Richarlison, a striker for Everton and Brazil, and former Brazilian international Walter Casagrande Junior have also encouraged police to intensify their search for the couple.
Pele has joined calls for authorities to expedite their search for a British journalist missing in one of the most isolated regions of the Amazon, as helicopters have been dispatched to locate the journalist and an indigenous specialist in the rainforest.
The Washington Post, The New York Times, and others vanished with his guide, Bruno Araujo Pereira, a former government official whose job was to protect Brazil’s uncontacted tribes.
The couple was last spotted during the weekend in the Javari Valley of the Amazonas state, close to the Peruvian border. The Javari region is home to the world’s largest population of uncontacted indigenous people.
The struggle for the preservation of the Amazon Forest and the protection of indigenous communities is ours,” said the three-time World Cup champion. “Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira commit their lives to this cause.”
“I join the countless voices calling for an intensification of the search and their rapid discovery.”
Pele also uploaded a video of Alessandra Sampaio, Mr. Phillips’s wife, making a passionate plea for more action.
It coincides with preparations for a Thursday vigil in central London.
Large photographs of Mr. Phillips and Mr. Pereira are likely to be displayed by well-wishers outside the Brazilian Embassy at about 8 a.m.
The Brazilian navy and army have despatched search teams in boats and helicopters to locate the two individuals, with the assistance of federal and state police officers.
Guilherme Torres, the commander of the interior division of the Amazonas state’s civil police, stated earlier this week that he could not conclude that their disappearance was associated with the lawless region’s gangs.
According to The Guardian, Mr. Pereira had received numerous threats from the region’s loggers and miners.
On Wednesday, Brazilian police arrested Pelado, also known as Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, for allegedly carrying a handgun without permission, which is typical in the region.
Police did not specify why he was being treated as a suspect, although he is believed to have been among a group of men that threatened the two individuals Saturday near an indigenous area.
At least four witnesses believed to be among the last to have seen Mr. Phillips and Mr. Pereira have been examined by police.
Mister Phillips’s sister stated “I am quite nervous. I’m quite concerned. It is your greatest dread.”
Sean Phillips further stated: “We need to throw everything at this problem. We want British officials to exert pressure on the Brazilian government to take action.”
