Pele’s barber signs autographs and poses for pictures with fans

A barber who first met Brazilian soccer legend Pele in the 1950s and cut his hair for decades said on Friday he hoped God would take care of the late athlete.

Pele, who died on Thursday aged 82, rose from poverty to become one of the greatest athletes in modern history and the only man to win three World Cups as a player.

‘He came to have his hair cut a couple of times a month and to cut his beard it was every two days,’ said Joao Araujo, who said he first met Pele in 1956 or 1957 and whose barber shop in the city of Santos houses memorabilia of the star. 

Pele spent most of his playing career at the local Santos soccer club.

Joao Araujo, known as Didi, 84, regularly cut Pele’s hair when he was in Santos, starting in the late 1950s

The 84-year-old barber last saw the three-time World Cup winner last year

Araujo said he last saw Pele, who suffered colon cancer, last year.

He said: ‘I hope God takes care of him.’ 

Araujo, is one of the millions of people in Brazil and across the globe mourning the late football star who died on Thursday in Sao Paolo. 

The 82-year-old became a global superstar as a result of his footballing skill and later his role as an ambassador for the ‘beautiful game’, a phrase he himself coined. 

Pele will be taken from the Albert Einstein Hospital on Monday after the inauguration of incoming Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. 

His coffin will be driven to Santos before stopping outside his 100-year-old mother, Celeste’s house, after which he will arrive at the Vila Belmiro Stadium and his coffin will go on display for 24 hours, allowing the public to pay tribute to their hero. 

He will then be taken to the 14-storey Memorial Necropole Ecumenica cemetery, where he will have a private funeral. 

Pele died on Thursday having lost his fight against colon cancer. He will be laid to rest on Tuesday 

Araujo has been signing autographs since Pele’s death because of his close association with the late footballer

Araujo, whose shop is packed with Pele memorabilia, said: ‘I hope God takes care of him’