Cristiano Ronaldo Will Surpass Pele’s Goal Record – Mendes

Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes claims the forward will surpass Pele as the “best scorer in football history” while at Juventus.

The Portugal captain hit a landmark 700th career goal on Monday in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Ukraine, and Mendes reiterated his belief that his client is the greatest player of all time.

“His numbers don’t lie and light up the overwhelming way Cristiano Ronaldo shatters records, which elevate him to the category of best player in the history of football, with a big difference compared to the second [best] for all he achieved with the different clubs he represented, whether in England, Spain or now in Italy and also with the Portuguese national team,” said Mendes.

“The fact is that with Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal have already played in three finals, winning two of them.

According to sports analytics company Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, Ronaldo is sixth in the list of all-time goalscorers, trailing Pele by 67 goals but having played 179 matches more than the Brazilian.

Topping the chart is Czech-Austrian striker Josef Bican, who scored 805 goals in 530 matches between 1931 and 1955.

“Cristiano has reached the remarkable milestone of 700 goals, but I have no doubt that he’ll surpass Pele as the best scorer in football history, and he’ll do it with Juventus.

“After all, 68 goals aren’t a lot for this extraordinary Cristiano Ronaldo, are they? It’s also because I’m convinced that his best is yet to come.”

Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici has said Ronaldo will see through his contract at the club, which expires in June 2022.