Thousands of mourners gathered to pay their respects to Brazil foitball legend Pele who is lying in state at the ground of his former club Santos stadium.
Pele’s coffin was placed in the centre of the pitch at the Urbano Caldeira stadium in Sao Paulo, with fans lining the streets to get inside the ground.
The three-time World Cup winner died at the age of 82 on 29 December from colon cancer.
There will be a procession through the streets of Santos to a private family burial on Tuesday.
Pelé’s coffin, draped in the flags of Brazil and the Santos FC football club, was placed on the midfield area of Vila Belmiro, the stadium outside Sao Paulo that was his home for most of his career. A Catholic Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday morning before his burial at a nearby cemetery.
Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Vila Belmiro shortly before Pelé’s coffin was removed from the stadium.
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