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SAO PAULO — Celeste Arantes, the mother of late soccer great Pelé, died on Friday at age 101. Arantes spent the past five years in a vegetative state and was not informed about her famous son's death in 2022. The Brazilian Football Confederation says Arantes was hospitalized for the past eight days. The Pelé Foundation says on its social media channels that the mother of the only three-time World Cup-winning player was a role model. Pelé was one of Arantes' three children. She was initially against her son becoming a professional footballer, but gradually changed her views as her son became more successful.
