Pele scored a record 1281 goals in 1363 games (including 'non-official' games). It's important to consider these games because of the number of high-quality 'friendlies' Santos played around the world in that era.
According to Pelé, he was the all-time leading scorer in the history of the sport with 1,283 goals in 1,366 matches.
Pele extraordinarily scored 127 goals for Santos in one calendar year: 1959.
In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.
Brazil. On November 19, 1969, when a broadcast failure deprived the world of the second moon landing of the Apollo 12 Mission, the Brazilians missed nothing of an even more historic moment: Pelé's thousandth goal. Anf for Brazil and its "king," this date could not have been better chosen to achieve such a feat.
Messi has 774 goals to his name at club and international level combined, while Pele is believed to have 762 - a figure that continues to be disputed to this very day, including by the man himself, who believes he has over 1,000.
Lionel Messi has scored the most goals for one club. Pelé held the world record for around 50 years. Josef Bican is credited by FIFA with 805 goals.
Precisely how many time Pele hit the net is a matter of debate, with most statisticians agreeing the number is between 1,281 and 1,283. FIFA put his overall total at more than 1,200 - over 1,000 of which came for his first club, Santos. Most of the others came for the New York Cosmos and Brazil.
Most goals scored: The late footballer Pele holds the Guinness World Record for the most goals scored in the history of football. He found the back of the net on as many as 1,283 times in 1363 matches. Most goals in a calendar year: Pele scored 127 goals for Santos in 1959 when he was only 18.
Pele scored 77 goals in 92 international football matches, making him Brazil's all-time top scorer. With international records even from that era far more well-organised, these numbers are undisputed. The tally also puts Pele as the 11th-highest scorer of all-time in international football.
1 Most number of goals in a calendar year - Lionel Messi
That adds up to a tally of 91 goals in a single calendar year in 69 official appearances for the then 25-year-old Lionel Messi.
And that's all down to Lionel Messi's insane 2012, during which he scored an impressive 91 times, with the Guinness Book of World Records formally recognising the Argentina star's achievement.
Pele's career by the numbers
Brazil's football association (CBF) and Santos say Pele scored a total of 1,283 goals in 1,367 matches while FIFA puts the figure at 1,281 goals in 1,366 games. Other sources give varying figures depending on the types of games included.
Well, in official competition, Pele did score 778 goals, but his inflated tally comes from friendly matches and tour games that Santos would play at the time. He also counted games he played for the Sixth Coast Guard in a military competition against non-professionals, so you do have to take that with a pinch of salt.
Pelé was the 1st footballer in history to score 1,000 goals. Brazil's Pelé became the first man to score 1,000 goals in competitive football in November 1969 after converting a penalty for Santos against Vasco da Gama in Rio. The match was stopped for 30 minutes as supporters invaded the pitch.
Pele played a total of 92 games for Brazil and scored 77 goals in his career whereas Maradona played a total of 91 games and scored a total of 34 goals.
Brazil's Pelé became the first man to score 1,000 goals in competitive football in November 1969 after converting a penalty for Santos against Vasco da Gama in Rio. The match was stopped for 30 minutes as supporters invaded the pitch.
His strike came for his beloved Santos in a game against local side Vasco de Gama, whose fans gave Pele a standing ovation after the goal was scored, with 80,000 rival fans uniting to celebrate one heroic legend.
Pele, the legendary Brazilian footballer, is considered the football god of all time. No player has won more world cups (3) than him.
Ronaldo has scored a record number of international goals and appearances, but Messi has won more Ballon d'Or awards (7). Messi has spent most of his playing career in Spain and France, while Ronaldo has played in Portugal, England, Spain, and Italy.
Pele hit 12 goals at the World Cup and Ronaldo has notched eight times. Pele's ratio, though, sees him come out on top again; 0.86 compared to Messi on 0.5 and Ronaldo on 0.36.
Messi is the most popular candidate thanks to his performances at the FIFA World Cup 2022. The Argentine attacker is frequently recognised as the best player in football history. Like his rival Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo is regarded by many as the best football player to ever play the game.