Pele died at the age of 82 on December 29, 2023 after a battle with cancer and was buried in world’s largest tomb in a gold coffin.
He was given a burial fit for a king, with the three-time World Cup winner being laid to rest in a golden coffin.
On Monday his mausoleum on the second floor of the 14-storey tall Ecumenical Memorial Cemetery in Santos, Brazil, was opened for the general public.
In the entrance of his tomb, there is a two life-size golden statues of Pele at the door.
The statue in the cemetery are both flanked by the flags of Brazil and Santos.
There is also an artificial grass as substitute for a carpet once you step inside the cemetery.
The walls of the 200-square-metre space are also plastered with pictures of fans in a stadium, and a soundtrack of cheers being played.
The celling is having an exquisite decorative touch with a touch of sky blue colorations.
Pele’s Golden Coffin – which is in the center of the room – is the most striking and attractive feature in his tomb.
The centre-piece is topped with a cross and has black etchings on the side which depict his 1000th goal and iconic raised-fist celebration.
Edson Cholbi ado Nascimento, Pele’s son told reporters in an interview that: “This was made with a lot of love by people who knew him, who lived with him. It has the essence of what he was.”
A 44-year-old businessman Ronaldo Rodrigues, who was the first fan to visit told Citizen Digital that: “It surpassed my expectations. It’s a really beautiful place.”
The tomb itself can only allow a limit of 60 visitors a day, which is done via a sign-up form on the cemetery’s website.
Pele has amassed an astonishing goal record during his playing time and also won the World Cup trophies three times.
Pele himself claimed he had scored 1,283 goals, which would put him on top of footballs all-time scoring charts.
Guinness World Records however reduced his tally down to 1.279, while RSSSF (Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation) has his tally down with a still impressive 778 strikes.
Pele
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who is also known by his nickname Pelé was a Brazilian footballer who played as a forward and lived between 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022.
Pele is considered as one of the greatest players of all time. He was among the most successful and popular sports personnel of the 20th century.
The late Brazilian was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999 and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
In the year 2000, Pele was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century.
