Lionel Messi has equalled Pele's one-club goals haul after chalking up his 643rd for Barcelona against Valencia.

Brazil great Pele, regarded by many as the best to ever play the game, scored 643 times in just 656 matches for Santos between 1956 and 1974.

While Pele's overall goals record for his entire career is disputed, he did net 643 goals in official competition for Santos.

Some believed Pele's haul to be a world record in top-level football, though statisticians are unable to confirm this with absolute certainty.

Nevertheless, this is unlikely to detract from Messi's accomplishment, as he drew level with Pele's remarkable total after scoring with a header in first-half stoppage time on Saturday.

Having initially seen a penalty saved by Jaume Domenech, Messi got his milestone goal when he met a cross from the left and nodded home from point-blank range.

Remarkably, his latest goal was also his 450th in LaLiga, making him the first player to reach that figure for a single club in any of Europe's top five leagues.

Messi has attracted criticism this term as his performances have not been at the level many might have expected them to be.

But his latest goal took him on to six from 13 LaLiga matches in the 2020-21 campaign.

The 33-year-old scored his first Barca goal on May 1, 2005 against Albacete in LaLiga when he was 17, at the time becoming the club's youngest ever goalscorer.

He has since gone on to become Barca's all-time leading scorer, as well as LaLiga's, and has won the Ballon d'Or a record six times.

But how much longer he will remain at Camp Nou remains a topic of much debate.

Messi attempted to force a transfer away from the Blaugrana in pre-season, adamant a get-out clause in his contract provided him with the opportunity to leave on a free transfer.

But then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu stood in his way, Messi ultimately backing down as he was unwilling to drag Barca through the courts.

Media speculation continues to link Messi with an end-of-season move to reunite with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, with his Barca contract expiring in June.

Recently, Paris Saint-Germain have emerged as possible favourites to sign Messi, with Neymar having expressed a desire to play alongside his former Barca team-mate in 2021.


https://www.livescore.com/en/football/news/the-goat-lionel-messi-equals-pele-one-club-goals-haul-barcelona-santos-7-1sj5q50f7ybqq1xtzdxfpbm2am/

Front page oooo
Or else wahala go dey

congrats Lionel even if watching barca play is looking more frustrating as time goes by..
jus to win small valencia wey no even play anything make person collect 30k n use 1k sow seed for church tomorrow....barca go de draw...chaaaai

ObaKlaz:
I'm waiting for Pele's reaction. No other footballer makes him feel so insecure like Messi does. He would start talking about his World Cups (which are legit bragging rights) and his overall paded stats.

He would say just about anything to slight Messi and to make himself appear larger than life, did the same to late Diego.

World Cup wins aside, true fans of football know that he wasn't quite as gifted as Lionel Messi is.

DTS normal na....Pele would be more happy assuming na him best player "neyma" break that record...
him no want use ear hear say messi break him records..

Despite being a playmaker??
Create chances??
Score??
Dribble??
Key passes??
Creat space from midfield??
Control the game??
Assists??

Make we talk truth, it's only Maradona that's close to messi but the different is that Messi reign for over a decade, Pele and C Ronaldo are just goal scorer but Leo is more than that.

We all know Pele scores more than that. Which one be official goal again.

It's like you are the first to post this news on Nairaland. This thread should make front page

Cc: Myndd44

Pele has 3 WC ...messi has non...decades to come...the name pele will still reign cos what he did for Brazil, the name Maradona will still reign cos what he did for Argentina, the name zidane will reign cos what he did for France, the name Ronaldo will still reign cos of what he did for Portugal... messi b forgotten the moment a new player breaks his records in barca ...they were others b4 messi in barca

Lionel Andres Cutticcini Messi, Congratulations on another milestone. You are the Greatest Footballer of All Time. Your status as the GOAT is not really defined by whether you break Pele's goal-scoring record or not. Those are mere statistical aesthetics. Your position at the summit had been long sealed by your incomparable talented displays, impact and all-round abilities demonstrated consistently for over a decade and a half.

You are Messi. You strike fear into the heart of defenders like no other player ever such that they always swarm around you in threes and fours, yet your brilliance still shines through time and time again. If football were to have a face, it would be you. If all footballers were to have an highlights reel of their magical moments on the field, perhaps Pele may have a good 75-minutes show, Maradona/Ronaldo De Lima may perhaps have an hour and a half of true brilliance on display, but yours would outspan these your closest competitors by at least the duration of a full football match.

A record number of the world player of the year is testament to your individual supremacy, which is all that matters in the end.

Shine on King Leo.

Beverlyjean:
[s]Pele has 3 WC ...messi has non...decades to come...the name pele will still reign cos what he did for Brazil, the name Maradona will still reign cos what he did for Argentina, the name zidane will reign cos what he did for France, the name Ronaldo will still reign cos of what he did for Portugal... messi b forgotten the moment a new player breaks his records in barca ...they were others b4 messi in barca[/s]

Yen yen yen, this pained Penaldo fan is wailing as usual. 1 million years from now, nobody can break Messi's club record in Barcelona and nobody can break Messi's record in football. Even if the world forgets Pele, Maradona, Zidane, the world will forever remember Messi, the super player that has the highest all-time football history record and counting of 6 Ballon D'or + 6 Golden Boots + highest goals record of all-time scored in a calendar year 91 goals. None of all those you mentioned ever accomplished this record. Keep wailing in your ignorance.
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