The US space agency “NASA” honored, through its Twitter account, the Brazilian legend Pele, who died on Thursday at the age of 82, after a long struggle with cancer.
The honor came through an image of a spiral galaxy in the colors of the Brazilian flag (green, yellow and blue).
And NASA said in a statement: “The late player is known to many as the “King of the Beautiful Game (…) This image is of a spiral galaxy in the colors of Brazil, on the occasion of the death of the legend Pele, known to many as the (King of the Beautiful Game).”
On Thursday, outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro declared 3 days of official mourning for Pele's death, in a decree published in the Official Gazette.
The decree stated that "official mourning has been declared throughout the country (...) in a gesture of honor after the death of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele" after suffering from cancer at the age of 82.
Bolsonaro said that Pele "carried the name of Brazil to the whole world. He turned football into art and joy."
For his part, Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva bid farewell to his country's legend, saying on Twitter: "There was no number 10 like him."
And Lula, who takes over his presidential duties on Sunday, continued: "Few Brazilians carried the name of our country to the extreme as much as he did... He not only played, but gave a comprehensive show," stressing that he enjoyed the privilege of watching Pele play live. "Thank you Pele," he added.
