Neymar overtakes Pele and becomes Brazil’s leading goalscorer

Neymar scored twice as Brazil defeated Bolivia 5-1 in a World Cup qualification match in the Amazon city of Belém, passing Pele to become the country’s all-time leading scorer among men. The Al Hilal striker and Pele, who led Brazil with 77 goals scored between 1957 and 1971, were tied. In 125 international appearances, Neymar has already scored 79 goals.

Neymar after the game said, “I never imagined reaching this record. I want to say that I am not better player than Pele.” He further talked about how he wanted his name to be in Brazilian football history. The Brazilian forward said, “I always wanted to make my own story, write my name in the history of Brazilian football and the national team. And today I did that.”

Neymar’s record-breaking goal

After receiving a low cross inside the penalty area, Neymar finished accurately and closely from close range to set a new record. As Pele would, he raised his fist in the air to express his joy. Neymar missed a penalty earlier in the game in the 17th minute, but Guillermo Viscarra saved it.

Pele’s Foundation congratulated Neymar on breaking the goal-scoring record held by Pele. The foundation said in a tweet, “Congratulations, Neymar Jr, for surpassing the King in goals for the Brazilian National Team in official FIFA matches. Surely Pelé is applauding you today!”

https://twitter.com/Pele/status/1700345109181579677

Rodrygo and Fernando Diniz talk about Neymar’s achievement

Brazilian forward Rodrygo, who also scored twice against Bolivia, admitted that he is still a huge Neymar supporter. Rodrygo said, “Neymar is very much a hero of mine. This will be in my memory, this was a very special day.”

New Brazil coach Fernando Diniz said Neymar came to play for Brazil “to score goals, break records, show that he is very much willing to live this [with the national team.]” Diniz further said, “He is a great hero. People have to recognize it and accept it. He doesn’t do anything to get this adoration he gets from the crowd, it is because of the natural talent he has.”

Before the triumph over Bolivia, Neymar’s most recent game for Brazil was the World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Croatia. He departed Qatar with uncertainty surrounding his future with the national team and missed the first three games of this season for the Selecao.

In a 2010 friendly against the United States, the former Santos, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain great scored in his debut for Brazil.

While Neymar led Brazil to the Confederations Cup triumph in 2013, he hasn’t yet led them to a World Cup final, with two quarterfinal appearances (in 2018 and 2022) and a semifinal appearance (in 2014), where they were humiliated 7-1 by Germany at home.

Due to an injury, he was unable to witness Brazil win the Copa America in 2019 and participated in the final defeat of Argentina in 2021. The 31-year-old has had a dazzling club career, winning five Ligue 1 championships, a Champions League trophy, two La Liga championships and a Copa Libertadores.