Or Argentine star Lionel Messi reached the milestone of 900 goals in his extraordinary professional career this Wednesday (18), at the start of the match between Inter Miami and Nashville SC, valid for the round of 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup. Seven minutes into the game, the striker received an assist inside the penalty area from Spaniard Sergio Reguilón, controlled the ball before firing a left-footed shot that opened the scoring at Chase Stadium, in Fort Lauderdale, a city neighboring Miami.
Messi now has 81 goals wearing Miami’s pink shirtwhich adds to his 672 goals for Barcelona and 32 for Paris Saint-Germain, in addition to 115 for the Argentine national team. The 38-year-old Inter captain had scored the 899th goal of his career on March 7, the 2-1 victory over DC United, in the 3rd round of the North American league (MLS).
Almost 21 years ago, Messi opened his official account with a goal that dazzled Barcelona fans and served as a warning to rival teams and fans. On May 1, 2005, a young, long-haired striker — known at the time as ‘La Pulga’ (The Flea) — entered the field at Camp Nou in the final moments of a national league match against Albacete and scored two goals.
Wearing the Argentina shirt — which led to the triumph in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar —, he found the net on 115 occasions in 196 matches. Messi thus continues in his quest to reach the 1000 goal mark, a goal that is also within the reach of his great rival, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who, at 41 years old and in Saudi football, has already scored 965 goals in his career.
The Argentine continues to postpone the confirmation of his participation in the North American World Cup (June 11th to July 19th), but, at the end of last year, he surprised the world of football by extending his contract with Inter until the end of the 2028 season. The player born in Rosario — who will be 41 years old at the time — thus confirmed that he is not yet ready to end the most illustrious career in the history of football, a career recognized with eight Ballon d’Ors.
*AFP
