Lionel Messi still needs another 448 goals to break Pele’s goal-scoring record for a single club, according to the Brazilian icon’s former team Santos.
The initial belief was Messi eclipsed the revered record when he netted his 644th goal for Barcelona in a 3-0 over Real Valladolid last week. Even Pele congratulated Messi, with the 80-year-old three-time World Cup winner saying that “I admire you very much.”
However, Santos disputed the achievement by issuing a statement Sunday saying Pele’s scoring record in friendly matches should be counted, meaning the official record stands at 1,091 goals.
“In the last few days, there has been a lot of talk in the media and on social media about how many goals Pele scored in a Santos shirt,” the club said, as translated by ESPN.
“According to some statistics, the Argentine Lionel Messi (Barcelona) became the player with the most goals for a single club, when he scored 644 for the Catalans, excluding friendlies – which some call official goals. Pele has already congratulated Barcelona’s No. 10: ‘Stories like ours, of love for the same clubs for so long, sadly, will keep becoming rarer in football,’ O Rei [The King] wrote on social media.
“However, part of the media report the total, while excluding the best record of all: The total number of goals for the clubs. Pele scored 1,091 for Santos.
“In the expert press accounts, O Rei scored 643 in competitive matches and the 448 goals scored in friendly matches and tournaments were ostracised as if they hold less value.”
According to BBC Sport, the Brazilian club added, “A goal against Transvaal (from Suriname) has the same value as a goal scored at Real Madrid, in the middle of the Santiago Bernabeu.”
Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho appeared to take another swipe at Jurgen Klopp on Friday by suggesting he didn’t deserve to win FIFA’s Best Men’s Coach Award.
Mourinho told the Liverpool boss the “best team lost” following Spurs’ 2-1 defeat at Anfield on Wednesday, and he also expressed distaste for the German’s touchline antics during the top-of-the-table encounter.
Now, he’s lending his support to Bayern Munich handler Hansi Flick, who lost out to Klopp at Thursday’s Best FIFA Football Awards.
“I think the only chance for Flick to win is that Bayern find two or three more new competitions for him to win,” Mourinho said during a pre-match press conference, according to ESPN’s James Olley.
“So maybe if he wins seven titles in one season, maybe he wins the award,” Mourinho continued. “I believe he only won Champions League, Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, European Super Cup, German Super Cup – he only won five and the biggest one of all.
“I think ‘poor Flick,’ the only chance is for Bayern to find two or three more trophies to see if he can win it.”
Klopp won the Best Men’s Coach honor after leading Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years during the 2019-20 season.
Tottenham are three points below Liverpool in the Premier League table following the teams’ midweek scuffle. Spurs host Leicester City in north London on Sunday, while Liverpool travel to Crystal Palace a day earlier.
Lionel Messi stands alone as the most prolific one-club scorer in football history, breaking a tie with Pele on Tuesday with his 644th goal for Barcelona in all competitions.
Messi moved clear of the Brazilian icon with a tidy finish in the second half against Real Valladolid. The 33-year-old collected teammate Pedri’s backheel flick and fired into the bottom corner to give Barcelona a 3-0 win, moving them up to fifth place in La Liga.
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 22, 2020
Pele, who starred for Santos from 1956-74, scored 643 times in 665 competitive matches to set the record. Messi, meanwhile, needed 749 games to establish the new high.
Gerd Muller, a World Cup winner and Bayern Munich legend, had come closest to overtaking Pele, scoring 570 goals from 1964-79.
Fernando Peyroteo, who played for Sporting Lisbon from 1937-49, ranks fourth with 569 goals. Josef Bican, who represented Slavia Prague from 1937-48, is fifth with 542.
Messi set the benchmark amid a season of relative struggle by his lofty standards. With 11 goals and three assists in his opening 19 matches, the Argentine has endured his worst start to a season since 2007-08, when he was 20 years old and plagued by injuries.
He admitted that his attempts to leave Barcelona in the summer had weighed on him and affected his form.
“Everything that happened before the summer, how the season ended, then the burofax and everything else … I dragged everything into the start of the season a bit,” Messi said recently. “The truth is right now I’m feeling fine but in the summer I had a very bad time.”
Messi tied Pele’s record on Saturday against Valencia with a rare header – his first in La Liga in more than three years.
In the spirit of giving, theScore identifies one gift that would benefit each of Europe’s biggest football clubs this holiday season.
Premier League
Arsenal
? A new owner: There’s no way around this: Arsenal need to blow it up and start from scratch. The Gunners, sitting perilously close to the relegation zone amid a horrid stretch of results, are in disarray. The whole organization needs a reboot, and that begins right at the very top with the club’s wildly unpopular owner, Stan Kroenke.
Chelsea
? A year’s supply of sauerbraten: Unless Chelsea figure out a way to get the best out of high-priced German imports Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, they won’t make the leap that so many expected this season. The familiarities of home, like Germany’s national dish, will go a long way toward helping the talented duo get comfortable in their new digs.
Liverpool
Clive Brunskill / Getty Images Sport / Getty
? Bubble wrap: Liverpool can’t afford to lose any more bodies this season. Even for a squad this deep, managed by arguably the best tactician alive, another wave of key injuries could be too much to overcome as the Reds aim to retain their Premier League crown and make a deep Champions League run.
Manchester City
? A screening of “Free Solo”: Manchester City need a shot of adrenaline to return to the attacking heights of recent seasons. This Academy Award-winning film, which documents rock climber Alex Honnold’s quest to scale El Capitan – an iconic wall of granite standing nearly 3,000 feet tall – without a rope or safety equipment, is enough to give anybody a rush.
Manchester United
? Whatever makes Paul Pogba happy: Manchester United have plenty of quality pieces in place to be a formidable attacking outfit, and getting Pogba back to his very best is crucial for the squad, as currently constructed, to reach its peak. He hasn’t always looked overly motivated at Old Trafford, but when he’s on, he can be unstoppable.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur FC / Tottenham Hotspur FC / Getty
? New ankles for Harry Kane: Kane has been in spectacular form so far this season, and his increased role as a playmaker has made him even more integral to Tottenham’s success. Jose Mourinho’s counterattacking system can’t function without the England captain, which is a slightly worrying thought considering his checkered history of ankle issues.
La Liga
Atletico Madrid
? An early end to the season: Atletico Madrid are in pole position to capture their first La Liga title since 2014. That said, despite the struggles of their city rivals, the gap atop the table isn’t that wide, especially considering how inconsistent Real Madrid have been this season. The faster the campaign comes to an end, the better for Atleti.
Barcelona
? A long-termcontract for Lionel Messi: A no-brainer. Barcelona have morphed into a one-man team, overly dependent on Messi to do … basically everything. The recent contract fiasco was the closest he’s ever come to leaving, and the only way to ensure he doesn’t take off in 2021 is to ink a new deal that keeps him at the Camp Nou until he hangs up his boots.
Real Madrid
FRANCK FIFE / AFP / Getty
? A time machine: Older members of Zinedine Zidane’s squad are starting to slow down – except Karim Benzema – and the team doesn’t seem capable of competing without them. Not yet, anyway. Turning back the clock and getting the likes of Luka Modric to revert to his Ballon d’Or-winning days would give Madrid the added boost they need.
Serie A
AC Milan
? Aclean bill of health for Zlatan: AC Milan have done an admirable job in his absence, but there’s no real title push for the Rossoneri if Zlatan Ibrahimovic isn’t fit the rest of the way. The veteran striker delivers goals, of course, but just his presence up front adds a swagger and confidence to the team that can’t be replicated when he’s not on the pitch.
Inter Milan
? A muzzle for Antonio Conte: Make no mistake, this is Inter Milan’s best chance to win the Scudetto in over a decade. With Juventus wobbling and no European commitments to worry about, Inter need to make sure outspoken and emotional manager Conte doesn’t say something outrageous to upset the brass and jeopardize the entire operation.
Juventus
Daniele Badolato – Juventus FC / Juventus FC / Getty
? Patience: Despite closing the calendar year on a sour note, there have been signs of steady improvement under rookie boss Andrea Pirlo. Hiccups were inevitable, though. Now on their third manager in as many seasons, Juventus can’t overreact and change things up again, even if that means taking a step backward and ceding the Serie A title they’ve been hoarding.
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich
? Ballon d’Or for Lewy: Were it not scrapped due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Ballon d’Or award – the sport’s most coveted individual accolade – would have gone to indomitable striker Robert Lewandowski this year. It’s a shame he didn’t get to enjoy that moment. Winning FIFA’s “The Best” honor is some consolation, but it’s not really the same.
Borussia Dortmund
? An agreement with Marco Rose: Edin Terzic must know that his seat at the helm of Borussia Dortmund is only temporary. Rose, one of the game’s rising managerial stars, is widely expected to become the next permanent bench boss at the Westfalenstadion. For Dortmund’s sake, they need to finalize a deal as quickly as possible.
Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain
JOSEP LAGO / AFP / Getty
? A neuralyzer: The success of Paris Saint-Germain’s season, as always, will be determined by their performance in the Champions League. To ensure they make a deep run in 2021, PSG need to destroy memories of the infamous “Remontada” ahead of their last-16 clash with Barcelona. The famous memory-zapping device from “Men in Black” would come in handy.
