Lionel Messi to Pele - Who are the top 10 South American international goalscorers?
Lionel Messi scored his 80th international goal on October 10 as Argentina defeated Uruguay in their 10th 2022 World Cup qualifying game.
On September 10, Messi went past Brazil legend Pele's tally of 77 goals with a hat-trick against Bolivia to become South America's highest goalscorer of all time. Pele is followed by his compatriot Neymar who is the second-highest Brazilian goalscorer with 69 goals to his name.
Out of the top 10 South American goalscorers, five Brazilians and three Argentineans feature in the list. Other than Messi, the two other Argentineans are Gabriel Batistuta and Sergio Aguero.
Here, we take a look at the top 10 South American goalscorers of all time.
Lionel Messi
Country: Argentina
Goals: 80
Matches: 155
Years active: 2005-present
Pele
Country: Brazil
Goals: 77
Matches: 92
Years active: 1957-1971
Neymar
Country: Brazil
Goals: 69
Matches: 113
Years active: 2010-present
Luis Suarez
Country: Uruguay
Goals: 64
Matches: 123
Years active: 2007-present
Ronaldo
Country: Brazil
Goals: 62
Matches: 98
Years active: 1994-2011
Romario
Country: Brazil
Goals: 55
Matches: 70
Years active: 1987-2005
Gabriel Batistuta
Country: Argentine
Goals: 54
Matches: 77
Years active: 1991-2002
Edinson Cavani
Country: Uruguay
Goals: 53
Matches: 123
Years active: 2008-present
Zico
Country: Brazil
Goals: 48
Matches: 71
Years active: 1976-1986
Sergio Aguero
Country: Argentina
Goals: 41
Matches: 101
Years active: 2006-present