Pele Claims To Feel Strong And Full Of Hope

Pele (Instagram @pele)

JAKARTA - Brazilian football legend Pele said on Saturday night (Sunday WIB) that he felt "strong, with great hope" despite medical problems that left the 82-year-old sports icon hospitalized with respiratory infections.

Pele, widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, was taken to hospital earlier this week amid ongoing colon cancer treatment.

"Friends, I want to keep everyone calm and positive," Pele said in an Instagram post, as reported by Antara. "I am strong, with great hope and I am undergoing my treatment as usual."

Pele's treating doctor said Saturday morning that the Brazilian legend remained "stable," with his unfavorable condition on the final day.

Pele "in a good response and in treatment his condition has not deteriorated based on a clinical picture in the past 24 hours," doctors at Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement.

Doctors did not refer to previous media reports on Saturday that the three-time World Cup winner underwent life-end treatment.

Pele was hospitalized earlier this week for what doctors said was a "re-evaluation" of the chemotherapy he has been undergoing since surgery to remove colon tumors in September last year.

At the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, the players expressed their support for Pele.

French striker Kylian Mbappe on Saturday tweeted: "Prayer to the King."

England captain Harry Kane expressed his support for Pele at a press conference ahead of his team's last 16 match against Senegal.

"We sent our best wishes to him and of course his whole family too," Kane said.

"He is an inspiration between our game and an amazing footballer and an extraordinary person. We wish him all the best."

Pele was the only footballer in history to win three World Cups -- 1958, 1962 and 1970 -- and was one of the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.

Dubbed "O Rei" (The King), he scored more than 1,200 goals in one of the most famous sporting careers, before retiring in 1977.

A charming streak from an early age and shocking the 1958 World Cup when he was 17 years old, scoring a hatite in the semifinals and two more goals in the final, catapulting his own career and launching the Brazilian national team football dynasty..

In recent years, Pele has faced deteriorating health but has dealt with issues with good humor.

In his post on Instagram on Saturday, the sports legend said the flow of love messages from around the world " keeps me excited" and said he also wanted to "watch Brazil at the World Cup!"