The son and daughter of Brazilian football legend Pelé have posted tributes and touching photos of their father on Instagram as they spend Christmas with him at the Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital in Sao Paulo.

"We continue to be here, fighting and believing. One more night together," Kely Nascimento wrote on Friday. She posted a photo of herself hugging her father as he lay in a hospital bed.

Pelé, 82, was hospitalized in late November for a respiratory infection and "reevaluation of chemotherapy treatment on colon cancer identified in September 2021," according to the hospital's statement.

Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento and widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in history, Pelé played in four World Cups, winning three - in 1958, 1962, 1970.