Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 48th career hat-trick as Portugal thrashed Faroe Islands 5-1 in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.The match saw the Real Madrid superstar reach an incredible 78 goals for his country in 144 appearances.It’s that sort of goalscoring record that makes many football fans believe he is the greatest player the sport has ever seen.Of course, there are a few other names that are mentioned when the question of: “Who is the greatest ever player?” is asked.Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is one of them, while the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele are also considered.But Ronaldo’s case was strengthened last night when he overtook Pele’s international goal tally.The legendary Brazilian had scored 75 goals during his 92 caps but has now slipped down to sixth in the list of all-time international goalscorers.But he didn’t seem to mind too much.That’s because he took to Twitter to congratulate Ronaldo on his latest achievement.

Pele's tweet to Ronaldo

Take a look:

Ronaldo will now set his sights on becoming the most prolific player on the International stage ever.

However, he still has a long way to go to beat Iran’s Ali Daei - who scored a crazy 109 international goals.

While catching Ali Daei seems unlikely for the 32-year-old, there’s every chance he will be the second top goalscorer in the history of international football when he finally hangs up his boots.

He’s only a few of goals behind Godfrey Chitalu of Zambia - who scored 79 goals - and a further goal behind Kunishige Kamamoto of Japan. Currently in second is Ferenc Puskas of Hungary, who scored 84 goals. Therefore, Ronaldo needs just seven more goals to surpass Puskas.

With Portugal facing Hungary, Andorra and Switzerland in their final three qualifiers, you certainly wouldn’t bet against Ronaldo beating Puskas’ tally before next summer’s World Cup.