You know that one friend that always has to ruin a special moment with some snarky comment? That one ass-hat who still has to make it about themselves no matter the situation? On Sunday morning, Brazilian club Santos woke up and decided to be that person.
Lionel Messi scored his historic 644th goal for Barcelona on Dec. 22 against Valladolid. The landmark goal broke Pelé’s record for the most goals scored by a player for a single club. The moment was widely celebrated in the soccer sphere.
One the best reactions was Budweiser sending a personalized bottle to each of the goalkeepers who got the unique experience of getting scored on by Messi in a Barcelona jersey.
To celebrate Lionel Messi's record-breaking goal for Barcelona, Budweiser are sending 644 personalized bottles to the 160 goalkeepers he has scored against.
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 24, 2020
When Messi tied Pelé’s record, the Brazilian legend reached out via Instagram to congratulate the Argentine.
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Happy story all around, right? Well leave it to Santos to ruin the moment. On Sunday, the Brazilian club posted a bogus statement on Instagram claiming that Pelé’s real goal tally was 1,091. How is this possible, you might ask? Santos wants to count goals scored in friendlies.
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Santos’ statement reads: "According to some statistics, the Argentine Lionel Messi (Barcelona) became the player with the most goals for a single club, when he scored 644 for the Catalans, excluding friendlies -- which some call official goals. Pele has already congratulated Barcelona's No. 10: 'Stories like ours, of love for the same clubs for so long, sadly, will keep becoming rarer in football,' O Rei [The King] wrote on social media.
"However, part of the media report the total, while excluding the best record of all: the total number of goals for the clubs. Pele scored 1,091 for Santos. In the expert press accounts, O Rei scored 643 in competitive matches and the 448 goals scored in friendly matches and tournaments were ostracised as if they hold less value.
"The 448 goals which today they try to disqualify, were scored against the best teams of the time. Club America (Mexico) and Colo Colo (Chile) each conceded nine goals against Pele. Inter Milan, one of the great European sides in the 1960s, conceded eight from O Rei. The list is immense and includes huge names: River Plate, Boca Juniors, Racing, Universidad de Chile, Real Madrid, Juventus, Lazio, Napoli, Benfica and Anderlecht.
"Even Barcelona, where Messi plays, was one of Pele's victims. He scored four goals in four games [against them]."
I think I can safely say the following clip is every sane soccer fan’s reaction to this claim.
If Messi sticks around and surpasses the 1,091 mark, then I bet Santos will come out with another statement claiming that Pelé actually has 3,420 goals because you have to count the goals he scored in training.
