( CNN ) -- He may be a long way from the football field , but Pele at least is back to talking and getting better at a Sao Paulo , Brazil , hospital . The city 's Albert Einstein Hospital issued a statement Saturday saying the football legend -- born Edson Arantes do Nascimento -- was improving but still in intensive care battling an illness . Pele is lucid , talking and responding to antibiotics , the hospital said . He remains on temporary dialysis , which was a reason he was moved to the ICU in the first place , because the machine he needed was there . The hospital issued a second statement later Saturday , indicating that Pele continues to recover and that doctors plan to take him off dialysis early Sunday . Earlier this week , the 74-year-old was admitted to the medical facility -- the same place he recently underwent surgery to remove kidney stones -- for a urinary tract infection . The athletic icon had one kidney removed during this days as a player , his aide , Jose Fornos Rodrigues , told CNN . Pele tweeted Thursday that he was looking forward to spending the holidays with family and starting `` the new year with renewed health , with many international trips planned . '' `` I am blessed to receive your love and support , '' Pele said , `` and thank God this is nothing serious . '' Known as `` The Black Pearl '' and simply `` The King , '' Pele is one of the best known names in all of sports . He burst onto the scene as a teenager , helping lead his native Brazil to the 1958 World Cup championship . Pele went on to star on two other World Cup title teams as well , in 1962 and 1970 , in addition to a breakthrough career with the Brazilian club Santos and later with the New York Cosmos of the now-defunct North American Soccer League . In 2000 , he and Argentina 's Diego Maradona were named co-Players of the Century by FIFA , the international soccer governing body . Even after retiring from football , Pele has remained in the public eye as a product pitchman , ambassador for the sport of football and advocate for Brazil 's poor , having grown up as one of them in the inland city of Tres Coracoes . CNN 's Barbara Arvanitidis and Steve Almasy contributed to this report .
Soccer star Pele should be taken off dialysis early Sunday , hospital says . He went into hospital in Sao Paulo , Brazil , this week for a urinary tract infection . The hospital says the 74-year-old is getting better as he 's being treated in the ICU . Pele is a three-time World Cup champion and shared Player of the Century award .