The three-time FIFA World Cup winner Pelé was hospitalised again this Saturday.
O Rei
He was hospitalised at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, in the south of Sâo Paulo. The hospital's press officer, Mirtes Bogea, confirmed the reason for hospitalisation because of back surgery to a decompressed nerve in his spine.
According to the doctor who is taking care of O Rei, he was already hospitalized five days ago. However his health status is not serious. The family has not authorised the disclosure of the reason for hospitalisation.
History
The 74-year-old has had a history of hospital visits recently. He underwent prostate surgery at the same hospital in May for a procedure to treat a condition that creates urinary problems because of an enlarged prostate, according to doctors.
Tests conducted after that surgery showed there were no such tumors. He was then hospitalised for two weeks in November of last year because of a urinary tract infection that came from surgery to remove kidney stones.
Widely regarded as the greatest player to ever play the sport, he was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, the Football Player of the Century by French Football, the Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee, and Time Magazine named him in their list of 100 most influential people of the 20th century in 1999. In 2013 he received the FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur in recognition of his career and achievements as a global icon of football.
According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful league goal scorer in the world, with 541 league goals in total during his spell at Santos in his native Brazil and for the New York Cosmos in NASL. Overall, he scored 1281 goals in 1363 games - including unofficial friendlies and tour games - for which he was listed in the Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in football.