Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday expressed his condolences to his Brazilian counterpart for the death the day before of Pelé, a "
remarkable man
" and "
illustrious son of the Brazilian people
", the Kremlin said in a statement.
"
Thanks to his talent, his unique skills, his fascinating beautiful game, football has become the favorite game of millions of people around the world, including in Russia
," Putin said in a condolence telegram to the president. outgoing Jair Bolsonaro.
"
I had the pleasure of communicating in person with this remarkable man and I will forever have the best memories of him
," added the master of the Kremlin.
Triple world champion and considered the greatest football player in history, Pelé died Thursday at the age of 82 at the Albert-Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, where he had been admitted to treat cancer of the colon.
