Discussing his aspirations with Rio Ferdinand on his newly launched YouTube channel, Ronaldo said he aimed to reach a thousand goals.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has come under criticism from Brazilian fans after he aimed a sly dig at Pele and other football greats whose career goals weren’t all captured on camera.
Brazilians gang up against Ronaldo for taking swipe at Pele’s 1,000 goals record
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The 39-year-old added a caveat, though, saying he would ensure that all his goals were captured in video formats, unlike other legends whose goals could not be accounted for with video evidence.
"I want to reach 1,000 goals. If I don't have any injuries, this for me is the most important [thing], I want that. For me, the best mark that I can have in football is to reach, first, 900 goals. After, my challenge is to be at 1,000 goals,” Ronaldo said.
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"All the goals I have scored, they have video. They all have video. Listen, I respect all of them [Pele and Di Stefano]. And if you want more goals, I can bring them from training, too. And I will prove to the people after. They prefer this player, or this is the best one. I don't care about that."
Brazilian fans slams 'jealous and disrespectful' Ronaldo
Al Nassr star’s comments have since been interpreted by Brazilian fans as a swipe at the legendary Pele, who is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as having scored 1,279 goals in his career.
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Some of the aggrieved fans took to the social media platform X to call out Ronaldo, while others branded him as disrespectful.
Legendary football icon Edson Arantes do Nascimento, popularly referred to as Pele, passed away in December 2022 at the age of 83.
Pele, who won three World Cups with the Brazil national team, had been battling colon cancer for some years before his demise.
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During his playing career, he revolutionised football and is widely regarded as one of the greatest to ever play football.
