Cristiano Ronaldo added to his burgeoning tally of records when he scored a hat-trick for Manchester United against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
The hat-trick helped Manchester United to a 3-2 win and took Ronaldo to 807 goals, making him professional football's leading scorer, according to some. “The all-time top goalscorer title in football is much contested and FIFA does not keep an official record, but the world governing body estimates that Austro-Czech Josef Bican netted 805 goals during a career that lasted from 1931 to '55,” Reuters reported. The Czech football association claims according to a review of statistics, Bican scored 821 goals. However, other statistics say Bican scored only 759 goals in his career.
Brazilian legends Pele and Romario have each scored over 1,000 goals, but these included performances in amateur and unofficial games.
At Old Trafford on Saturday, Ronaldo drew level with Bican in the 12th minute. “The Portugal international then went past Bican with a tap in from Jadon Sancho's neat pass to put United 2-1 in front before powerfully heading home his third to spark wild celebrations in the stands as United won 3-2.”
It was the 59th hat-trick of Ronaldo's career. Ronaldo wrote on Instagram “Tremendously happy with my first hat-trick since I came back to Old Trafford! Nothing beats the feeling of being back on the pitch and helping the team with goals and effort.”
Manchester United team-mate Paul Pogba praised Ronaldo. He said “He has never been a problem. You have the best striker in history in our team, it cannot be a problem. Today he showed why he is Cristiano Ronaldo. The performance from him and all the team was very brilliant,” Field Level Media reported.