Pelé denies changing Instagram bio after Cristiano surpassed his career goals tally
Pelé was accused of referring to his unofficial tally of 1,283 goals after Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed his official haul, but he denies it.
Pelé has denied changing his Instagram bio after Cristiano Ronaldo overtook his haul of 757 goals in official competitions.
Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo moved on to 758 career goals with a double in Juventus' 4-1 victory over Udinese on Saturday. It came just two weeks after Brazil legend Pelé, a three-time World Cup winner, saw his record for the most goals with a single club - 643 at Santos - surpassed by Barcelona captain Lionel Messi.
Following Ronaldo's goals against Udinese, Pelé was accused of updating his Instagram bio to include "Leading Goal Scorer of All Time (1,283)", a total that remains the subject of much debate. However, the 80-year-old has refuted the allegation, insisting he is not trying to detract from the achievements of Ronaldo and Messi.
"I was accused by the press of having changed my Instagram bio to overshadow these big stars that are breaking my records," Pelé posted on Twitter. "The bio text has always been the same since I joined the platform. None of this should distract us from their incredible achievements."
Cristiano targetting Bican's all-time record
Only Czech striker Josef Bican, who is credited with scoring 805 goals, lies ahead of Ronaldo in the all-time goal scoring list.
After Messi scored his 644th goal for Barcelona, Santos published an article on their official website – attributed to club historian Fernando Ribeiro – with the headline, 'King Pelé – 1,091 goals for Santos FC'. Ribeiro claimed that Pelé's official haul for Santos was 1,091 when friendlies against some of the world's best teams, including Barcelona and Inter Milan, were included.