Paris mourns the death of O Rei

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Pele passed away on 29 December. Paris Saint-Germain sends its condolences to friends, family and the entire Brazilian people at this sad time.

The football world says goodbye to one of its greatest legends tonight. A player who took football to another level.

Pele and Paris is a love story that began just after the creation of the club... In July 1971, Guy Crescent, then President of Paris Saint-Germain, travelled to Brazil and tried to convince O Rei, then the best player in the world for Santos, to join the club. For family reasons, the Brazilian number 10 declined the offer, thanking the club's directors.

The Parc des Princes waited a few years before finally seeing the universal star of the game, in the New York Cosmos shirt, on his farewell tour of Europe. On 14 September 1976, the Parisian public honoured the number 10, who was clearly moved by the welcome he received.

On 15 May 1981, on the sidelines of a match between France and Brazil at the Parc des Princes, Pele was emotionally presented with the Champion of the Century trophy by the daily sports paper L'Équipe, underlined the link betwseen Paris, France, and football's greatest player.

Since that visit, Pele has been a guest of the Parisian club and its President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. On 9 March 2014, as part of his role as ambassador for the World Cup in Brazil, he was symbolically presented with a shirt bearing the number 10 by Paris captain Thiago Silva. At the time, Pele said: "I have a great affection for Paris and France in general, and Paris Saint-Germain can become one of the best clubs in the world."

A great supporter of Neymar Jr, who now wears the number 10 shirt for the Seleção, and Kylian Mbappé, whom he made one of his successors from the 2018 World Cup, King Pele also paid tribute to Lionel Messi last year after the Argentine player won his seventh Ballon d'Or, saying, "It's a fitting tribute to a talent that is second to none."

A few days ago, he also congratulated the latter two after the World Cup final between France and Argentina and the Albiceleste's triumph in Qatar: "Congratulations to Argentina! Diego is certainly smiling now. Today, football continues to tell its story, as always in an exciting way. Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved. My dear friend Mbappé scoring four goals in a final. What a gift it was to witness this spectacle for the future of our sport."

Pele waited until the World Cup was over to fly to the footballing heavens. This Thursday evening, Paris Saint-Germain is thinking of the Brazilian and his family.