Emotional Brazilians say tearful goodbye to Pele as fans flock to icon's funeral

Brazil was united on Monday to celebrate the life of Pele - arguably the greatest footballer ever to grace the beautiful game.

The three-time World Cup winner passed away aged 82 in December following a battle with cancer. Outgoing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has declared a national period of mourning, with Pele's funeral taking place in Santos on Monday and Tuesday.

Dozens of fans waited outside of the Estadio Urbano Caldeira for hours to ensure they could attend Pele's wake at Santos' ground. The Brazilian icon's coffin will lie in state at the stadium until Tuesday, when a procession will take place on the streets of Santos.

As reported by The Mirror's Andy Lines, some supporters - including Saulo Durate - waited for 14 hours to ensure they could pay their respects to Pele. Thousands of fans have already visited the Estadio Urbano Caldeira ahead of Tuesday's procession.

Refuse collector Saulo made a two-hour journey from Sao Paulo to say goodbye to Pele. "Pele was Brazil's greatest player and I wanted to be here to pay tribute to him," Saulo told Andy. "I never saw him play but my grandad did and it's the right thing to do."

Although Saulo, 36, never got the chance to see Pele in action, fellow fan Emilio Carmo did. He said: "I remember it like it was yesterday. It was Santos vs Palmeiras and the match ended 1-1 and I was so pleased I was able to see Pele play a proper competitive match."

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Preparations for Pele's funeral have been taking place for several years. Dozens of temporary toilets and barriers are in place, while journalists - including Andy - picked up accreditations from a local primary school to attend the historic occasion.

The Estadio Urbano Caldeira was covered with flowers and tributes to Pele. A huge banner that read "long live the king - Pele 82 years" was hung across one of the stands, with dozens of smaller "Pele 10" banners also dominating the ground.

Pele's coffin was carried on to the pitch by eight pallbearers, with his son Edinho - who followed in his father's footsteps by playing for Santos - leading the way. The casket was then opened up for emotional fans to catch a final glimpse of Pele as they walked past.

Dozens of high profile figures attended the Estadio Urbano Caldeira to pay their respects, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Some of Pele's former team-mates - including Brazilian legends Jairzinho, Rivelino and Gerson - are also expected to visit the ground.

Infantino was pictured offering his condolences to Edinho and Pele's third wife Marcia Aoki, who married the superstar in 2016. He told reporters: "We are also going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele."

Long queues outside of the Estadio Urbano Caldeira grew throughout Monday but the atmosphere remained positive. Songs in praise of Pele were chanted by the thousands of fans waiting to pay their final respects to Brazil's favourite son.

Tuesday's procession will see Pele's coffin drive past the Santos suburb where his 100-year-old mother Dona Celeste still lives. There were doubts over whether she would attend the funeral due to her ill health, but she was spotted at Santos' ground on Monday.

Pele's coffin will be finally laid to rest on the ninth floor of the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica cemetery - the world's tallest vertical cemetery - on Tuesday evening. He chose the ninth floor because his father Dondinho wore the No.9 shirt during his career.

Pele spent most of his illustrious career at Santos, helping the Brazilian giants win six league titles and two Intercontinental Cups (the precursor of the Club World Cup) - as well as the Copa Libertadores twice. He later represented American side New York Cosmos.