Messi breaks Pele's South American goal record

ANKARA: Displacing the legendary Pele, Lionel Messi took the crown of all-time leading goal scorer in South American confederation (CONMEBOL) men's history with his latest hat-trick against Bolivia, reported Anadolu Agency (AA).

Argentina on Thursday beat Bolivia 3-0, with Messi responsible for all three goals, in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers at Antonio Vespucio Liberti Stadium, Argentina.

The Argentinian icon now tops the men's top scorer list with 79 goals, beating out the previous record holder, Brazil's Pele with 77 goals.

Messi currently shares the 5th spot in the list of all-time top international men's goal scorers with Godfrey Chitalu of Zambia with 79 goals, while Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with 111 goals.

Argentina took the number two spot with 18 points in the 2022 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification group table, while Brazil tops the chart with 24 points.

-- BERNAMA