Brazilian football legend Pelé is receiving palliative care after chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer stopped having the expected results, report said on Saturday.

Pelé, 82, who is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday to re-evaluate his cancer treatment and later diagnosed with a respiratory infection, according to medical reports.

Folha de S. Paulo reported that chemotherapy had now been suspended and that Pelé was under palliative care, being treated only for symptoms such as pain and shortness of breath.

His manager and the Albert Einstein hospital, in São Paulo, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A medical report released on Friday said Pelé had an adequate response to an antibiotic treatment and was in a stable condition “with general improvement in health status”.

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