Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday scored a stunning hat-trick against Cagliari to go past the Brazilian legend Pele's tally of goals.
Ronaldo now has 770 goals in all competitions and surpassed Pele's disputed record of 767, having exceeded his official number of 757 earlier this year, Goal.com reported.
The 36-year-old's hat-trick propelled Juventus to a 3-1 win over Cagliari in the Serie A. Ronaldo scored all his goals in the first half of the game.
Following the achievement, Ronaldo took to Instagram to reveal why he did not acknowledge the record when he crossed the 757 official goals.
"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. 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," Ronaldo wrote.
"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 score, assuming his 9 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 as changed as well, but this doesn't mean that we can just erase history according to our interests," he added.
Ronaldo then praised Pele saying there is no player in the world who hasn't been raised listening to stories about his games. Juventus' star player also admitted that he could never have dreamed of overcoming Pele's record while growing up as a child from Madeira.
"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. And for that reason, I'm filled with joy and pride as I acknowledge the goal that put's 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," Ronaldo said.
"Thanks to all of those who took part of this amazing journey with me. To my teammates, 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. Now I can't wait for the next games and challenges! The next records and trophees! Believe me, this story is still far from being over. The future is tomorrow and there's still a lot to win for Juventus and Portugal! Join me in this journey! Let's go!" he concluded.
( With inputs from ANI )
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