Pele funeral to be held at Santos stadium on Monday and Tuesday

Vila Belmiro Stadium will welcome visitors from Monday 10am local time until Tuesday at the same time

Pele's funeral will take place inside the Santos stadium on Monday and Tuesday, the Brazilian club said, when fans will be able to pay their final respects to the football legend.

Pele, whose full name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died Thursday at the age of 82 after a long battle with cancer, sparking an outpouring of tributes from around the world.

Santos, the club where Pele played in Brazil, said in a statement the public will be able to pay their respects at Vila Belmiro Stadium, outside Sao Paulo.

Santos said the coffin carrying the three-time World Cup champion will leave Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo early Monday morning and will be placed in the centre circle of the field.

Visitation will start Monday at 10am local time and finish the next day at the same time.

Pele’s casket will be carried through the streets of Santos and will pass in front of the home of his 100-year-old mother, Celeste. Recent reports in Brazilian media say Pele’s mother cannot leave her bed and is not lucid.

The burial will take place at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica, a vertical cemetery in Santos. Only family will attend.

Pele has a home in Santos, where he lived most of his life. He spent his last years in the city of Guaruja.

Pele had a colon tumour removed in September 2021. Neither his family nor the hospital have said whether it had spread to other organs. He returned to the Albert Einstein hospital on November 29 with Covid-19 and a respiratory infection.

Pele's career - in pictures

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  Pele dribbles past a defender during a friendly match between Malmo and Brazil, on May 8 1960, in Malmo. Pele scored two goals as Brazil won 7-1. AFP

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  The Brazilian striker, wearing his Santos jersey, before playing a friendly match against the French club Racing, on June 13, 1961 in Colombes, in the suburbs of Paris. AFP

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  In June 1962, in Vina del Mar, a few days before a World Cup quarter-final against England. Pele did not participate in that match and was out for the remainder of the competition after pulling a muscle during the first-round match against Czechoslovakia. AFP

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  During a break in training, at Selsdon Park Hotel in London, on May 7, 1963. Getty Images

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  With US politician Robert Kennedy at the Maracana, after Brazil played the Soviet Union, on November 21, 1965. Getty Images

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  Pele marks the 1,000th goal of his career, on December 12, 1969. Getty Images

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  The Brazilian striker and Bobby Moore of England exchange shirts after the World Cup Group C game at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico 7 Jun 1970. Brazil won 1-0. Getty Images

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  Pele shoots during Brazil's match against Czechoslovakia at the 1970 World Cup, in Mexico. Reuters

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  Holding aloft the trophy after Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the World Cup final on June 21, 1970. AFP

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  Pele celebrates after Brazil win the 1970 World Cup, in Mexico. Getty Images

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  The legend is surrounded by a large crowd, in March 1971, at the Champs-Elysees in Paris. AFP

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  Pele introduces French actress Brigitte Bardot to his teammates during a match organised in aid of cancer research in Paris, on April 1, 1971. AFP

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  A retired Pele coaches Japanese boys at the National Stadium in Tokyo, in November 1974. Getty Images

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  During a training session with boys, as part of a trip to Thailand, in December 1974. AFP

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  Embracing former England and Manchester United player Bobby Charlton during the friendly match between Man United and Juventus, in New Jersey, July 2003. Getty Images

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  Pele scores the equalising goal for the Allied Prisoners Of War, during the match against Germany, in the 1981 film 'Escape to Victory'. Reuters

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  Diego Maradona is greeted by guest of honour Pele after the Centenary Classic at Wembley in London, in August 1987. Getty Images

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  Pele is presented with the Greatest Football Player Trophy by George Best, before an American League match between Aztecs and New York Cosmos at the Rose Bowl, in Los Angeles, April 1987. Reuters

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  Bill Clinton, US president at the time, plays with Pele, in October 1997, during a visit to the Mangueira School in the favela of the same name, in Rio de Janeiro. AFP

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  Pele in 1992 at an appearance to promote his tie-up with a credit card company that was sponsor of the 1994 World Cup. AFP

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  Carrying the Olympic Torch out of Maracana Stadium, on Day 10 of the Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay, in Rio De Janiero. The Olympic Flame travelled to 34 cities in 27 countries en route to the Games in Athens. AFP

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  Pele steps in fresh cement to leave his mark on the path of fame at the Maracana, in June 2000. AFP

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  During a friendly to celebrate his 50th birthday in Milan, on October 31, 1990. AFP

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  Pele takes a tour of Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, in Dubai, on January 16, 2014. AFP

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  Pele holding a framed picture of a 1973 football match between his former team Santos and UAE club Al Nasr, after receiving it from former players Mohamed Kahoor and Mohammed Al Khous in Dubai, 2014. AFP

Last week, the hospital said in a statement his cancer had advanced.

Pele led Brazil to World Cup victory in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals. Neymar tied Pele’s record during this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

He passed away peacefully on Thursday, a statement posted to his social media accounts confirmed.

Pele "enchanted the world with his genius in sport, stopped a war, carried out social works all over the world and spread what he most believed to be the cure for all our problems: love," read a post on his Instagram account.

Pele's funeral will take place at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos. AFP

"His message today becomes a legacy for future generations."

The former striker, who also played for New York Cosmos, burst on to the global scene as a 17-year-old at the 1958 World Cup, helping Brazil to the first of their record five successes.

Injury affected his contribution to the 1962 and 1966 finals, but he returned to lead Brazil to a third triumph in Mexico in 1970 as part of what is widely regarded as the greatest international team of all time.

Officially, Pele scored 757 goals in 831 games during a glittering career from 1957 to 1977.