BARCELONA forward Lionel Messi is closing in on a huge goalscoring record that was set by Pele in 1974.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both within 50 goals of Pele's record (Image: GETTY)
Messi recently scored his 400th goal in La Liga and his 24 goals this season means he is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Argentina captain has a total of 576 goals in 660 appearances for his belovedBarcelona, after making his debut in 2004.
Pele, who played for Santos between 1956 and 1974 scored a total of 619 goals in 638 games.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who wouldn’t rule himself out of beating Pele’s total, has scored an impressive 589 goals in 789 games.
However, the Portuguese international is 869 days older than fellow five-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi - giving the Argentine the advantage.
Pele recently refused to be compared with 31-year-old Messi, due to him not being versatile enough, despite the striker getting ever closer to his record.
“How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right... and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill, doesn’t head the ball well?” Pele toldFolha de Sao Paulo.
“How can you compare?
Pele made 638 appearances for Santos (Image: GETTY)
“To compare with Pele, it has to be someone who shoots well with the left, shoots well with the right, and scores headers.”
Pele didn’t stop there, even claiming that Argentina hero Maradona was ‘far better’ than Messi.
"As far as I’m concerned, Maradona was one of the best players ever," he said.
“If you ask me, 'Was he better than Messi?' Yes, he was. Much better. [Franz] Beckenbauer, [Johan] Cruyff were also excellent players."
Lionel Messi has scored 24 goals in 23 appearances this season (Image: GETTY)
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 16 goals in 26 games this season (Image: GETTY)
Messi hasn’t responded to the comments made by three-time World Cup winner Pele, but recently told Marca that he never expected to be such a successful player.
"I did not expect all of this when I started," said Messi.
"My dream was to be a professional, to be able to succeed in football.
"I am in the best team in the world, I am next to the best in the world in their positions and that makes everything easier."
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