Football icon Lionel Messi achieved a remarkable
milestone on Wednesday, March 18, scoring his 900th career goal to become only
the second player in elite men’s football to reach that figure, alongside
Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 38-year-old found the net with a left-footed
strike during Inter Miami CF’s 1-1 draw against Nashville SC in the CONCACAF
Champions Cup. The landmark goal came 21 years after his first senior goal for
FC Barcelona in 2005 at just 17 years old.
Despite Messi’s early strike, Miami were eliminated
from the competition on the away goals rule after Nashville’s Cristian Espinoza
equalized, securing progression for the American side.
Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan praised the Argentine
superstar after the match, hailing him as “the best” while congratulating him
on reaching 900 goals.
Messi now joins Ronaldo—who hit the milestone in
September 2024—as the only players to reach 900 career goals. Ronaldo currently
leads the all-time chart with 965 goals and has publicly set his sights on
surpassing the 1,000-goal mark.
The Argentine captain reached the milestone in 1,142
matches, fewer than Ronaldo’s 1,236 games. Legendary Brazilian forward Pelé
ranks third on the all-time list with 765 goals, while Robert Lewandowski is
the closest active player behind Messi and Ronaldo with 690 goals.
Messi’s scoring legacy spans multiple clubs and
international duty. He netted 672 goals for Barcelona, added 32 during his time
with Paris Saint-Germain, and has scored 81 for Inter Miami. On the
international stage, he has recorded 115 goals for Argentina national team.
His most prolific year came in 2012, when he scored an
astonishing 91 goals for both club and country.
More recently, Messi’s brilliance earned him the 2025
MLS Golden Boot after scoring 29 goals in the regular season. He also secured
the 2025 MLS MVP award, becoming the first player to win the honor in
consecutive seasons.
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