SAO PAULO: Pelé’s final resting place will be on the ninth floor of the Necropole Ecumenical Memorial Cemetery with its view of the Santos’ Vila Belmiro.

The cemetery is a 14-story building in Santos, Brazil with 14,000 vaults, a waterfalls and a car museum building also contains a chapel, lagoon, peacock garden, waterfalls, an aviary full of parrots and toucans and even a small restaurant.

Pelé spent a lot of time selecting his final ‘burial’ spot, his final wish was to be buried in his beloved hometown, Santos. He chose floor nine to pay homage to his father who always wore the No9 shirt as a player.

From where Pelé’s coffin will lay forever you could clearly see the iconic Santos stadium less than half a mile away. His devoted fans believe that Pelé will always be able to “see” his favourite football pitch for eternity.

The Brazilian football confederation has raised a huge poster of Pelé on its headquarters building in Rio de Janeiro, with the message ‘Eterno’, Portuguese for ‘Eternal’ written above it.

Pelé, throughout his career, from 1956 to 1974 scored more than 1279 goals, scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches and is the only three-time World Champion, winning titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

He became one of the most commanding sports figures of the 20th century. In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by both the IOC and FIFA.

His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, are recognised as a Guinness World Record. Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16. He was nicknamed O Rei (The King) following the 1958 World Cup.

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