‘Pelé eterno’: what international front pages say about the death of the footballing great

The death of Brazilian footballing virtuoso Pelé, at the age of 82, makes headlines in newspapers all over the world on Friday.

The Guardian carries an image of the star sat upon the shoulders of his teammates and fans after Brazil’s victory in the 1970 World Cup final in Mexico City.

Richard Williams writes that he was “a player who gifted his skills to the whole world”.

One of Brazil’s main paper’s, O Globo, has printed an unprecedented four editions, with different covers marking different points in Pelé’s career. The paper’s headline simply reads “Pelé Eterno” – in English, “Pelé Eternal”.

Spain’s El País says “Goodbye to Pelé, ‘the king’ of football” with an image of that iconic World Cup win in 1970.

French sports daily L’Équipe adopts the Brazilian colours on its front pages. With a full-page image of a young Pelé, the paper says “He was a king”.

The Mirror also carries an image of Pelé celebrating at the 1970 World Cup and calls him “The best”. The paper writes that the “world hails ‘divine’ genius who made football beautiful”.

France’s Libération carries a full-page image of Pelé, saying: “Brazil’s mythical footballer and three times world champion died Thursday at the age of 82”.

Scotland’s Daily Record calls it the “Death of a legend”. The paper writes that the sporting world is “in mourning”, as the only man to lift the World Cup trophy three times dies.

Finally, the Sun says that “Lineker, Mbappe lead tributes” as the “King of football” dies.