CELEBRITY
Pele’s astonishing goal record
Pele’s position as one of the greatest footballers of all time has never been contested but the same cannot be said for the number of goals he scored in his star-studded career.
Precisely how many time Pele hit the net is a matter of debate, with most statisticians agreeing the number is between 1,281 and 1,283.
FIFA put his overall total at more than 1,200 – over 1,000 of which came for his first club, Santos. Most of the others came for the New York Cosmos and Brazil.
Questions, however, have long surrounded the status of many of his goals, especially when compared to those scored by modern-day players such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Almost half of Pele’s goals came in friendly matches – including games as an army conscript – and some argue they do not carry the same weight as goals scored in competitive matches.
Barcelona celebrated in December 2020 when Messi scored his 644th goal for the Spanish club, surpassing the 643 competitive goals Pele scored for Santos. Two months later, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 768th goal, three more than Pele’s total, including international goals.
Pele sent his congratulations to both players but his supporters still argue the Brazilian’s goal haul is superior because in Pele’s day friendly matches were much more competitive than they are today.
In the 1960s, South America’s top players were rarely snapped up by European clubs the way they are today, and the top teams from each continent hardly ever met in competitive games. So when they did face off in friendlies they were serious affairs.
Starting in the late 1950s, Santos toured Europe and much of the rest of the world every year because foreign clubs would pay them big money for the privilege of seeing Pele and co up close.
The tours were punishing. Santos would sometimes play two games in three days, and with no time to train, rest or eat properly they often slept on overnight trains and survived on fruit and chocolate.
And yet still they banged in the goals, from Lisbon to Lyon and Birmingham to Buenos Aires.
The defences Pele beat read like a who’s who of world soccer.
He scored against AC Milan, Juventus and Napoli; Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico; Anderlecht, Feyenoord and Red Star Belgrade.
He got eight goals in seven games against Inter Milan, six in five against AS Roma and 10 in seven matches against Benfica.
“You had to have a great prestige even to face teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona,” Odir Cunha, Santos historian, told Reuters.
“Pele played against some of the biggest teams in the world. And he scored against almost all of them.”
-Reuters
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.
Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.
“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.
The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
-Reuters
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.
Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.
“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.
Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.
-Reuters
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