'Play ball together in the sky': Pele had written after Maradona's death

Pele and Diego Maradona had tremendous mutual respect and admiration for each other's skills.

Brazilian football legend Pele, who died on Thursday, and Argentine great Diego Maradona had tremendous mutual respect and admiration for each other's skills.

FIFA, football’s highest governing body, had declared Pele and Diego Maradona jointly the players of the 20th century.

Maradona died of a heart attack in November 2020, at the age of 60. Pele was 82. Despite a 20-year age difference, the two were good friends for decades and are widely regarded the most gifted to have played the beautiful game.

When Maradona died, Pele had paid a moving tribute.

“What sad news. I lost a great friend and the world lost a legend. There is still much to be said, but for now, may God give strength to family members. One day, I hope we can play ball together in the sky,” Pele had written on Instagram along with a picture of Maradona.

Unlike Maradona, one of his rivals for the title of greatest of all time, Pele was seen as close to those in power, including Brazil's 1964-1985 military regime.

Pele’s death after a long battle with cancer was caused by "multiple organ failure," the Albert Einstein hospital in Brazil’s Sao Paulo said in a statement, confirming the news from the legend's family.

His death triggered a wave of tributes from the sports world and beyond.

Football star Lionel Messi was among those who paid tribute.

“Descansa en paz (Rest in peace),” the FIFA World Cup-winning Argentina captain wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of him with Pele.

In a moving tribute, Brazil forward Neymar hailed Pele, the only man to win three World Cups, in a social media post alongside two pictures of himself with the legend.

"Before Pele, '10' was just a number," the heir to Pele's famed shirt number wrote on Instagram.

"But that beautiful sentence is incomplete. I would say that before Pele, football was just a sport.

"He transformed football into an art, into entertainment... Football and Brazil gained status thanks to the King. He has gone, but his magic will remain. Pele is eternal,” Neymar said.