Football legend Pele to stay in hospital due to urinary tract infection

Sao Paulo hospital where three-time World Cup winner is being treated say he should leave facility 'in the next few days'

Pele was being treated prior to returning to his home country of Brazil after making a promotional appearance in Paris. Franck Fife / AFP

Football legend Pele will remain in hospital for a urinary tract infection in a Sao Paulo hospital, where he was already receiving chemotherapy for a colon tumor, the facility said.

The 81-year-old Brazil great known as "O Rei" (The King) was initially admitted to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo on February 13 to continue his treatment for a colon tumor detected in September. He has remained hospitalised since then.

Eight days after being admitted, the hospital said it had detected a urinary tract infection during routine exams.

"Clinical conditions are stable, and hospital discharge should occur in the next few days," the hospital said in a statement Monday.

Pele underwent surgery for the tumor on September 4, spending a month in the hospital before being discharged to continue chemotherapy.

It is the latest in a string of health troubles for the aging star.

Considered by many the greatest footballer of all time, Pele - real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento - is the only player to win three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970).

He burst onto the global stage at just 17 by scoring dazzling goals, including two in the final against hosts Sweden, as Brazil won the World Cup for the first time in 1958.

He went on to have one of the most storied careers in sport, scoring more than 1,000 goals before retiring in 1977.

"As I have been doing monthly, I am going to the hospital to continue my treatment," Pele said on his social media platforms on February 13.

On Sunday, Pele congratulated the Saudi Arabia women’s national football team after they won their first international fixture, calling it a "historic day".