Cristiano Ronaldo outperformed Pele’s goal score record on Sunday, thanks to his Juventus hat trick, and hailed the icon of Brazil.
“The last few weeks were filled with news and stats considering me the world’s top scorer in football history, overcoming Pele’s 757 official goals,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram.
“Although I’m thankful for that recognition, now it’s time for me to explain why I didn’t acknowledge that record until this moment.
“My everlasting and unconditional admiration for mister Edson Arantes do Nascimento, such as the respect that I have for mid-20th century football, led me to take into account his 767 scores, assuming his nine goals for Sao Paulo State Team, as well as his single goal for the Brazilian Military Team, as official goals.
“The world has changed since then and football has changed as well, but this doesn’t mean that we can just erase history according to our interests.”
Ronaldo scored a perfect hat trick on Sunday to inspire Juve to win 3-1 over Cagliari in Serie A and move on to 770 career goals.
And he explained his “everlasting and unconditional admiration” for Pele after the Juventus Star overcame Brazil’s legend to become the top goal scorer in history:
“Today, as I reach the 770 official goals 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.
“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. “Thanks to all of those who took part of this amazing journey with me. To my team-mates, to my opponents, to the fans of the beautiful game all over the world and, above all, to my family and close friends: trust me when I say that I couldn’t have done it without you.”
