Brazil legend Pele on Sunday, March 14 congratulated Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portugal forward’s hat trick against Cagliari took him past him in official matches.
Ronaldo only needed 32 minutes to take his career total to 770 goals, three ahead of Pele whose tally stands at 767.
“Life is a solo flight. Each makes his own journey. And what a beautiful journey you are having. I admire you a lot, I love watching you play and this is no secret to anyone. Congratulations on breaking my record of goals in official matches,” Pele posted on Instagram.
Cristiano, 36, silenced his critics with a perfect hat trick as he scored with his left foot, right foot and head in as Juventus cruised to a 3-1 win.
After the Cagliari game, Ronaldo took to Instagram to explain why he was only now acknowledging the “record”.
“Today, as I reach the 770th official goal in my professional career, my first words go straight to Pele. There’s no player in the world who hasn’t been raised listening to stories about his games, his goals and his achievements, and I’m no exception. And for that reason, 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.”
Fans on social media appreciated Ronaldo’s post which once again exhibited his elite mentality.
His goal tally of 770 places him first in the rankings of the most prolific goal socrers in history, although the Czech Football Association claims Austria and Czechoslovakia striker Josef Bican is football’s true all-time top scorer with 821 goals.
