Let me start by professing that I had/have a rather unfavorable view of Pele. This opinion also extends to Maradona and any star of the past whose name is constantly used to undermine the accomplishments of current stars, but that's a story for another time. Today, I want to talk about Pele's numbers and goals in specific.

When I was researching Pele and his past I watched a lot of documentaries and read books about him and I could easily say that Pele didn't score more than one thousand official goals. It's just wrong.

Pele's Actual Goal Tally

Pele's goal tally is 757 goals in 812 matches. There's simply no disputing that this is the official account of his official goals. What's in dispute actually is the number of his goals in friendlies as they vary between 448 and 526.

Regardless of what's the final tally, 757 in 812 matches is an amazing number and it is taking some seriously exceptionally talented and consistent players like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who spent most of their careers performing at the top level to overcome for more than a decade.

Pele's accomplishment is nothing to take lightly. This leads us to my next point.

What's Undermining Pele's Numbers

Well, the answer might actually shock you. But, the person who undermined those numbers the most is Pele himself. Those numbers were impressive until Pele himself insisted that his friendlies goals count as well. Suddenly, they're not as impressive anymore.

A Deeper Look At His Friendlies Goal Tally

I am honestly surprised myself by how diving deeper into this changed my mind when it comes to viewing these friendlies. Before I get into why is that, I have to mention how Pele was a brand name in Europe, second only to Coca-Cola.

"Friendlies"

Considering the number of eyes on each game played by Pele, he'd face players constantly seeking to prove themselves. And we're talking about Europe's best players here.

Take Santos vs Inter Milan in 1963 as an example. The match got so intense that there were fights breaking every few minutes and we are talking punching and kicking kind of fights. The kind of fights that even Pepe would stay away from.

Pele Never Played For A European Club

True, but in those intense friendlies this is his tally against ten of the biggest clubs at the time.

• 8 against Inter Milan
• 6 against Roma and Frankfurt
• 5 against Benfica
• 3 against AC Milan and Lazio
• 2 against Juventus
• 1 against Real Madrid

It's also worth mentioning that the Brazilian league was among the best in the world. It should be enough to point out how good the league was by stating that Santos' rivals Botafogo has players like Garrincha, Didi, and Jairzinho who were stars on the Brazilian national team at the time and World Cup winners.

I am obviously not going to start a petition to count all his goals in friendlies or overhype the Brazilian league, but obviously, there's more value to them. And there's even a larger value once we realize the final point of this post.

Pele Wasn't An Attacker

This is the fact that's forgotten about the most as people focus only on the goal tally. But, Pele wasn't an attacker in his position on the pitch.

I don't mean he is not an attacker the same way people call Messi and Cristiano "wingers" when it's obvious that their teams are set up with them scoring. I mean that he was playing in a position that is more similar to Ozil than the previous two. The closest he is to the top is a secondary striker like Muller.

In fact, Pele had a fight with the Brazilian manager, Mário Zagallo, in 1970 because he wanted to play him as a striker.

In Conclusion

For the longest time, we have been having a debate about a player without even realizing the position where he played.

The fact is Pele was a very exceptional player. I know this seems like an obvious statement. But, coming from what I saw he was that good.

Accurate shooting with both feet as well as his head. Free kick goals and amazing vision, even to his blind side made him solidify his name among the greatest of all time.