"I've never hidden this," said Romario, who took his tally to 998 with a hat-trick in Vasco da Gama's 6-2 win over Boavista on Saturday.

"I never said that all those goals were scored in competitive or professional games. I'm also aware that some of the goals were scored in festive games," the 41-year-old told reporters in Brasilia where his side play a Copa Brasil tie on Wednesday.

"But I've scored them and I can prove it," he added.

"These numbers are not mine, I never had the time to count them myself. The counting was done by professionals. If I'd counted them myself, there would be around 3,000."

The Brazilian media have long questioned Romario's total, which is published on Vasco's official Web site. The tally includes 77 goals scored at youth level and numerous others from testimonial games and club friendlies.

Romario has said his dream would be to score the 1,000th goal on Sunday, when Vasco face arch-rivals Flamengo at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, his favourite stage.