Pele's family members gathered at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, where the 82-year-old has been since late November.

Doctors said this week Pele's cancer had advanced and he requires care related to renal and cardiac dysfunction. His family said he would remain in a Sao Paulo hospital over Christmas.

Pele has received regular medical treatment since a tumour was removed from his colon in September last year.

"Almost all of them. Merry Christmas. Gratitude, love, togetherness, family. The essence of Christmas. We thank you all for all the love and light you send," his daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram with a picture of their family in the hospital.

Pele's son Edinho, who played in goal for Santos in the 1990s, posted a picture of himself holding his father's hand to Instagram on Saturday, with the caption "Father... my strength is yours."

Brazil football legend Pele is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time.