Cristiano Ronaldo surpasses Pele’s goal tally

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo overtook Brazilian legend Pele’s official goal tally. Ronaldo scored two goals and registered an assist in Juventus’ 4-1 Serie A win against Udinese in Torino, Italy on Sunday local time.

The Juventus striker has scored 758 goals for clubs and the Portugal national team, surpassing Pele’s 757 official goals. Ronaldo’s arch rival Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona scored 644 goals for a single club on Dec. 23 last year, breaking Pele’s record of 643.

Media outlets, including Goal.com and ESPN, on Monday reported that Ronaldo broke Pele’s goal record. However, there is still controversy surrounding Pele’s official goal record set more than 50 years ago. According to FIFA’s official website, Pele scored 1,281 goals but the record includes goals scored in unofficial friendlies. Pele once said he scored 1,289 goals.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com