Pelé would receive a tribute that Diego Maradona already has

Pelé will have one of the most important tributes he has received so far in his life. By decision of the Rio de Janeiro legislature, the Maracanã Stadium will be renamed ‘O Rei’. In this way, only the signature of the district governor is missing to make the official change. Deserved recognition, for one of the best soccer players in history. Months ago, Napoli did the same with the mythical San Paolo, who today is called Diego Armando Maradona.

According to reports from the Rio de Janeiro legislature, the law was approved to change the official name of the mythical stadium in Brazil, from Mario Fhilo to Pelé. In this way, the historic former Brazilian player will have with his name in the stadium that hosted the 1958 and 2014 World Cup finals, as well as the last Libertadores Cup final.

Despite the broad consensus among government officials, many historians and family members of Fhilo did not like the decision to change the name. This is because the former journalist who died in 1966 was a very important person in the history of the country's sports press and one of the promoters of the construction of the stadium. In any case, Deputy André Ceciliano tried to calm down the complaints.

In fact, he assured that the sports complex where the Maracana is located will continue to be called Mario Fhilo. "Pelé is the greatest player of all time. It is a fair tribute. Although I have no doubt that everyone will continue to call the Maracana stadium", said Ceciliano. Now, it only remains to wait for the signature of the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio Castro, to make the name change of the mythical stadium official. Thus, ‘O Rei’ will have with his name in the place where he knew how to shine hundreds of times, and where he scored the 1000th goal in his career wearing the Santos shirt.

Same recognition as Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona had the same tribute months ago, in the city of Naples. While it is true that it was not in his homeland, the recognition was the same. Since December 4, 2020, the old San Paolo bears his name, in a decision that filled all the fans of the Argentine star with emotion, but that he could not enjoy in life.