The 80-year-old retired footballer is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time as a result of the incredible records he set at club and international football.
However, some of those statistics that makes him untouchable is about to be taken away from him, as modern day football greats like Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar are almost encroaching on his record.
Cristiano Ronaldo:
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 85th-minute strike in Portugal’s 7-0 friendly match victory over Andorra on Wednesday night marked his 746th goal of an extraordinary senior career.
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Ronaldo, alongside Ferenc Puskas, is now the fourth-best goalscorer in football history behind Josef Bican (805), Romario (772), and Pele (767). The Portugal captain just need 21 goals to equal Pele’s record.
Neymar:
Paris Saint Germain forward Neymar Jr. is the next nearest person to break his countryman’s international record.
With 64 goals in 103 matches for Brazilian National team since debuting at age 18, Neymar is the second highest goalscorer for the Selecao, trailing Pele with only 13 goals. No doubt, he will surely exceed that number before ending his international career.
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Lionel Messi:
Pele scored and incredible 643 in all competitions for just one club – Santos, an all-time world record which no one except Lionel Messi is getting closer to after 50 years.
Messi needs just 5 club goals to rewrite that history and establish himself as the highest goalscorer for a single club. He currently has scored 711 goals in 881 games, with 639 of them coming from his club Barcelona.
