Ex-U.S. President Barack Obama, Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inacio da Silva, and other officials have paid tributes to football legend Pele.

Pele passed away on Thursday.

He was 82 after succumbing to cancer.

Brazil’s president-elect said he saw Pele play as a professional footballer, a privilege most young people today did not have.

“Few Brazilians took the name of our country as far as he did… There has never been a number 10 like him. Thank you, Pele,” he wrote on social media.

“As one of the most recognisable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together. Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him,” Mr Obama said on Twitter.

Manchester United Football Club lauded the Brazilian great for the joy he brought to fans worldwide, while Chelsea FC called Pele “a master of the beautiful game.”

Pele worked for the United Nations Cultural organisation UNESCO as a ‘champion for sport’. His role involved promoting sports and physical education across the globe.

UNESCO said Pele would be greatly missed and that he worked relentlessly to promote sport as a tool for peace.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Pelé. We extend our condolences to the Brazilian people and the football family,” UNESCO tweeted. 

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland noted, “everything you see any player doing, Pele did it first.” 

PSG’s Kylian Mbappe hailed Pele as the king of football, reiterating that his legacy would never be forgotten.