Originally Posted by
Pedro de la Rosa
Those two will score more competitive goals than Pele. Pele counted club friendlies, Messi's stats don't include them. Pele also played most of his games in the Campeonato Paulista, which is the state league of Sao Paulo which features sides well down the league ladder and meant he rarely played against the bigger sides from Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte or Gremio. Not detracting from Pele at all but you can't use that as a stick to hit Messi or Ronaldo with.