Thousands of fans gathered in Santos, Brazil, to pay their respects for the late soccer legend Pelé.

Pelé’s public wake was held Monday at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium.The soccer star died on Thursdayafterundergoing treatment for colon cancersince September 2021. He was 82.

The three-time World Cup winner’s coffin was placed on the field where he scored some of his best goals — and mourners walked past his casket.

Pelé’s public wake.Matias Delacroix/AP/Shutterstock

People line up to pay their last respects to the late Brazilian soccer great Pele during his wake at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos, Brazil

Pelé’s public wake.NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images

People headed by the son of late Brazilian football legend Pele, Edinho, transport his coffin into the Urbano Caldeira stadium in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Fans arrived early to pay their respects and flooded the streets wearing No. 10 jerseys and yellow and green attire.

Pelé’s public wake.MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL/AFP via Getty Images

Fans of late Brazilian football legend Pele gather outside the Urbano Caldera stadium to attend his wake in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Among them was FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who told journalists that every country should have a stadium named after the soccer legend.

“I am here with a lot of emotion, sadness, but also with a smile because he gave us so many smiles,” Infantino said, per the AP. “As FIFA, we will pay a tribute to the ‘King’ and we ask the whole world to observe a minute of silence.”

Pelé’s public wake.Andre Penner/AP/Shutterstock

Fans hold up photos of the late Brazilian soccer great Pele as they line up at Vila Belmiro stadium

The funeral procession will begin at the stadium Tuesday morning. His casket will then be ushered through the streets of Santos and he will be buried at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery.

Pelé’s son, Edson Nascimento, posted a series ofInstagram Storiesabout the trip to Santos.

“Taking our king home”, read one with a video of him driving on the highway. Another showed his hand over the coffin with the caption: “We are home.”

Late soccer legend Pelé while playing for New York Cosmos in 1977.George Tiedemann /Sports Illustrated via Getty

NASL Soccer: NASL Playoffs: New York Cosmos Pele (10) victorious after winning match vs Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Giants Stadium. East Rutherford, NJ 8/14/1977 CREDIT: George Tiedemann (Photo by George Tiedemann /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Pelé’s daughter Kely Nascimento paid tribute to her father on social media Thursday.

“Everything that we are, is thanks to you,” she wrote in anInstagrampost. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”

Pelé earned the World Cup Championship title alongside Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest soccer players ever to grace the sport.

He retired from soccer on Oct. 1, 1977, nearly two years after he joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. His final exhibition, in front of a record 77,000 soccer fans in New Jersey, was particularly special because it was between the Cosmos and Santos.

To honor his long career, Pelé played half the game with each club.

source: people.com