Cristiano Ronaldo surpasses Pele after hat-trick for Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick in Portugal’s 2018 World Cup qualifier on Thursday, to pass Pele on the list of top international goal scorers.

Ronaldo’s three goals in their 5-1 win over Faroe Islands, took his tally for his country to 78 goals, surpassing the 77 that Pele scored for Brazil from 1957-1971.

However, the Real Madrid superstar needed 144 games to accomplish the feat, while Pele played in just 92.

It was Ronaldo’s fifth hat-trick for his country, all of which have come in official qualifiers for major tournaments. He has 43 hat-tricks in his club career and he is now just six back of Hungary’s Ferenc Puskas for the most international goals by a European player.

Iran’s Ali Daei is the top men’s career international goal scorer with 109 goals in 149 games.