Neymar led the tributes to Pelé after the Brazil legend’s death on Thursday as the Paris Saint Germain star said his iconic compatriot had “transformed football into an art”.

Pelé passed away aged 82 after suffering “multiple organ failure” following a long battle with cancer and the football world was quick to salute arguably the sport’s greatest ever player.

Nicknamed “O Rei” (The King), Pelé scored more than 1,000 goals before retiring in 1977.

Brazil forward Neymar hailed Pelé, a three-time World Cup winner, in a social media post alongside two pictures of himself with the legend.

“Before Pelé, ‘10’ was just a number,” the heir to Pelé’s famed shirt number wrote on Instagram.

“But that beautiful sentence is incomplete. I would say that before Pelé, football was just a sport. 

“He transformed football into an art, into entertainment... Football and Brazil gained status thanks to the King. He has gone, but his magic will remain. Pelé is ETERNAL!”

Read full story on www.sportsdesk.com.mt

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