Lionel Messi scored the 900th goal of his career on Wednesday, becoming the second player to reach that mark in elite men’s soccer after Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 38-year-old Argentine World Cup winner reached the milestone with a left-footed shot in Inter Miami’s 1-1 draw against Nashville SC in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
The 900th goal came 21 years after Messi scored his first goal in senior football for Barcelona as a 17-year-old in 2005.
Inter coach Javier Mascherano said Messi’s tally was “crazy.”
“I have been lucky enough to see most, or many, of the goals he has scored, much closer than all of you, and that is a privilege,” he added.
“The number we’re talking about is crazy, and that’s why Leo is one of a kind.”
Messi, who has won the Ballon d’Or eight times, reached the mark in his 1,142nd appearance for club and country, almost 100 fewer games than Ronaldo, who needed 1,236 games to reach the mark in September 2024.
Portuguese striker Ronaldo has already reached 965 goals and has set a goal of 1,000 before leaving football.
Most of Messi’s goals came during his time at Barcelona, where he scored 672 goals. He added 32 at Paris St-Germain and 81 at Inter Miami and scored 115 for Argentina, with whom he won the 2022 World Cup.
Messi’s teammates have been able to depend on him in crucial moments, with 175 of his goals coming in knockout matches, including 35 in finals.
His 129 goals in the European Champions League are surpassed only by Ronaldo’s 140.
Messi’s historic goal came on a bittersweet night for Miami, which exited the away goals competition after the first leg ended 0-0.
