While most of the football world was celebrating Lionel Messi’s 644th goal for FC Barcelona as the moment the Argentine surpassed the record held by Pelé for most goals for a single club, the Brazilian club Santos was issuing a formal dispute.
Santos FC claim Pelé scored 1,091 goals for them, putting him far beyond the reach of the Argentine, who would need 448 to surpass him in that case.
The number comes from counting goals scored in friendly matches, which Santos maintains are nonetheless official games.
“The matches were played in official uniforms, with the official rules of the game and with a score sheet,” says Santos’ statement.