The striker's public funeral started at the Vila Belmiro stadium of his main club Santos.

Over 230,000 people took to the streets to see his coffin, who is considered one of the best players in the history of football.

At Santos, he scored 618 goals in 636 league games, before having a two-year stint with New York Cosmos - scoring 37 in 64.

He also still holds the record for the most goals for Brazil with 77 in 92 appearances, level with Neymar.

Pelé is also a record three-time FIFA World Cup winner from 1958, 1962 and 1970.

Lula flew from Brasília to Santos for the ceremony, a day after being sworn in for a third-term as President having defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in last year's election.

He called the striker a model of "good character, humility and dignity".

The pair had worked together during Lula's first spell as Brazilian President on Rio de Janeiro's successful bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which the Brazilian city was awarded in 2009. 

"Pelé is so special," said Lula. 

"You can't compare him to anyone because there is nobody comparable when it comes to being a football player or a human. 

"He's a player who, from a very young age, enjoyed such extraordinary exposure...but was never snooty. 

"He was always a humble citizen who treated others as equals.

"He never let himself become carried away with his brilliance or with the glory. 

"Even in his most glorious moments, like when he met the Queen of England, he acted as he would when meeting a normal person on the street."

Pelé himself was involved in politics, becoming the country's first Minister of Sports from 1995 until 1998 under the governance of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

Days after it was revealed he was in hospital due to his cancer worsening, the Brazilian died in São Paulo.

A three-day period of mourning in Brazil was announced on the news of Pelé's death.

Lula was seen consoling Pelé's widow Marcia Aoki during the ceremony too.

His return as President came three days after one of the nation's heroes died.

Regarded as a great reformist in Brazil, Lula served two terms between 2003 and 2010, but stood down due to scandals related to vote-buying.

In 2017, he was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for alleged money laundering by judge Sergio Moro, but this was annulled in 2021 when the Supreme Court found Moro - who later served as Minister of Justice for Bolsonaro - was biased in all cases against Lula.

This annulment made him eligible to face Bolsonaro in the 2022 election, which he won.