Cristiano Ronaldo: the Juventus striker’s scoring deeds praised by the Brazilian legend Pele
Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick in Juventus’ 3-1 Serie A win over Cagliari brought his number of goals to 770 with the striker on Instagram to praise Pele’s impact on him as he grew; The Brazilian legend responds with a message of admiration for his scoring exploits.
Brazilian legend Pele used social media to praise Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring exploits after the striker’s hat-trick in Juventus’ 3-1 Serie A win against Cagliari on Sunday.
Ronaldo scored a perfect hat-trick in 32 minutes with a header, a right-footed penalty and a left-footed shot as Juventus recovered from their midweek Champions League exit.
Those three goals brought the 36-year-old five-time Ballon d’Or winner to a staggering 770 tally with the player acknowledging the feat on Instagram and praising Pele’s impact on him growing up.
Ronaldo wrote: “My eternal and unconditional admiration for Mr. Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pelé), such is the respect I have for mid-20th century football, led me to consider his score of 767, assuming his nine goals for San Paolo. State Team, as well as its only target for the Brazilian military team, as official targets.
“Today, as I reach the 770th official goal in my professional career, my first words go straight to Pele. There is no player in the world who has not been raised by hearing stories about his games, goals and achievements, and I am no exception.
“And for that reason, I am filled with joy and pride when I recognize the goal that puts me at the top of the world goal list, breaking Pele’s record, something I could never dream of growing up as a child of Madeira. “
With FIFA not holding an official all-time scoring record, it’s an open point of debate with Pele considered third on the all-time list.
However, the 80-year-old former Santos forward who helped Brazil win the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970 quickly took to his Instagram to congratulate Ronaldo on his latest achievement.
“Life is a solo flight. Everyone makes their 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, ”wrote Pele.
“Congratulations on breaking my record for goals in official matches. My only regret is not having been able to hug you today ”.
