| Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (left) is being congratulated by colleagues after scoring in the 14th round of the 2020-21 Spanish Primera Liga against Valencia held at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain on the 20th (Korean time). © AFP=News1 |
Lionel Messi (33, Barcelona) scored 643 goals in Barcelona alone, standing shoulder to shoulder with Pele (80), the’god of football’.
Messi scored a goal in the 14th round of the 2020-21 Spanish Primera Liga against Valencia held at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain on the 20th (Korean time), leading a 2-2 draw.
It was a disappointing result for Barcelona, but it was a meaningful match for Messi.
Starting off, Messi came out as a kicker in a penalty kick taken by Antoine Grizzman for the extra time in the first half after falling 0-1. Messi’s penalty kick was blocked by the goalkeeper, but Jordi Alba crossed the spilled ball and equalized with a heading shot in which Messi threw himself at the high ball against the opponent’s defender.
With this, Messi played 784 games in Barcelona uniform, scoring his 643th, and tied with Pele in the single club’s most scoring category. Pele played 757 games for Santos in Brazil from 1956 to 1974, scoring 643 goals.
Growing up at the Barcelona youth club, Messi scored his first goal in Barcelona in March 2005 with the help of Ronaldinho in a league match against Albacete. In the 2005-06 season, Messi began to flourish his potential by scoring 8 goals in 25 games.
Then, in the 2006-07 season, he established himself as the main game, scoring his first double digits with 17 points in 36 games. Since then, Messi has consistently scored double digits for 14 seasons until last season. In the 2011-12 season, he scored a total of 73 goals in 60 games. He is scoring 9 goals in 17 games this season.
Pele congratulated on his social media, “I know what it feels like to wear the same team uniform every day. Recently, in the soccer world, players who spend a lot of time in one club are disappearing. That is why I praise Messi’s record more. Delivered the message.
Messi is likely to beat Pele’s record sooner or later. There are many games left this season, and if Messi continues to show performance this season, a new record is expected to be achieved.
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