Brazilian football legend Pele said on Saturday that he feels "strong, with a lot of hope" despite medical problems that have kept the 82-year-old sports icon in the hospital with a respiratory infection.

Pele, widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, was hospitalized earlier this week amid ongoing colon cancer treatments.

Doctors treating Pele said earlier Saturday that the Brazilian legend remained "stable," with his condition not having deteriorated over the last day.

Pele "has had a good response to care without any worsening in the clinical picture in the last 24 hours," doctors at Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital said in a statement.