Santos legend and soccer icon Pelé’s funeral took place yesterday at the Urbano Caldeira stadium, many soccer dignitaries and FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended the wake. Thousands of Santos and Brazilian soccer supporters also were allowed inside the stadium to pay their respects to the three-time world champion.
One person who was expected to make the wake but did not was joint leading Brazilian national team scorer Neymar. Neymar remained in Paris to train with PSG, but said news was not well received by the Brazilian media. One of the key points made by the press was that Neymar once asked PSG to let him enjoy Carnival in Rio de Janeiro but could not get permission to attend Pelé’s wake.
Neymar andPelé shared a similar career path, both players would rise to fame at Santos, and both won the Copa Libertadores. Pelé had anointed Neymar as one of the best players to come from Brazilian soccer in a long time.
Why didn’t Neymar go to Pelé’s wake?
PSG did not want their players, especially those who missed training due to the World Cup, to miss any more training sessions. Still Brasil Urgente presenter Jose Luiz Datena, stated that he felt Neymar could have done more to attend such a milestone event.
Neymar wrote on his Instagram at the time of Pelé’s death, “Before Pele, ’10’ was just a number… I read this sentence somewhere, at some point in my life. But this beautiful sentence is incomplete. I would say that before Pele, football was just a sport. Pele changed everything.
He turned football into art, into entertainment. He gave a voice to the poor, to blacks and above all he gave visibility to Brazil. Football and Brazil have raised their status thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will remain. Pele is ETERNAL!”