Thousands of mourners flanked the streets to say final goodbyes to Brazilian legend Pele during the funeral procession as the body of the football icon made its way to its final resting place at Santos.   

Pele had been lying in state for 24 hours in the centre of the pitch at the club’s Urbano Caldeira stadium for the public to pay their respects.

People gathered along the streets on Tuesday to see his coffin carried on a fire truck to a private family funeral.

Pele – a three-time World Cup winner – died at the age of 82 on 29 December.

Regarded as the greatest footballer, he had been receiving treatment for colon cancer since 2021.

The government of Brazil declared three days of national mourning after his death, with the country’s new president – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also making the journey to Santos to pay his final respects.

Covered with a Brazilian flag, Pele’s coffin was carried on a fire truck through the packed roads of fans.

According to reports Santos FC Pele’s boyhood club claimed that more than 230,000 people had attended his 24-hour wake in the Vila Belmiro stadium, where a steady stream of mourners continued through the night.

BBC reports that the funeral cortege is set to end at the port city’s Memorial Cemetery, where a Catholic funeral service will be held before Pele is interred in a 10-story mausoleum.