Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes has paid tribute to Pele following the death of the Brazil legend. The three-time World Cup winner passed away on Thursday at the age of 82, having been in hospital in Sao Paulo since late November.
The Brazilian government announced a three-day national period of mourning for a footballer widely regarded as the best player of all time. Tributes for Pele have poured in from the footballing community, with England World Cup winners Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst among those to pay their respects.
Guimaraes was among the Brazil squad to show their support for Pele with a poster ahead of their World Cup knockout victory over South Korea earlier this month. The Santos hero was taken to hospital after he stopped responding to chemotherapy treatment for bowel cancer.
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Guimaraes has now taken to social media to pay his own emotional tribute to his country's biggest icon. The Magpies midfielder wrote: "What remains, King, is your legacy, your story and everything you did. We are grateful for everything you have provided. Rest in peace."
Pele was a relentless goalscorer, and is credited with 1,281 of them across the length of his career by the official FIFA website. Santos announced his funeral will take place on Monday and Tuesday, with the public able to pay their final respects at the Vila Belmiro Stadium, outside Sao Paulo.
Pele's coffin will be taken straight from the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo to the stadium and laid in the centre of the pitch, with the public wake expected to begin from 10am local time until Tuesday morning.
There will then be a funeral cortege through the streets of Santos, passing in front of the home of Pele's 100-year-old mother, Celeste, ahead of a private burial to take place at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica which only family will attend.
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