Soccer

Thousands of fans poured into Brazilian streets on Monday morning to pay their respects to Pele -- as the funeral for the late soccer legend got underway at a famed football stadium in Santos.

People decked out in #10 jerseys and clad in yellow and green attire lined up to get a glimpse of the former footballer's coffin at Urbano Caldeira Stadium ... and some camped out for hours to be the first allowed into the ceremony.

For the services, Pele's body was placed under a tent on the field at the venue -- the same place where he scored hundreds of goals for Santos FC for nearly two decades.

Early on, Pele's family members were seen standing by his casket -- hugging and kissing him.

Many soccer stars from across the globe are expected to attend the funeral later on.

The whole ceremony is being live streamed ... and is expected to last several hours before Pele is laid to rest at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery.

As we reported, Pele died at a hospital in Sao Paolo on Thursday ... after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Pele was paid $120K by a major sneaker company to bend down at midfield and tie his shoe before a 1970 World Cup match ... giving birth to a bitter feud between Puma and Adidas!

Pele's death has unearthed all kinds of stories about the soccer legend, who died Thursday at the age of 82, following a lengthy battle with colon cancer ... including when the greatest player ever was paid the equivalent of $1 million (in 2022 w/ inflation) to tie a Puma soccer cleat, according to Joe Pompliano, who told the story.

It all started in 1924 when Adolf and Rudolf Dassler started a shoe company, Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. The shoemaker was successful, and Jesse Owens even wore their brand during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where Owens dominated in front of Hitler, winning 4 gold medals.

But, by 1948, the brothers had a falling out and decided to go their own way ... each starting a sneaker company of their own. Adolf created Adidas and Rudolf, Puma. The brothers swore to never do business with one another.

Things changed in the late 60s when the brothers buried the hatchet and began communicating again, all in the interest of self-preservation. Adolf and Rudolf made a "Pele pact," an agreement that both companies would stay away from Pele, the biggest sports star in the world, fearing a sponsorship negotiation could bankrupt both companies.

Unfortunately for Adidas, Puma didn't exactly abide by the pact. Prior to a World Cup quarterfinal match in 1970 between Peru and Pele's Brazil, Puma paid the soccer superstar $120K to walk toward midfield just before the start of the game, bend down, and tie his Puma shoe.

Of course, Puma wanted to capture the moment on video ... so to ensure they didn't miss the moment, the shoewear company reportedly went as far as to pay the cameraman!

Brazil beat Peru ... and ended up winning the entire World Cup. It was Pele's record third.

The Pele-Puma partnership didn't come to an end with the '70 WC ... the deal was a smash success for everyone involved.

Brazilian soccer legend Pelé -- arguably the greatest football player ever -- has died.

The three-time World Cup winner passed away at a hospital in Sao Paulo surrounded by loved ones following a lengthy battle with cancer.

Pelé was initially diagnosed with the disease in 2021, and had been in and out of medical facilities over the past year to help him fight it. But, sadly, his condition worsened recently ... forcing him to spend the last two months in a hospital bed.

Pelé was able to watch the 2022 World Cup in his final days ... and even penned a congratulations post on his social media page to Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe after the epic Argentina vs. France final last weekend.

He had also written an emotional note to Neymar after a huge performance for Brazil earlier in the famed tournament.

Pelé joined Brazil's national team when he was just 16 years old ... and won his first-ever World Cup at age 17 in 1958. He went on to lead Brazil to two more titles in the event, winning it all in 1962 and 1970.

He's widely regarded as one of the best goal scorers ever -- with Cristiano Ronaldo previously calling him "the greatest player in football history."

He was 82.

Fans all wanted a piece of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe memorabilia in the hours after the two soccer stars put on a show in the World Cup final ... with auction officials telling TMZ Sports the demand for their items rivaled that of Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Officials from PWCC Marketplace tell us that following the Argentina vs. France tilt on Sunday -- items associated with Messi and Mbappe became the most sought-after in their auction space.

Per a rep from the auction house, searches for Messi rose 345 percent from his normal average. Mbappe queries, meanwhile, rose 363 percent.

"Messi was searched nearly three times more than Michael Jordan, more than four times more than LeBron James, and more than five times more than Tom Brady," PWCC exec Jesse Craig said.

"Messi gilded his career with this victory, and demand for his cards clearly rose in concert with the achievement. The numbers highlight how important an exciting game is for demand in player assets."

According to a rep for the org., Messi items that were sold on Sunday following the thrilling W.C. finale finished with prices that were "an average 93 percent higher than their insurance value." As for Mbappe, the rep said the French star's items "finished an average 17 percent higher."

One of the most notable sales from the two? A 2017 Topps Messi card fetched $14,400.

Soccer legend Pele's health has taken a turn for the worse ... with local doctors announcing his cancer has advanced, and he is currently receiving "elevated care" for kidney and heart issues, according to the AP.

The 82-year-old's daughter shared an update on Tuesday ... saying the family will remain with Pele at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo over the Christmas holiday "for various reasons."

"We, as always, thank you for all the love you show us here in Brazil as well as around the world!" Kely Nascimento said on Instagram.

"Your love for him and your stories and prayers are a HUGE comfort because we know we are not alone."

Kely says the family will make the holiday extra special ... and have plans to celebrate at the hospital.

"We are going to turn this room into a Sambódromo (just kidding), we will even make caipirinhas (not kidding!!)."

"We wish everyone who celebrates a Christmas that filled with family, full of children, some fighting 🤷🏽 ♀️ and TONS of Love and Health !!"

Pele is considered to be the greatest soccer player of all time -- having won World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

There have been conflicting reports regarding his health recently ... with Kely denying last month the Brazilian hero was experiencing complications during his chemotherapy treatment.

Absolute chaos unfolded in the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the World Cup champions held their victory parade -- and things got so out of control, players had to be evacuated from their celebration via helicopter.

Argentina, fresh off defeating France in the World Cup on Sunday, were met with millions of fans on Tuesday to celebrate their win -- their first since 1986 and third overall.

Fans were understandably excited that the men's soccer team could once again call themselves world champs ... and it showed throughout the parade.

There were so many people on the streets that the festivities had to be cut short ...  and Argentina players had to abandon their team buses and fly over the city instead.

We know championship celebrations can get out of hand ... but this parade was unlike anything we'd ever seen.

A video posted on social media shows the moment two fans attempted to jump onto Argentina's team bus ... which certainly posed a safety issue for the squad and others involved.

The first guy, who appeared to jump from a fixture as the bus drove by, stuck his landing. But the second guy slipped as he jumped and fell off the back of the bus and to the ground, causing the vehicle to stop.

No word on if the dude got hurt ... and we certainly hope that's not the case, but stunts like this put into perspective just how much this World Cup championship means to Argentina fans.

The women who took their tops off in Qatar following Argentina's World Cup win have made it out of the country unscathed ... avoiding arrest despite their risqué celebrations drawing the ire of many in the conservative state.

The Lionel Messi fans, ID'd on Instagram as Milubarbiie and Noe -- aka La chica del topless -- showed on Tuesday morning that they both made it to their respective homes without issues.

The two posted videos, revealing neither were arrested in Qatar ... despite speculation that they could be thrown behind bars for revealing a whole lot of skin after Argentina beat France in the World Cup final on Sunday.

Noe joked about being in the clear from her seat on an airplane ... saying in a caption on one of her vids that she wanted the flight to take off before people came looking for her.

Milubarbiie, meanwhile, said in a selfie video that she had made it back to Europe, a place she missed dearly while cheering on Argentina in the soccer tournament.

The homecomings were great news for the duo ... as Qatar officials had urged visitors to avoid wearing "excessively revealing clothing in public" in order to avoid potential conflict with authorities.

Lionel Messi is the G.O.A.T. on the pitch AND on social media -- the soccer superstar is now responsible for the most-liked Instagram post of all time!!!

The 35-year-old accomplished the feat by sharing pics of his World Cup celebration with Argentina to his 403 million followers shortly after securing the title ... captioning the post, "CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!! 🌎🏆"

The pic quickly became one of the most popular posts in the platform's history ... and just now, it officially dethroned the viral egg pic from 2019 (remember that?) at the top of the most-liked charts.

Messi's post currently has 62.6 MILLION likes ... while the egg has fallen behind at 56.9 million.

It seems like Messi fans aren't gonna let the egg take back the top spot any time soon ... considering they're in the comments taunting the once-popular post with pro-Leo statements.

A triumphant return to Argentina on Tuesday nearly turned disastrous for Lionel Messi and a couple of his other star teammates ... who were all almost thrown off the roof of a bus by a low-hanging street wire.

The scary moment happened as Messi and the Argentinian national team were taking laps around Buenos Aires to celebrate their World Cup title over France.

Messi -- sitting beside Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi -- didn't see a power line coming his bus' way ... and it almost clocked him and his teammates right in the heads.

It actually ended up clipping Paredes -- who lost his hat in the collision -- but, thankfully, all of the guys were able to move out of the way ... and keep the World Cup party going.

The scene was WILD in Argentina as the guys made their way through Buenos Aires following the close call -- thousands of fans lined streets for the second day since the big win ... this time, with some climbing to the top of the city's Obelisco to cheer on the soccer team.

It was chaos around the guys' bus, too ... as everyone tried to get an up-close look at the new world champs.

Despite the scare earlier in the day and the pandemonium in the streets ... everyone made it back home OK -- including Messi, who took the World Cup trophy with him to bed.

"Buen día!" he said in his caption on the pic.

Thousands of people flooded Buenos Aires streets to celebrate Argentina's World Cup victory on Sunday ... and the wild scene was all captured on breathtaking drone video.

The party went down just minutes after Lionel Messi and the Argentinians beat France in penalty kicks -- with a sea of people packing into the country's capital to celebrate the W.

In the drone footage, you can see fans lining streets for what appeared to be miles ... all going crazy over the big victory.

Some waved flags, some chanted and cheered ... and all, clearly, had a blast.

No word on when -- or if -- the party died down ... but the country's supporters had every right to throw the bash, seeing as it was the nation's first World Cup title since 1986.

The game, meanwhile, is being considered by many to already be the best in W.C. history ... it was a nail-biter that featured 6 goals followed by intense PKs.

Messi scored two total, and buried his lone penalty kick attempt. Later he was given the tournament's Golden Ball -- the award for best player at the event.

Argentina just beat France in what might've been the best World Cup final ever -- a nail-biter that came down to the wire ... and in the end, a good old-fashioned shootout.

The game had everyone at the edge of their seat through the full 90 minutes of regulation -- not to mention the extra 30 minutes that was played after things were left tied at 2-2. Lionel Messi scored Argentina's third goal in extra time, and then Kylian Mbappe responded by tying it up yet again ... sending the match into penalty kicks, where ARG eked it out.

After three straight goals from Argentina -- and two misses from France -- Gonzalo Montiel had a chance to clinch it, which he promptly did by putting the ball in the back of the net. France's goalie, Hugo Lloris, didn't stand a chance ... diving in the other way.

The two stars of each respective team, Messi and Mbappe, scored their penalties ... and the rest of the Argentina squad did their job too. But, two French players screwed the pooch.

It's truly a shame, because Mbappe was literally the only guy on his team to keep them in the fight ... scoring all 3 of France's goals, earning a hat trick and giving his squad the morale to play on. In the end, all that work was squandered away in a virtual crapshoot.

Still, it was an explosive game up until the very end -- with tons of back-and-forth up and down the pitch ... and a lot of great soccer put on display for the entire world.

Sports fans couldn't have asked for anything better, really. This was one for the books, no doubt.

This also serves as a beautiful bow-out for Messi -- who's said to be retiring after this. He's sure to be awarded Player of the Tournament and every other honor available for individual achievement. The guy's a legend, and he went out on top in the World Cup.

Lionel Messi will attempt to win his first-ever World Cup on Sunday, but win or lose, the Argentinian soccer legend is one of the greatest athletes ever, according to fellow countryman, UFC star Santiago Ponzinibbio ... who compared him to America's most legendary athletes.

"I think it's Michael Jordan, these kind of guys. Legends of the sport, all-time. I think Messi is on this level. Michael Jordan. Tom Brady," Ponzinibbio told us, before also throwing out Muhammad Ali's name.

FYI, Santiago, who's coming off a UFC 282 win over Alex Morono, is from La Plata, Argentina ... about 200 miles from Messi's birthplace, Rosario, Argentina.

Of course, 35-year-old Messi, in his last WC, will lead Argentina when they take on Kylian Mbappe and his France squad for the FIFA World Cup Trophy.

According to the oddsmakers and experts, the game is about as close as could be ... though Santiago says he knows who's going to emerge victorious.

"Man, super, super exciting. I told you, I love soccer. Man, I really believe this team is gonna be champion of the world. They're playing so good."

Messi has accomplished nearly everything in the game. He's won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards and has been awarded about every other honor a soccer player could receive ... except that elusive World Cup.

"I think it's the only thing he needs to do to be complete," Ponzinibbio says, adding, "I think he's in the right spot to make history one more time and I'm excited. "

And, as far as worldwide popularity goes, Lionel, with 392 million, blows away some of the U.S.'s biggest and most popular athletes. LeBron James has 139 million Instagram followers. TB12 only has (relatively speaking) 13 million.

It's about to go down between France and Argentina in the World Cup Final on Sunday ... and expect a lot of nervousness in the crowd -- not just from the fans, but the players' WAGS, too!

Lionel Messi's wife will surely be biting fingernails throughout the contest -- the Argentinian model who has over 23 million followers on Instagram has dated the soccer star for YEARS ... and has three kids with him as well.

Rodrigo De Paul's girlfriend, Tini Stoessel, who is an award-winning Argentine singer ... will also be watching on intently.

Fitness model Agustina Gandolfo, who's been dating Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez since 2018, will surely be glued to the TV as well. And, the wives of Argentina stars Emi Martinez and Angel Di Maria will no doubt be watching too.

The France squad's lovers will be rooting their men on as well ... there's Amelia Ossa Llorente -- Lucas Hernandez's wife -- and Erika Choperena, who will probably have the kids decked out in their dad Antoine Griezmann's soccer fit again.

Speaking of kids, you might catch Theo Hernandez's girlfriend Zoe Cristofoli cheering in the crowd ... with their 8-month-old son, TJ.

And, we can't forget star goalkeeper Hugo Lloris ... whose wife, Marine, is a founder and director of a luxury girlswear brand.

Brazil soccer star Richarlison didn't bring home the World Cup this year -- but he did get some new ink ... getting his whole back tatted after the tournament with pics of Ronaldo, Neymar and himself!!!

The prolific goal-scorer got the new tattoo done this week -- just days after the Brazilians were booted from the World Cup tournament by Croatia ... and the work is insane.

In photos shared by the tattoo artists, PK and Dom Tattoo, you can see the ink features portraits of retired footballer Ronaldo and Richarlison's teammate, Neymar, sandwiched between a picture of himself.

The artwork also has a message that was from Brazilian soccer legend Pele -- who left the comment under one of his recent Instagram posts.

"Voce fez o Brasil sorrir," Pele's comment read, which translates to, "You made Brazil smile."

There's also an image of the Brazilian flag and a young Richarlison wearing the No. 9 jersey overlooking the city in the piece.

Of course, Richarlison would rather be in the World Cup finals this Sunday than sitting under the tattoo needle ... as he was the top scorer for Brazil, netting three of the team's eight goals in Qatar.

Morocco's time in the World Cup might be done ... but French Montana made sure this year's team will never be forgotten -- immortalizing the squad with a new song on Wednesday.

The Casablanca native dropped the new tune just before the national team's epic World Cup run came to an end against France ... and it's awesome.

French Montana rapped in fluent Arabic over a dance beat -- and spliced in highlights of the team in the song's music video.

The 38-year-old also included in the vid clips of his wild celebration with fellow Moroccans in Times Square earlier this month.

French had hoped the song would inspire the team against France in the tournament's semifinal game ... but he said he considered a loss still a win for his home country.

"If they lose, they still win because Morocco has never made it this far," French said. "I'm so proud of this team and to call Morocco my home."

Morocco was blanked in their contest with France ... but they still have a chance to win third place in the tournament -- when they take on Croatia on Saturday.

Despite moving on to the World Cup final, not all things went smoothly for Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday -- the France superstar accidentally drilled a fan in the face with a warm-up shot ... and issued an apology immediately afterward.

The incident happened just before France took down Morocco in one of the tournament's semifinal games ... as the 23-year-old phenom was trying to get loose for the important tilt.

Mbappe peppered one of his shots over the goal mount -- and it, unfortunately, nailed a France supporter right in the noggin.

Pictures from the stadium in Qatar showed the guy was in a considerable amount of pain ... but, to Mbappe's credit, he ran over to make sure the dude was OK.

He grabbed the man's arm, and appeared to say he was sorry -- before bolting back to warm-ups.

Of course, we're sure the fan was feeling a whole lot better just minutes later -- 'cause France opened the game against Morocco with a goal in the first 300 seconds of the match.

France went on to win 2-0 -- and will now face Argentina in Sunday's finale.