Soccer legend Pele passed away at the age of 82 on December 29. The Brazilian superstar suffered from colon cancer and had been receiving treatment for the last few years. Several weeks ago, Pele was admitted to the hospital following a respiratory infection and other health issues. Unfortunately, he took his last breath at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Sao Paolo last Thursday due to multiple organ failures. Pele had a global impact on the world of sports and played a crucial role in popularizing soccer throughout the world, including the United States. As a result, many Americans joined the world in mourning the great loss to the world of sports. Notably, Pele’s shocking demise left Kareem Abdul-Jabbar extremely emotional as he recently shared his thoughts on the passing of the famed icon by recounting past interactions.

Kareem had the opportunity of spending some quality time with Pele during the production of the popular Atari ad in 1981. The Los Angeles Lakers legend recently shared his experience being around the soccer superstar.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recounts the time he spent with Pele

In a recent post on his Substack, Kareem Abdul Jabbar revealed that he had a lot of fun hanging out with Pele during the ad shoot. The six-time NBA champ revealed that they sometimes forgot about the making of the commercial while laughing and joking together. Moreover, Kareem had the opportunity to visit Pele in Brazil during his stint as the US Cultural Ambassador in 2012.?

However, the two couldn’t meet because of Pele was outside the country at that time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added, “He had left on vacation, but he called me on the phone, upset that we didn’t connect. Every moment in his presence you felt how authentic he was. I?ve felt that same openness and sincerity from very few people.”

The Lakers icon suggested that he was touched by Pele’s authenticity and felt happy around his enthusiastic personality. Moreover, the 19-time All-Star also highlighted how the way Pele transformed the game of soccer served as an inspiration to many athletes across different sports, including himself.

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Kareem added that he loved trying to follow the pathway to the greatness that Pele had laid in the field of sports. Therefore, he seemed to be deeply saddened by Pele’s passing while sharing his fortunate moments of being in the soccer legend’s company.

Glorious achievements that made Pele a legend

Pele was recognized as ‘the greatest’ by FIFA after winning three world cup tournaments for Brazil. He was also a treasured national hero who won ten league titles with his soccer club, Santos.

Moreover, Pele was named the Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999. The Soccer icon also made it to the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.

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Pele scored a shocking 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which is also a Guinness World Record. Therefore, the demise of arguably the greatest soccer player of the 20th century has naturally left the sports world saddened.