Many believe that Pele is the greatest football player in the history of this sport. However, on what basis? It turns out that according to most sources, it is Pele who is the very player who scored the most goals in his career. Is this really so? It would seem that the statistics are obvious, what could be the questions? But in reality, everything is a little more complicated, so it’s worth considering in more detail the question of how many goals Pele has scored in his entire career. Was there really more than a thousand? If you want to know how many goals Pele scored in his entire career, then you should familiarize yourself with this material, since it is here that you will find an exhaustive answer to this question.
Total goals
So, it's time to find out how many goals Pele has scored in his entire career. Most sources indicate that he has authored 1,279 goals in 1,363 matches. Really incredible rate, right? Firstly, not every football player will play so many matches in his entire career, and at the same time score such a number of goals. This result is really respectful and gives the right to call Pele the best football player in history.
However, there is one detail that spoils the statistics a bit. The fact is that not all sources recognize these statistics, suggesting another, still impressive, but already a little more modest. On what basis? It's time to figure out what’s the matter. How many goals has Pele actually scored in his entire career?
Goals for the national team
It’s worth starting with his appearances for the Brazilian national team. Pele's statistics in the national team are undeniable, and already by it one can judge that he is an outstanding player of his time. He made his debut in the national team in 1957 and in his first two matches he scored two goals. He played for the national team until 1971, and during this time he entered the field 92 times, scoring 77 goals. Naturally, this is a small fraction of its overall result, so do not linger on this point. It's time to consider all the other goals of this legendary player.
Goals in America
It is no secret that Pele is a football player who has not played in Europe, the strongest football continent. This fact alone gives many experts the right to believe that statistics are not enough. However, in this article no one evaluates Pele's abilities, here you will find out only dry facts about the number of goals scored by him.
So, everyone knows that Pele spent the end of his career in the USA, at the New York Cosmos club. There he played for three years, played in 107 matches and scored 64 goals. And this despite the fact that he came to the club at the age of 35, when most of the players finish their careers! Thus, a total of 199 matches and 141 goals. Still a small part of what this football player managed to achieve.
Goals in Brazil
Pele began his professional career in 1957 as part of the Santos Club, and in the first season he performed a miracle. At the age of 17, he scored 41 goals in 38 matches. In the second season, he set an incredible record, scoring 66 goals in 46 matches - this is the maximum number that he scored in one season in his career. As you already know, in 1975 he moved to the USA. How many games did Pele play, and how many goals did he score between 1957 and 1975 at Santos?
The result may surprise you, since during this time Pele played 658 matches, scoring 643 goals. However, the amount still does not converge: it turns out that he entered the field 855 times and scored 784 goals. This is an amazing result, but it is far from the declared thousand goals.
Unofficial club matches
The thing is that Pele, along with Santos, took part in a huge number of friendly matches for this period. He played 464 unofficial friendly matches in which he scored 444 goals - this already explains how most sources attribute to him more than a thousand goals.
Now you know how many goals Pele has scored during his career, and you can make your own conclusions about whether he is the best forward in history.