Inter Miami and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has officially reached the 900th goal of his professional career. The historic goal came in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final against Nashville (1-1).
Messi scored his anniversary goal in the seventh minute of the match. The Argentine responded to a pass from defender Sergio Reguilon, then finished the ball and fired a low shot into the far corner of the goal.
Messi's goal put Inter Miami ahead, but the team failed to hold on to their lead as Cristian Espinoza equalized in the second half. The 1-1 draw and the away goals rule (the first leg ended 0-0) saw the Florida club eliminated from the tournament.
With his goal against Nashville, Messi reached the 900-goal mark. The Argentine became only the second player in the history of men's football to reach 900 goals in official matches, after Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
It took Messi 1,142 games to reach this milestone, 94 fewer than Ronaldo did in 1,236 games. The striker has scored the majority of his goals – 672 – for Barcelona.
All of Lionel Messi's career goals
- “Barcelona” — 672 goals
- Argentina national team — 115 goals
- Inter Miami — 81 goals
- PSG — 32 goals
Messi is currently second only to Cristiano Ronaldo on the all-time list of top scorers, with 965 goals. Pele is third overall (765), while Robert Lewandowski is third among current players (714).
List of the best scorers in football history
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal — 965 goals (career years 2002 — present)
- Lionel Messi, Argentina – 900 (2004 – present)
- Pele, Brazil — 762 (1957 — 1977)
- Romario, Brazil — 755 (1985 — 2007)
- Ferenc Puskas, Hungary — 724 (1943 — 1966)
- Josef Bitan, Czech Republic – 722 (1931 – 1955)
- Robert Lewandowski, Poland — 714 (2008 — present)
- Jimmy Jones, Northern Ireland – 648 (1947 – 1964)
- Gerd Müller, Germany – 634 (1964 – 1981)
- Joe Bembrick, Northern Ireland – 629 (1926 – 1943)
Lionel Messi can improve his statistics in the next match, where Inter Miami will play against New York City on Sunday, March 22.