The Brazilian football club Santos has issued a statement in which it disputed media reports claiming that Lionel Messi had broken the all-time record for goals scored for a single club and said that Pele actually scored 1,091 goals, not 643.
The club has included in its tally an additional 448 goals which were scored in friendly local and international games against Inter Milan, América (Mexico) River Plate, and Boca Juniors. The club pointed out that all those games were official ones, as they were organized under the approval of regional and national federations, and hence were approved by FIFA.
"Pelé scored 1,091 goals for Santos. In the accounts of the specialized press, the King of Football scored 643 in competitions and the 448 goals scored in matches and friendly competitions were ostracized, as if they had less value than the others," the statement reads.
Barcelona’s forward Lionel Messi reportedly broke two all-time records in a row, first equaling Pele’s record of goals for a single club and later taking over the list of top goalscorers.
Pele congratulated Messi on the “historic record” and praised his loyalty to Barcelona, where Messi became a six-time Ballon d’Or winner, won 10 La Liga titles, and 4 Champions League cups.