Kely Nascimento, one of Pelé’s daughters, shared a video of her father on her Instagram profile this Saturday (31), two days after his death from colon cancer. The King appears sitting in a chair while his barber João Araújo, Didi, cuts his hair.
According to her, the recording was made during the 2014 World Cup, when Kely accompanied her father for a month and recorded the moments. She said she plans to feature some of her favorite episodes in new publications. In the video, you can see the title “The Real Pelé: My Father, The King”.
“I wanted to do this because, deep down, deep down, I wanted to spend a month together with him (and be able to explain my absence to my children) and I also wanted to feel, together with him, the emotion of having the Cup back here”, he wrote.
According to Pelé’s daughter, the excerpt shared by her shows one of her favorite episodes. In the image, the former player starts by saying that he cuts his hair with the barber for about 55 years.
“On the second day I arrived to train in Santos, we went to Didi’s salon. Since that time, he cuts my hair. “, says Pele, laughing.
“[Isso foi em] 1958, 1959. I arrived here in 1957. Since that time I have suffered under Didi’s razor and scissors”, jokes the King.
Kely then asks Didi what it’s like for him to take care of Pelé’s hair for so long. “It’s a lot of responsibility, because this one here, you know how it is, is a great client and my great friend, so you can’t be too careful”, replies the barber.
“Didi always keeps telling everyone who goes to the salon that I’m known because of the topknot. He said he did the topknot. And I have to put up with that”, jokes the ace.
The daughter then asks if the professional knows that he wears a hat on the street so as not to be recognized. “It’s because of Didi, she attests.
“Exactly!” replies Pele. “Didi knows that when I go on a trip, when I go out, I wear a little cap, I put on a hat — that was a secret, but now you’re telling everyone, it’s not a secret anymore”, he ponders, laughing.
“It was to cover the topknot because, when they see the topknot, everyone says: ‘Oh, who’s going there? It’s Pelé’. Now, when he’s wearing the little hat, it’s still possible to go unnoticed”, he says.
The King ends by saying that his good looks and youthfulness are maintained by the haircut. “Occasionally, on the trip, people say: ‘Wow, you haven’t changed! You’re young!’. I say to Didi: ‘Oh, it’s the topknot. It’s the topknot, don’t touch the topknot!”, he laughs.
“Again and in perpetuity, thanking you for all your care, your prayers and your love,” Kelly wrote to her fans.
Grief
Due to its proximity to the King, Didi’s barbershop became a point of reference in Santos. After death, the friend mourned. “I created the topknot for him, cut it that way until the last minute. The last time I was with him was last year. I lost a friend, Brazil and the world, a symbol. It moves us a lot”.
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