t play because after the game with Man United he felt a problem,” he added. “This afternoon Evan had a temperature, he is ill.”
AEK manager Matias Almeyda reflected on a win which he hoped will help cement his team’s reputation as a serious European force this season.
“We work on the basis of playing a type of football based on team work,” he said. “I live my life the way I manage the team. I like to respect people and I like to be respected. We want to be respected in Europe and we wanted to get a result to gain that respect.
“We have been working together for over a year. We came here in order to play our usual game. The opposition on a number of occasions forced us to play a different kind of game. But it’s spirit of the team, a fighting spirit, and that’s what we have managed to achieve. To keep on fighting.”
Kudos for Mohammed Kudus as West Ham boss David Moyes reflects on comeback win
David Moyes gave the kudos to Mohammed Kudus after the Ghana winger helped West Ham come from behind to beat Europa League minnows TSC Backa Topola 3-1.
The Hammers made heavy weather of the opening match of their latest European adventure on a stormy night in Stratford, but headers from £38million summer signing Kudus and substitute Tomas Soucek got the Hammers off to a winning start.
East London was hit by torrential rain before kick-off with water cascading through the roof onto the concourses at London Stadium.
The floodgates failed to open on the pitch in the first half, however, despite West Ham being in the rare position of dominating possession on the soggy surface, and they fell behind after a mistake by Angelo Ogbonna.
“Tonight I thought we did enough to win although I didn’t think we were great in a lot of things we did,” said Moyes.
“The goal was probably our own doing but I didn’t fear the worst. It was a game where we had the lot of the ball and gave us a chance to see if we could do what teams have done to us lately.
“The mistake changed the game – but it also made us more determined.
“Kudus I thought started really brightly and came up with an important goal when I couldn’t really see where we would get one from.”
The Hammers had 78 per cent possession in the first half, which was the exact opposite of their stats during the recent smash-and-grab win at Brighton.
But Moyes got a taste of his own medicine when Ogbonna dawdled on the halfway line and Petar Sanic raced clear to give the Serbians a shock lead.
However the Hammers, whose last European outing was their triumphant Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina in June, hit back in the 66th minute, albeit in fortunate fashion as Said Benrahma’s cross was turned in at the far post by TSC defender Nemanja Petrovic.
Kudus got his goal four minutes later and Soucek headed the third – with both coming from James Ward-Prowse corners – to finally ease West Ham nerves.
TSC coach Zarko Lazetic said: “We are disappointed and a little bit angry. We respect the other team, but we felt we definitely had an opportunity.
“Our tactic was to come and win and we feel sorry it didn’t happen.”
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