This article was first published 10 years ago

Soccer legend Pele improving, still in intensive care

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November 29, 2014 08:30 IST

Pele

Thiago Silva plays with a soccer ball in front of Brazil's Santos soccer team stadium where soccer legend Pele played during his career. Photograph: Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

Brazilian soccer great Pele "is in better condition" though he remains in an intensive care unit being treated for a urinary tract infection, the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said on Friday.

Pele, 74, is receiving renal support treatment, which helps kidneys to filter waste products from the blood, after surgery to remove kidney stones earlier this month. He is not on vasoactive drugs or other supportive therapies, the hospital said.

Pele, often called the greatest soccer player in history, has suffered a long list of health problems in the past decade, including emergency eye surgery for a detached retina and a hip replacement.

His manager, Paul Kemsley, said on Thursday he was expected to make a full recovery and that reports of his condition are being "greatly exaggerated."

Known as "the King of soccer" in Brazil, Pele played in four World Cups and helped Brazil win the global tournament three times, the last in Mexico in 1970.

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