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via Getty

via Getty

Mike Tyson, the former two-time heavyweight champion was never a big fan of soccer, but he was a great admirer of three time World Cup winner Pele, who took his last breath on Thursday at the age of 82.

When today’s greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were not even born, the sport’s first global icon was dribbling the ball into the goalpost. He was ahead of his time. His skills were unmatchable. It was Pele who made soccer an entertaining sport. His status is often compared to Muhammad Ali, who changed the entire course of professional boxing.

His impact big enough to make soccer a household thing and he became synonymous with it. He used to say, “I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint.”

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Unfortunately, the man who was born to bless soccer is no longer with us. The boxing legend, Tyson, who met this phenomenon would never forget how great Pele was.

He expressed his emotions by posting a picture on Instagram.

 

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A post shared by Mike Tyson (@miketyson)

In captions, he wrote, “I was 21 years old living the dream meeting one of the greats. He was a warm, kind man without a bad thing to say about anyone. Rest in Peace.”

Read more- Days After Going Viral for Pele Comments, Rare Picture of Mike Tyson With Another Soccer Legend Breaks the Internet

Tyson met Pele when the latter had established himself as a sporting icon. At that time, ‘The Baddest Man on Planet’ was a raging force in the heavyweight division. After becoming the youngest heavyweight champion ever, he was seen as the future Hall of Famer.

What happened to Pele?

The aging legend was suffering from colon cancer for some time. Following a respiratory infection, he was admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo. Since then, updates on Pele’s health are making storylines. His fans were concerned, but Pele’s health kept declining. Back-to-back organ failure with progressing cancer worsened his health.

As a result, he died on Thursday.

What do you think of Tyson’s Instagram post mourning the football legend? Let us know in the comments below.

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