Brazilian soccer icon Pele’s health has worsened and he will spend Christmas in hospital as he continues to battle colon cancer.

Pele, 82, has been battling colon cancer since September 2021 and was hospitalised on November 29 for doctors to re-evaluate his treatment.

The Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital released an update on Pele’s condition on Wednesday and revealed he now requires care for cardiac and renal dysfunction. He has also been treated for a respiratory infection diagnosed following his hospitalisation.

“Admitted since November 29 for a re-assessment of chemotherapy therapy for colon tumour and treatment of a respiratory infection, Edson Arantes do Nascimento presents progression of the oncological disease and requires greater care related to renal and cardiac dysfunctions,” read the update from medical staff.

“The patient remains hospitaliSed in a common room, under the necessary care of the medical team.”

The legend’s daughter, Kely Nascimento, said in an Instagram post that the support of his fans was a “huge comfort” to him.

She wrote, “Your love for him, your stories and your prayers are a HUGE comfort because we know we are not alone. Let’s turn this room into a Sambadrome (just kidding), let’s even make caipirinhas (not kidding!!).”

Pele has been in and out of hospital since having a tumour removed from his colon in September 2021 and has been undergoing chemotherapy in his fight against cancer.  The news comes after recent reports had provided fans with some optimism, claiming he had been improving. 

“The patient continues to show improvement in the clinical status, in particular the respiratory infection. He remains in a regular room, is conscious and with stable vital signs,” medical staff at Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital said.

Sportsmail reported earlier this month that Pele had made “progressive improvements” after he was taken to hospital for tests.

Despite initial concerns that he was close to death, his daughters Flavia and Kely Nascimento quickly moved to rubbish those reports and said he is ‘sick’ but was still supporting Brazil at the World Cup.

A previous update from the doctors treating him in Sao Paulo supported his daughters’ claims but it appears his condition may have now taken a turn for the worse.

Pele is considered Brazil’s and world’s greatest ever player and he had tweeted out that he would be watching his country’s campaign at the World Cup in Qatar. He burst on to the global scene as a 17-year-old at the 1958 World Cup, helping Brazil to the first of their record five successes, before also winning the 1962 and 1970 World Cups with the national side.

He revealed he was ‘rooting’ for Brazil’s current star players as he watched their World Cup last-16 match against South Korea from hospital. However, Brazil’s journey in the Gulf State came to an unexpectedly early end as they were shockingly eliminated by Croatia in the quarter finals.

Despite the World Cup exit, Pele offered congratulations to Neymar on matching his goalscoring record with Brazil during the game. On Instagram, the legend posted a picture of Neymar, and wrote:

“I saw you grow, I cheered for you every day and I can finally congratulate you for reaching my number of goals with Brazil. We both know that this is more than a figure. Our biggest duty as athletes is to inspire. Inspire our teammates of today, the next generations and, above all, everyone who loves our sport.”

Pele’s official Instagram account wrote a message to Neymar after Brazil’s World Cup exit. He went on to address Brazil’s elimination from the tournament.

“Unfortunately, this is not the happiest day for us. My record was set almost 50 years ago, and nobody had managed to get near it until now. You got there, kid. That shows how great your achievement is.”

The 82-year-old also watched the final of the tournament from hospital and once again took to social media to congratulate Lionel Messi and Argentina after their dramatic penalty shootout win against France.

• A Daily Mail report