Was Pelé really beaten by Messi?
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Nelson Antoine / AP / SIPA
By scoring his 644th goal with FC Barcelona, has Lionel Messi really broken the record for goals with the same club, until then held by the legendary Pelé (643)?
A historian from Santos disputes this.
According to him, some 448 goals scored in a friendly match were forgotten by the side of the highway.
“The 448 goals we are trying to erase today were scored against the main teams of the time.
América (Mexico) and Colo Colo (Chile) each conceded nine goals from Pelé.
Inter Milan conceded eight more goals from the King.
The list is huge with other strong opponents: Boca, River, Real Madrid, Juventus, Lazio… Barça, where Messi is playing today, has itself conceded four from Pelé.
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The importance of the friends of the time
The historian questions here the reason why the goals in friendly matches were scored, namely the supposedly too low level of Pelé's opponents.
And highlights the economic importance of friendlies in the life of professional footballers at the time.
It remains to be seen whether these arguments are convincing enough to effect a recount.
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FC Barcelona: Lionel Messi scores his 643rd goal and matches King Pelé's record
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Lionel messi
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