Pele leaves hospital after prostate operation

Brazilian football legend Pele has been discharged from the Sao Paulo hospital where he was treated since last week and underwent a prostate surgery.

In a two-line communique, the Albert Einstein Hospital on Sunday said that Pele "was discharged", reports Efe.

Dozens of Brazilian and foreign reporters and many fans of the "Athlete of the Century" waited for hours for their idol. But Pele was able to leave the hospital without being spotted by them.

Last Friday, the hospital announced that Pele showed "no evidence of tumours" after a "benign" hyperplasia operation that proceeded "without complications and with good recovery."

The legendary 74-year-old football icon last Tuesday underwent a "transurethral resection of the prostate" to correct hyperplasia, an enlargement of the prostate which causes urine retention.

Pele, who since the time he was an active athlete has had just one kidney, remained in the hospital for 16 days in late 2014 because of a urinary tract infection that cropped up after he was operated on for kidney stones.

"The King" scored a total of 77 goals in 91 games for Brazil during a career that included three World Cup titles and he notched a total of 1,281 goals during his stellar career.