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MILAN. — Pele on Sunday congratulated Cristiano Ronaldo for “breaking his record” of goals scored in official matches.
Portuguese star Ronaldo hit a hat trick for Juventus in a 3-1 Italian Serie A win over Cagliari to bring his total to 770 goals.
The 36-year-old took to Instagram to tell his 270 million followers he could now claim the record, having matched Pele’s 767 on March 2.
“I’m filled with joy and pride as I acknowledge the goal that puts me on top of the World’s goalscoring list, overcoming Pele’s record, something that I could never have dreamed of while growing up as a child from Madeira,” Ronaldo wrote. Brazilian great Pele (80) wrote on Instagram to his 5.8 million followers: “Congratulations on breaking my record of goals in official matches.
“I admire you a lot, I love watching you play and this is no secret to anyone.
“My only regret is not being able to give you a hug today.” “Cristiano life is a solo flight. Each makes his own journey. And what a beautiful journey you are having!”
Pele — the only player in history to win three World Cups — has claimed to have scored 1 283 goals in total, including in unofficial matches.
Since football’s world governing body FIFA does not keep an official record of who is on top of the all-time scoring list, it is a benchmark that is hotly disputed.
Several media outlets previously hailed Ronaldo for breaking the record when he reached 760 goals as he had supposedly surpassed the record set by Austria and Czechoslovakia striker Josef Bican.
However, the Czech FA subsequently said in January that Bican’s total was actually 821 goals, following a review of his statistics during a career spanning from 1931 to 1955.
On Sunday, however, Ronaldo ignored Bican’s revised total to claim he was now on top of the scoring pile after surpassing Pele’s tally of 767. — AFP.
Online Reporter