Pele: kidney stones, single kidney, UTI and dialysis
As well as being perhaps the best footballer of all time, Pele had a significant kidney story. If you liked him as a player (I think we all did, even when beating England!), read on.
Pelé (1940- 2022) was a Brazilian football player who represented the Brazil national football team as a forward from 1957 to 1971. For over 50 years, he was the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil, with 77 international goals, which he scored in 92 appearances.
He won three World Cups with Brazil, in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – scoring 12 goals. In 1970 he led the attack with Tostao, Rivelino and Jairzinho.
Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time.
A national hero and a worldwide ambassador to the game, Pelé is regarded by many as the greatest player of all time. He is known as soccer’s most prolific scorer with 1,281 goals in 1,366 (according to FIFA) career matches.
At club level he played for Santos in Brazil and later with the New York Cosmos of the now-defunct North American Soccer League.
Pele suffered AKI in November 2014 after contracting a hospital UTI (and sepsis) following surgery to remove kidney stones. He was looked after at the Israelita Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo.
He required temporary haemodialysis to help support his only kidney. As a player, Pele had surgery to remove a kidney after complications from a broken rib sustained during a game. This meant he had Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
In 2004, he underwent emergency eye surgery for a detached retina and in 2012 he had a hip replacement. He died at the age of 82 year after a battle with colon cancer.
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Last Reviewed on 25 May 2024