Neymar: 'I'm not better than Pele'
"I never thought I could achieve this record," Neymar said on September 9, after being awarded the certificate for scoring the most goals in the team's history by Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) President Ednaldo Rodrigues. "I want to say that I am not a better player than Pele or any other player in the team. I always wanted to write my name in the history of Brazilian football and the team, and today I did it."
Neymar scored twice in the 5-1 win over Bolivia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers for South America to surpass Pele to become the player with the most goals for the team. He scored for Brazil in his debut match in 2010: winning 2-0 against the US, and currently has 79 goals in 125 matches.
"King of soccer" Pele once scored 77 goals in 92 matches for Brazil. CBF still considers this late legend to be the team's top scorer with 95 goals in 114 matches. However, FIFA does not count goals scored in friendly matches between the national team and the club. When Pele was still playing, national teams often played against clubs, when Brazil used to travel to Europe to play friendly matches with clubs in the context that other teams could not play.
Similarly, FIFA also did not count Neymar's eight goals at the 2012 London Olympics and Rio 2016, when neither of these tournaments are considered high-level tournaments.
According to official figures, Pele has a higher scoring rate than Neymar for Brazil, and higher than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - the top scorers for Argentina and Portugal. Specifically, the "King of Soccer" scored 77 goals through 91 official matches, an average of 0.84 goals per match - compared to 0.62 for Neymar.
Pele died in December 2022 after being treated at Albert Einstein Hospital, Sao Paulo city for colon cancer, kidney and heart failure. Pele's official social media account congratulated Neymar's latest achievement with a post: "Congratulations Neymar for surpassing the king in goals for Brazil. Surely Pele is applauding you today! ".
Rodrygo - who contributed a double against Bolivia - revealed that he is still a big fan of the senior striker. "Neymar is truly a hero of mine," said the Real player. "This will be my beautiful memory, a very special day."
Interim coach Fernando Diniz praised Neymar's return to scoring goals to break the record, showing Neymar's determination. "He is a great player, everyone must recognize and accept it," the 49-year-old coach emphasized. "Neymar receives love from fans with his innate talent."
Despite being the top scorer, Neymar has not won any major titles with Brazil. He led Brazil to the 2013 Confederations championship, but has never won the World Cup or Copa America. The 31-year-old striker joined Brazil in the quarterfinals of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, but was eliminated from the semi-finals in 2014. He was not part of the Brazilian team that won the 2019 Copa America because of injury, and the team lost to Argentina in the final. 2021.
