Juventus Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo Ranks Only Third In Greatest Goalscorers In Club Football History

Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo might not be the outright all-time leading goalscorer in football history, according to a new study.

The 36-year-old Portuguese forward notched up his record-breaking 760th goal against Napoli last month in Juventus' 2-0 Italian Super Cup win.

And Ronaldo's goalscoring haul at the time moved him ahead of Slavia Prague icon Josef Bican.

However, it has been disputed whether or not the Juventus star is the official record holder for top goalscorer in football history.

The Czech FA has argued that Ronaldo has not broken Bican's record, saying that "Josef Bican scored 821 goals in official matches."

Football legend Pele has also claimed that he has scored over 1,000 goals, with Brazilian club Santos echoing his bold statement.

The International Federation of Football History and Statistics has now released data on the world's all-time record goalscoring rankings.

According to the IFFHS, Ronaldo was named the third-most prolific goalscorer when his goals for Portugal were removed.

That means the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is 28 goals shy from equalling the top goalscorer.

IFFHS named Brazilian legend Romario top of the pile, saying that the former PSV Eindhoven star scored 689 goals.

Falling five goals shy of Romario is Pele, with the IFFHS claiming that the Santos legend has a 684-goal haul to his name.

Bican finished fourth with 656 goals and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi ranked fifth with 651 goals.

Ronaldo was recently named fifth in the top 10 sporting GOATs by Good Morning Britain co-host Piers Morgan.

Morgan called the Portugal captain a "supreme athlete and phenomenal competitor," adding that "Cristiano is the best real footballer to ever lace his boots."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Serie A, Juve, old lady, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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