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Gianni Infantino (52, 2nd from left) takes a selfie when Pelé († 82) is laid out in public. The corpse of the football icon can be seen in the image below.
Emotional day for Brazilian football fans: At the public wake for Pelé († 82) in the FC Santos stadium, fans can say goodbye to what is probably the greatest footballer of all time.
Also on site: Fifa President Gianni Infantino (52). The Swiss mourns with other greats of world football, poses for photos and signs the condolence book.
He shares some impressions of the day on his Instagram profile and writes, among other things, that he feels honored to be in Brazil and to pay tribute to the life of the great Pelé.
Infantino takes a selfie next to Pelé’s coffin
Special scene during Infantino’s performance: right next to the open coffin, he takes a selfie with Pelé’s former Santos companions. He poses smiling for the camera, the corpse of the football icon is only a few meters away.
Criticism immediately hails, the photo is described as “impious” on social media. The Valais defends himself on Instagram: “Pelé’s teammates asked for a selfie, but they didn’t know how to do it. To help, I took one’s phone and took the picture of all of us for him.”
The 52-year-old continues: “If it causes criticism, if you help a teammate from Pelé, then I’ll gladly accept it.” He will continue to lend a helping hand, especially to those who have helped write “legendary stories of football”.
This is how the Fifa President wants to honor Pelé
In addition, Infantino has a curious idea to honor Pelé: “I propose that all 211 of our member associations pay tribute to his memory by naming one of their stadiums after him in his honor”.
In the future, the younger generation would also know who Pelé was and what luck he brought to football. (bjl)